Accounting Firms’ Monthly Closing Services to Support SMEs Management Accounting: The Potential of Feedforward-centered Management Discussions

Abstract

Accounting firms (tax account offices) have the potential of becoming strong supporters for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in enhancing their management accounting. Currently, while accounting firms provide SMEs with monthly closing services widely, in many cases, they fall short of the level to which we approve from management accounting standpoint. To make monthly closing services meaningful from a management accounting perspective, some feedback and feedforward are needed to work. In light of an accounting firm's position and actual business operations, holding feedforward-centered management discussions is assumed to be effective. In a feedforward-centered management discussion, an accounting firm envisions an ideal fiscal state that the client aims for and helps it focus on improving performance. By applying the Tableau BI tool that is rising in the wake of the democratization of IT tools, we can discuss even with a business owner who dislikes numbers in an intuitive manner. In order for an accounting firm to become a powerful supporter for SMEs in enhancing their management accounting, it is necessary to increase its analytical ability.