This writing is intended to clarify the actual condition, effects, and problems on the relation between budgeting and ringi system, especially from studies of participative budgeting and ringi system, focusing on Japanese companies’ characteristic ringi system used on budgeting. It is mainly based on the findings of the written survey, which target 1,791 listed companies on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. As a result, it reveals that ringi system remains used on budgeting at Japanese companies and both participative budgeting and ringi system involve managers with an organization’s decision-making and have the function of vertical and horizontal information sharing. Using ringi system on budgeting causes some obstacles because budgeting and ringi system operate in different ways, but expect synergetic effect, thereby ringi system plays a lot of role on budgeting.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of intangible assets on environmental performance using a sample of Japanese manufacturing industries. Researchers have different definitions of intangible assets. This study focuses on human resources as intangible assets, which is defined as employees’ job performance skills and productivity. On the other hand, environmental performance refers to a firm’s effectiveness in meeting and exceeding society’s expectations with regard to concerns for the natural environment. The hypothesis that human resources affect environmental performance using three types of proxy for human resources and a proxy for environmental performance is examined. In particular, human resources as intangible assets are defined by total employees, revenues, and total assets. Environmental performance is measured using data from the “Nikkei Environmental Management Survey” report released by Nikkei Research. To examine the hypothesis in detail, this study conducted additional regressions using quartiles scaled by the number of total employees, which also avoided and controlled for the influences of extreme observations. The results of this study statistically support the hypothesis. After considering the implications of these results, this study concludes that the intangible asset of human resources enhances environmental performance.

In recent years, it is pointed out that target costing is used also service industry. Target costing was formed and developed in manufacturing industry. Is the target costing really effective in service industry. This study is consideration of the restaurant division in the Budoonoki Co., Ltd. with character as a service industry. As a result, it was shown that upstream Management, cross-functional team activities, value engineering as cost reduction method and follow-up for target costing is effective in restaurant services. Follow-up for target costing and target costing with consistency of concept is to be important in service industry as compared with manufacturing industry.

In this paper, factors that inhibit implementing Amoeba Management was considered through case of Infratec. Concretely, it clarify the confusion caused by the Hourly Efficiency Management System and Factor of hindrance in resolving the confusion from case of Infratec. In Infratec, confusion was caused because the Hourly Efficiency Management System as a management accounting and the absorption costing as a financial Accounting was different because implementing the Hourly Efficiency Management System as the cost accounting. It was not possible to resolve the confusion by lack of education resource and industry types. Finally, it decided to implement the absorption costing as a management accounting.

In this paper, we report the result of a survey on regional financial institutions’ support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). On July 1, 2016, the Act for Strengthen- ing the Management of SMEs (hereinafter referred as the Act) came into force. In the Act, financial institutions and professional accountants are expected to support improvement of SMEs’ management accounting capabilities. However, there is scarce research about how they improve SMEs’ management accounting capabilities. Thus, we first conducted a survey on regional financial institutions’ support activities for SMEs. From 176 using data, it was found that regional financial institutions tend to actively support the formulation of clients’ management plan and also collaborate with professional accountants. But as a result of the t-tests, corporate status and corporate size influence their activities.

This paper introduces the trend of computer simulation research in the management accounting field with a focus on decentralized decision-making. NK model has developed to analyze the issues of “differentiation and integration” or “exploration and exploitation” in organizational research field. Through classifying the development of the structures and characteristics of NK model into single agent decision making, allocation of decision among multiple agents, integration by CEO, and introduction of performance measurement, this paper views the potential of simulation method in future management accounting research.