THE USEFULNESS OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS, FUNCTIONAL-DIFFERENTIATION AND MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS

This study examines the role of broad scope information, made availabl e by management accounting systems (MAS) in enhancing managerial perfo rmance. It is proposed that differentiation of activities into areas s uch as marketing and production is an organizational response to manag e uncertainty. The paper argues that such differentiation of activitie s moderates the association between the extent to which managers use b road scope MAS information and performance. A study of 75 managers ind icated that the association between the extent of use of broad scope M AS information and performance was stronger for managers of marketing than production activities.