In December 2014, the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and Shanghai EasyFinance Consulting jointly released the 2014 China Management Accounting Practices Survey. Conducted over approximately six months and covering 172 enterprises across different industries, ownership structures, and sizes, the research addressed four pressing questions: how finance functions can transform, how management accountants should define their roles, how professional development can overcome capability gaps, and how practices in China compare with international experience.
2014 joint research report by EasyFinance and IMA: Management Accountants: Increase Business Value
Examining the Practical Challenges of Finance Transformation
As Chinese enterprises expand and their operations become more complex, conventional financial reporting alone is increasingly insufficient for planning, cost control, performance evaluation, and management decision-making. The study therefore focused on management accounting as a practical capability for improving business performance and supporting value creation.
The survey explored not only management accounting methods but also the organizational conditions required to apply them, including financial information systems, cooperation between finance and business functions, and professional skills. Its aim was to connect the broader development of management accounting in China with challenges encountered by enterprises.
Research Conducted Through the Joint Center
The survey was implemented by the China Management Accounting Research Center of Excellence, established jointly by IMA and EasyFinance on December 17, 2013. The center was created to support finance transformation in Chinese enterprises and promote the use of management accounting tools to generate business value.
Over approximately six months, the study gathered input from 172 enterprises representing different sizes, ownership types, and sectors. The findings provided a practice-based foundation for examining changing finance responsibilities, technology support, collaboration with business functions, and talent development.
Enabling Finance to Contribute to Strategic Decisions
Yang Jun, a partner at EasyFinance, emphasized the importance of moving finance professionals away from time-consuming data processing and toward strategic decision support and value creation. Integrated information platforms can help make this transition possible.
Yang Jun also identified persistent obstacles: many companies were still developing their financial information infrastructure, business and finance departments often lacked a shared information platform, and insufficient business understanding could undermine the credibility and usefulness of financial analysis.
These challenges indicate that a meaningful finance transformation requires more than a new job description. Companies need reliable information, clearer coordination between functions, and management accounting practices that inform actual operational and strategic choices.
Connecting Global Expertise with Chinese Business Practice
IMA contributes a global perspective on management accounting research and professional development, while EasyFinance brings experience working with Chinese enterprises on financial management and business practice. Their collaborative research seeks to make management accounting both relevant and applicable to companies operating in China.
The joint research center will continue to examine the practical application and localization of management accounting, with an emphasis on identifying actionable improvements to business management. The 2014 survey represents a step in building an evidence-based understanding of the profession and its contribution to enterprise value creation.
Easy Finance has supported management accounting, strategic finance and enterprise AI capability building since 2004.
Learn more: www.easyfinance.com.cn/en