Comprehensive Framework for Controlling Budgetary Slack in Governmental Agencies via Strategic Management Accounting

Abstract

The budgeting control system is one of the most important management control systems. The relation between budget and management control mechanism underlies the concept of budgetary slack, which is expressed as a consequence of strict budgeting or lack of budget monitoring. Since budgetary slack plays an important role in the organization’s budget performance, the aim of this study is to review the concepts, functions, and definitions of this topic, and to provide a comprehensive framework for controlling budgetary slack in governmental agencies via strategic management accounting. Using library studies, the comprehensive strategic framework presented consists of three main parts: (1): general structures affecting the process of governmental budgetary slack, (2): budgeting process, and (3): budget implementation process. The important components of these parts imply that by creating a strategic management accounting system, a precise management control system can be designed to set a budget goal that help control the behavior of managers participating in strategic budgeting and planning. The importance of this framework is that it demonstrates how government can reduce the negative consequences of the budgetary slack and, consequently, increase its budgeting efficiency by adopting an integrated management accounting system.

Keywords

• budgetary slack
• budgeting control
• integrated management accounting system
• management control
• budgeting.