Controllers’ use of informational tactics




Lukas Goretzki, Kari Lukka, Martin Messner

PublisherTaylor & Francis

2018

Accounting and Business Research

48

6

700

726

27

0001-4788

2159-4260

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/00014788.2017.1407627

https://doi.org/10.1080/00014788.2017.1407627

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/28323580



Controllers typically have a ‘dual accountability’ towards the finance function and operational management, respectively. This dual accountability at times confronts them with conflicting expectations. In this paper, we suggest that ‘informational tactics’ constitute an important resource which controllers rely on so as to handle these expectations and to successfully present themselves vis-à-vis their different internal stakeholders. Drawing upon interview data, we demonstrate that informational tactics relate to different dimensions of information control (i.e. ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ information is to be exchanged) and that they depend on the respective room for manoeuvre a controller has in a given situation. Overall, our analysis adds a more nuanced picture to the literature on controllers’ handling of information and demonstrates the fundamental role of informational tactics for their everyday work.


Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 20:45