The
purpose of this commentary is to initiate discussion on potential, which lies in
capturing the transformation of accounting towards a more agile phenomenon in
various dimensions and ways, particularly in management accounting research. By
conceptualizing agile accounting in relation to enterprise agility and accounting
change and by shedding light on digitalization, as well as contemporary technological
advancements, combined with the contemporary paradigmatic trend of business
agility in this respect, it is argued that these factors and drivers are
reshaping the nature of management accounting, which is increasingly
characterized by distinctive attributes associated with agility. On one hand,
management accounting involved in planning, decision-making, and control supports
corporate processes aiming at sensing environmental change and responding to
the change, hence playing a crucial role in enterprise agility. On the other
hand, the trend towards agility in business strategies and operations sets new
agility-based requirements for management accounting, which can act as a driver
for management accounting change. Drawing on cross-disciplinary academic
literature combined with reflections from the recent developments in the
practice, the drivers and the manifestations of accounting agility are
discussed in this paper with certain illustrative examples representing
elements from different levels and dimensions of management accounting. Furthermore,
it is claimed that the management accounting change research, in particular, should
acknowledge the various aspects of accounting agility, in order to explain and
understand better both management accounting change and the dynamics of
management control systems, in the future.

Key Words: Management Accounting Change, Information Technology,
Agility