THE ARTIFACTS OF MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING AND ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE CYCLE

Abstract

The present study aims at analyzing the relation between the artifacts of managerial accounting evidenced by Brazilian major public companies, and the characteristics of the control system of the organizational life cycle, using the Greiner model, presented in his study entitled Evolution and revolution as organizations grow (1998). It is an exploratory research developed by means of gathering secondary data from standardized financial demonstrations and annual reports of 2010, putting together a sample of 98 companies participating in the ranking of the greatest public companies in magazine Exame Melhores e Maiores, 2011 edition. The results showed that among the traditional artifacts most evidenced by companies, there is a highlight on Present Value and Budget. Concerning the disclosure of modern artifacts, there is Strategic Planning. It was possible to verify greater evidencing of traditional artifacts in companies which were younger (as old as 25 years) than the other ones in the sample. Concerning modern artifacts, the group of companies older than 25 years evidenced almost 50% more tools, suggesting that their usage occurs more frequently in most developed stages. The results of Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient Analysis demonstrate that there is positive correlation between age and disclosure of artifacts. As to size, measured by the total assets, it was possible to detect a significant and positive correlation only with the disclosure of modern artifacts, which corroborates, in general, with the premises of Contingency Theory.