**4. Results**

On average, respondents use by and large between two and three major tools in each of the categories surveyed. Among operation pillar MA tools, the most widely used ones were variance analysis (VA; cost category), cost-plus pricing (CPP; price category), financial year forecasts (FYF; budget category), product/service profitability analysis (PPA; profitability category), and net present value (NPV; investment category) (Figure 1).

In most of the categories, a current set of tools is different from that used in the pre-recession period of 2010–2013. Among cost tools, respondents lean toward such flexible and adaptive instruments as variance analysis and overhead allocation over standard and full costing. As the purchasing power of population deteriorates, market-sensitive pricing is gaining ground as the second most widely used tool in the pricing category in favor of segmental pricing and price skimming. In the budget category, business abandoned the common FYF tool and increasingly focused on rolling forecasts (RF), incremental budgeting (IB) and flexible budgeting (FB). It reflects the tendency of using those budgeting techniques which provide greater and tighter control and oversight of expenditure in the conditions of budgetary constraints. Among profitability analysis tools, there was still high overall level of interest in PPA, but it decreased as those companies which face economic troubles get concerned about breakeven analysis and seek custom-oriented approaches.

**Figure 1.** Management accounting tools: operation pillar, percentage of respondents. Source: authors' development.

The surveyed organizations reported on the growing concern of profit and cash flow returns as the two critical performance measurements in the times of economic recession (Figure 2). When it comes to the use of performance management tools, activity-based management (ABM) gains widespread attention due to its orientation on current activities of an organization and responsiveness, the two characteristics crucial in the vulnerable economic environment. Among reward tools, responsiveness stipulated the emergence of profit-sharing schemes in favor of exclusive incentive schemes (EIS) and management incentive schemes (MIS) as profit sharing schemes (PSS) allowed the establishment of a direct and immediate link between performance and reward.

**Figure 2.** Management accounting tools: management pillar, percentage of respondents. Source: authors' development.

Very largely because of a similar reason, the advantages of direct tools in the conditions of economic changes conditioned the emergence of reaction-based short-term instruments in favor of pro-action long-term oriented strategic approaches. In the pre-recession period, respondents used a combination of measures to develop and manage their strategies, including strategic mapping, value chain analysis, Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats analysis (SWOT), and other future-looking management techniques (Figure 3). The economic downturn, however, made strategic planning less applicable compared to immediate reactions and thus prompted the relevance of risk management tools and analysis of competitors.

The tendency of switching to short-term tools over strategic planning was particularly prominent in, the territories in which the pace of economic growth is below the Russia's average (Arkhangelsk, Khabarovsk, and Stavropol). In well-performing territories, over 55% of respondents either continued using strategic mapping as the major strategic technique or increasingly employed competitor analysis, but did not entirely shift their focus to managing short-term risks (Table 2).

There was also a significant distinction of declining territories in terms of using RF as the major budgeting tool. In Moscow city, Kaluga, Krasnodar, Stavropol, and Kaliningrad regions, most of the respondents did not report considerable changes in using FYF as the major budget category tool. In Khabarovsk and Archangelsk regions, quite the reverse, many organizations acknowledged RF as the most appropriate tool to control expenditures.

**Figure 3.** Management accounting tools: strategy pillar, percentage of respondents. Source: authors' development.


**Table 2.** Survey results: economic performance.

Source: authors' development. Note: top three tools per category and period.

Another finding is that, in declining territories, the economic recession has induced many organizations to change over to payback instead of NPV as the investment category tool. Among the investment-related management accounting tools, payback (P) is the least sophisticated and crudest appraisal technique, which, however, gains importance in the times of economic decline, when businesses seek early payback instead of unsecured long-term investment.

The survey allowed the discovery of the variation in the employment of MA tools between the sectors, particularly, between the service sector and manufacturing. There are tools which usage varied significantly by sector—categories of price, budget, rewards, among others (Table 3). This might reflect a more flexible approach to pricing, budgeting, and situational management in the service sector compared to the industry, as price comparison is much harder for clients who use services than for customers who buy products [86]. When market shrinks because of declining purchasing power of population, service sector seems comparatively keener on adopting new pricing tools, especially demonstrating the interest in market sensitive pricing and segmental pricing. Conservative sectors such as industrial production and agriculture appeared to be less responsive to economic transformations in terms of management accounting, as well as more reluctant to introducing new practices in response to the changes in the economic environment. In the times of recession, organizations in the service sector, trade, and tourism tend to prioritize short-term profit and cash inflow over long-term investment and thus increasingly employ profit sharing schemes and activity-based management practices to ensure immediate inflows.


**Table 3.** Survey results: sector.

Source: authors' development. Note: top three tools per category and period.

Looking at firm size, it is observed that the organizations of all sizes rely on market sensitive pricing (MSP), CPP, or segmental pricing (SP) pricing tools (Table 4). Micro organizations did not change pricing tools amid the economic downturn of 2014–2018, while medium and large businesses expanded practicing segmental and marketing sensitive pricing in an attempt to react on declining purchasing ability of population and offer affordable pricing solutions to diverse target groups of customers. Some management accounting tools, however, are more resource intensive compared to pricing, and this may explain the relative reluctance of smaller organizations to implement certain tools. For example, in the pre-recession period, FYF was the most popular budgeting tool overall. As the economic recession expanded, the owners of smaller organizations stressed on personal control of resources and expenditures and thus decreased using budgeting tools.


**Table 4.** Survey results: size.

Source: authors' development. Note: top three tools per category and period.

Profitability category is another case where the recession-induced change is observed as organization size increases. In 2010–2013, there was high overall level of interest in PPA, customer profitability analysis (CPA), and relevant costing for decisions (RCD). In 2014–2018, micro and small organizations hurled all their efforts into ensuring breakeven income, while medium and large ones focused on investigating customer profitability to diversify their offers and adopt pricing schemes to new expectations and purchasing behavior patterns. The smaller–larger difference was also marked in strategic techniques category. Among micro and small organizations, 64% of respondents reported the increased use of risk management tools in the times of recession, while medium and large organizations paid more attention to the detailed analysis of competitors.

Overall, in 2014–2018, both small and large businesses shifted from strategic tools (strategy mapping (SM), core competencies (CC), and value chain analysis (VCA)) to situational measures of management accounting. About 28% of respondents (both small and large) expected the use of risk management (RM) to grow in response to deteriorating economic conditions (Figure 4).

**Figure 4.** Management accounting tools which organizations intend to adopt in response to the deterioration of economic conditions, percentage of respondents. Source: authors' development.

Along with RM, variance analysis, rolling forecasts, payback, breakeven analysis, and activity-based management were the tools that most respondents intended to use in the next years if the declining trend in the economy continues. It is observable across all sizes of organizations, industry sectors, and territories included in the survey.
