Business Intelligence & Analytics are revolutionising the role of management accountants, with the potential to transform them into pivotal decision-making partners within organisations. This report, based on research conducted by Elize Kirsten from the University of Pretoria, explores the use of BI&A by management accountants, identifies barriers to optimal adoption and highlights actionable recommendations to enhance their effectiveness in creating business value.
It was based on a survey of 185 MA’s from 15 countries across both the developed and developing world (including Australia, India, South Africa, UAE, UK and USA), working in 15 industry sectors.
The study found that:
Currently management accountants use BI&A primarily in operational decision-making and tasks such as budgeting, performance evaluation and revenue planning.
Tools like Microsoft Excel remain prevalent, while advanced tools such as Power BI are underutilised.
While descriptive analytics dominates current usage, management accountants express a strong desire to expand into more advanced predictive and prescriptive analytics.
Time constraints and insufficient training are limiting factors in the current use levels. Automation is a valuable enabling factor, while human judgement remains central to decision-making.
Training, especially on-the-job, plays a pivotal role in building BI&A capabilities, with skill levels of management accountants affecting how effective factors inside the company are that enable and support BI&A use.
The findings also emphasise the transformative potential of BI&A in enhancing management accountants’ roles as s business partners in the decision-making process and highlight the interplay between organizational and individual factors in maximising the use of BI&A, demonstrating the importance of a supportive environment and continuous skill development to unlock its full potential.
The study underscores the importance of aligning BI&A activities with business goals and highlights that continuous learning and strategic understanding are more critical than technical expertise alone.