Modern management accounting for modern purchasing

In this article, the development of management accounting is connected to purchasing and supply management. The accounting system can act as a strong enabler as well as a barrier to the development of purchasing. A number of measures are identified and discussed leading to the conclusion that there are some highly interesting and relevant new techniques available. Using these, it should be possible to foster a stronger relationship focus in the purchasing function, which would enable managers to carry out a segmented approach to purchasing and supply management. Today, however, it would appear that managers largely fail to take advantage of these techniques.