Management Practices and Financial Reporting in the Sri Lankan Apparel Sector

An increasing number of organisations in developing countries are implementing management accounting innovations in order to generate improvements in accounting practices, which would ultimately impact on financial performance. The study focuses on the implementation of one such innovation (TQM) among apparel companies in Sri Lanka. A survey is conducted of Sri Lankan companies to identify differences in their business strategy, management practices and performance reporting, depending on whether or not they have implemented TQM. The results demonstrate a significant difference in the business strategy implemented by the two groups, with those companies adopting TQM regarding quality as more important than cost efficiencies. Significant differences in both quality management practices and performance reporting systems were observed, except in the area of employee empowerment