Empirical research on the consequences of the use of the balanced scorecard (BSC) has mostly been conducted in large firms. Previous findings are not easily applied to the small business literature, and assumptions about the benefits of BSC for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not...

Managers use management accounting and control systems (MACS) to monitor and detect deviations from earnings targets. We examine an unexplored side of MACS: its effects on earnings management. We predict and find evidence that managers interactively use MACS to focus the attention of the whole...