ABSTRACT
The aim of examining the discourse of concepts and classifications is to show they have a place in the managerial accountant's compass. Discourse in accounting communicates and constructs reality. It uses socially constructed categories to describe practices and set boundaries which are revealed when they are reached. This chapter suggests four issues with managerial accounting discourse. The first is the discursive consequences of the assumed coordination function of accounting as the language of business which assumes financial performance is real and comparable. Managerial accounting uses a variety of uni-dimensional approaches to both allocate resources and evaluate their use. Second, the availability of many overlapping concepts and classifications in managerial accounting is used to show the need for simultaneous multiple classifications. Third, it shows that despite its orientation to the future, managerial accounting remains connected to financial accounting. Finally, the discourse is moving from cost classification to cost management.
