Ariela Caglio's Proposal Funded by the IMA Research Foundation

Ariela Caglio, Associate Professor of Accounting, won a $10,000 research grant from IMA Research Foundation for a project on sustainable key performance indicators and new communication technologies, designed with Paolo Quattrone (Alliance Manchester Business School). The two scholars replied to a competitive call for research proposals by the research foundation of the Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business (IMA). The foundation "is dedicated to funding relevant, thought-provoking research that furthers the knowledge and scope of accounting and financial management".

The call invited to address research questions relating to the role of the CFO and the finance team as it transitions from value stewardship to value creation. Professors Caglio and Quattrone singled out accounting professionals' need to operate in a context characterized by growing concerns about the sustainability and resilience of businesses – also in the face of unprecedented crisis such as COVID-19 – coupled with the ubiquitous use of digital technologies, which are transforming the way in which stakeholders interact with companies.

"We argue that these developments imply the progressive dismantling of a reporting model where corporations univocally define what value is and how to measure it by 'pushing' information out to stakeholders, to one where it is the various stakeholders who express different notions of value and sustainability and 'pull' information from diverse sources beyond the traditional corporate reports", Professor Caglio says.

The research project thus aims at providing the management accounting profession with insights and guidelines on how to design performance measurement systems and corporate reports which reflect such changes as well as at offering new ideas on the way in which the Finance function may use emerging technologies to communicate, engage and empower stakeholders according to a 'pull' communication model.