Marc Wouters

2023

Due to the development of information technology and Big Data, the use of intelligent methods of data analysis such as those in Business Analytics (BA) is gaining enormous importance and is increasingly becoming a decisive factor for companies to remain competitive in our fast-moving business world. Although Management Accounting (MA) as a decision-supporting discipline is predestined to leverage Business Analytics, the link between these two fields has not been addressed in sufficient detail in the literature, especially when it comes to concrete applications. Using a literature review, the paper first specifies every application of BA in MA that is known. The content analysis of 38 papers, books or websites resulted in the identification of seven different application areas, which, however, were described with a low level of detail in the literature. Consequently, this paper aims to develop more detailed applications of BA in MA in a second part. The reader is provided with a self-created case, where we elaborate on how to use Business Analytics in cost estimation and customer profitability analysis. We present both the mathematical-statistical details and the practical approach of the applications and thus contribute to the literature with a much more detailed explanation of BA applications in Management Accounting.