Resumen de Management accounting in Europe: a view from down-under

W.P. Birkett

• This commentary provides a number of reactions on readingManagement Accounting: European Perspectivesedited by Al Bhimani (1996), and in particular it raises questions about how such a book can (or should) be read. It discusses the complexity connoted by the label management accounting and how this can vary in different locales and eras. Issues of labelling, framing, tradition and culture are discussed, and a framework for exploring local variations in management accounting practices is suggested—whether they are labelled ‘management accounting’ or not.