Pandemic and management accounting change in the business context: Empirical evidence from Italy

This chapter investigates management accounting change in the context of company responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis focuses on the technical typology of management accounting change through a qualitative study of Italian companies. A management accounting framework enables analysis of the change in terms of addition, replacement, modification and abandonment. The empirical materials show different technical changes, particularly output and operational modifications, to monitor better crisis-related uncertainty and for greater relevance of management accounting information. The chapter helps to reflect on managing unexpected events from a management accounting perspective and the related decision-making support. It contributes to analysing how accounting changes in the context of extreme crises.