Non‐financial management accounting measures in Finnish financial institutions

The importance of the role of management accounting (MA) in measuring emerging non‐financial performance (NFP) is increasing, especially in the service sector. However, there are a number of studies concerning NFP measures, but comparatively little is known about non‐financial MA measures in services and almost nothing in banks/financial institutions (BFI). Taking into consideration the need for studying MA practices in measuring emerging NFP in the service industry, an attempt has been made in this paper to investigate the practice of MA in NFP measurement in Finnish BFI. Several factors have been identified, in the context of “New Institutional Sociology” theory that influence NFP measures, of which economic impact is the most influential, followed, subsequently by coercive, normative and mimetic pressures. Accordingly, the empirical findings of this research are evaluated, and consequently, it has been used to modify the theory for further research that fits with the dynamic nature of NFP in the financial industry.