THE ESSENCE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES
Authors:   Economics and Technology Institute named after Robert Elworthy, Kropyvnytskyi, Butkevych Oksana 
Published: January 2024

The initial positions of management accounting and the qualitative properties of accounting and management information are fixed in its principles. The principles of management accounting allow us to determine its place in the system of activity of the enterprise. Strict compliance with these principles allows not only to organize management accounting at the enterprise, but also to ensure the development of its method, strengthen its position in the enterprise management system, and therefore their research is relevant and urgent. The purpose of the paper is to study the essence of management accounting principles based on the analysis of the views of research scientists in various literature sources. In the process of research, general scientific methods of cognition are used: historical approach is used to clarify the principles of management accounting in their historical development; logical method is used to establish the essence of each of the principles; system method is applied to determine the composition and number of principles in different scientistsresearchers; method of classification is used to combine the author's views on the principles of management accounting; grouping-to generalize similar principles in essence; graphic method is applied for a visual representation of the obtained research results. The conducted research revealed the lack of consensus on the number, composition and essence of management accounting principles. We analyzed almost twenty literary sources (scientific professional articles, textbooks and manuals), of which 68 principles with 92 author's interpretations of the principles of management accounting were summarized. ОБЛІК, АНАЛІЗ І АУДИТ 92 Випуск IІ (82), 2021 It is established that the overwhelming majority of researchers identify basic (general) and specific (special) principles of management accounting. The largest number (seven definitions each) is proposed in relation to the essence of: methodological principles; the principle of orientation of accounting to achieve strategic goals of the enterprise (strategic orientation); principles related to budgeting processes; the principle of evaluating the performance of structural divisions of the enterprise. Five different definitions are presented in relation to the principles of effectiveness, responsibility and frequency. There are more than 30 principles that are considered by only one author. There is also a tendency to identify fundamentally new principles (for example, moral and ethical ones) in the works of the last two years. It is revealed that in modern conditions, almost all works devoted to the study of management accounting principles determine the importance of global principles developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Privileged Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Although, now the global principles of management accounting are advisory in nature, however, their use seems relevant and appropriate to us for all business entities, regardless of their size, form of ownership, types and features of activity. Prospects for further research are seen in the consideration of the relationship between the principles of management accounting and management principles and the establishment of the quality and features of the manifestation of management accounting principles under the influence of industry-specific features of enterprises ' activities.