THE EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING THEORY: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE IN NIGERIA’S EMERGING ECONOMY

Abstract

This paper tracked management accounting’s shift from classical cost systems to strategy linked packages and, now, digitally enabled control, and translates those lessons for Nigeria’s shock-prone economy. Using a systematised desktop scoping review, it integrates global theory with local realities of exchange-rate swings, inflation, unreliable power, informality and data gaps. Three findings stand out: (1) MA performs best as a package; rolling, banded and relative targets beat fixed annual budgets when shocks are exogenous. (2) In thin or informal markets, hybrid transfer pricing, opportunity cost plus capacity/shadow prices, coordinates choices better than pure market benchmarks. (3) Digital platforms, namely ERP, e-invoicing, and analytics improves speed and auditability only with firm model-risk, privacy and data-lineage governance. The study offers archetype-specific design rules for SMEs, multi-unit consumer firms, financial services/fintech, and the public sector; proposes policy steps on shock-aware governance, FX-linked pricing templates, and incentives for digital adoption; and sets a managerial roadmap for trigger-based planning and governed analytics, alongside a Nigeria-focused research agenda. 
Keywords: Management accounting evolution; Control systems as a package; Rolling forecasts; exchange-rate shocks; informality; data-quality breaks; trigger-based planning; shock-filtered KPIs; archetype-specific design rules .