5. Conclusion and suggestions for further studies
SMA as a concept was introduced as an alternative technique of management accounting to measure up with today's competitive and business environment. However, despite its novel introduction, not much has been done to expedite its practical application in firms. This study is only a response to the need for empirical evidence of SMA adoption and application in firms. Consequent to its findings, the study concludes that SMA differs in its approach to the practice of management accounting and has been adopted by banks in Nigeria as a principle of operation and not as a concept. Its adoption has also contributed to the banks in the area of wider market share and competitive advantage. It should however be noted that SMA technique is not a complete replacement of traditional management accounting techniques but a complement.
This study, in itself is not conclusive, and so, its findings only form a basis for further research openings in developing countries. A number of constraints limited its scope. First, it was limited by the dearth of scholarly evidence on the adoption and application of SMA in non-manufacturing firms in developing countries. Second, there are only few theories that have been used in prior studies to support SMA research. Perhaps, this could be one reason why there are many controversies on the term. Third, the study was limited by the indifferent attitudes of the respondents toward responding to the questionnaire. In fact, accessing higher-level managers (strategic managers) was difficult; hence limiting the sample to more of middle (tactical managers) and lower managers (operational managers). The study adopted Simmonds and Bromwich positions on SMA in its investigation; researchers are hereby encouraged to replicate this study adopting Cravens and Guilding’ positions as a merger of extant management accounting techniques.
