A bridge to success: the role of management accountants’ intellectual capital in driving organizational decision-making through knowledge management

Purpose This manuscript aims to focus on the evolution of management accountants’ (MAs) intellectual capital (IC) through the lenses of knowledge management (KM), emphasizing their knowledge, competencies and roles in the decision-making process for organizational success. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a systematic literature review, analyzing 118 articles published between 1980 and 2023 in Scopus-indexed and ABS-ranked journals. Findings The analysis reveals that company size, country, uncertainty, sustainability and technology significantly influenced and will continue to impact MAs’ IC evolution, and, consequently, KM and strategic decision-making. However, the type of organization – public or private – was not found to have a significant influence. In addition, this paper profiles the evolution of MAs’ skills, which nowadays range from professional to methodological to soft. Finally, the authors define four MA role categories – scorekeeper, watchdog, business partner and hybrid. Both roles and skills turn out to be crucial to perform not only traditional accounting tasks, but also to provide support in the strategy formulation process. Practical implications By identifying the necessary roles and skills for MAs, this manuscript assists in identifying potential gaps that may threaten organizational success. Managers could use this framework to design skills or role development programs, enhancing the competence portfolio and role tasks within their management accounting teams. Originality/value This work bridges a critical research gap by investigating the evolving roles and skills of MAs, from 1980 to 2023, in various contexts, through the lenses of KM. It also highlights research trends and knowledge gaps in the management accounting field and provides valuable theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research directions.