Relationship between Management Accounting and Business Efficiency - the Intermediate Role of Management Efficiency: A Case Study of Small and Medium Enterprises in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Management accounting is a reliable source of information in business activities. However, up to now, there have not been many complete and systematic studies on the factors affecting and the interaction between the implementation of management accounting and the business performance of enterprises. This is a challenging issue for policymakers and business managers. This study, using data from a survey of 370 SMEs in the Mekong Delta, applied the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling in the analysis. The research results show that there is a positive linear relationship between management accounting and business efficiency of enterprises through the intermediate factors of management efficiency. Factors affecting the implementation of management accounting include enterprise size, market competition, business owner awareness, and professional qualification of the accounting team.


Introduction
Management accounting is a reliable source of information in business operations and influences management decisions and business performance. However, so far, there have not been many comprehensive and systematic studies on the influencing factors and interactions between the implementation of management accounting and the business performance of enterprises. The study of the above relationship has practical significance, contributing to the development and improvement of business efficiency for enterprises. This study focuses on (i) Determining the factors affecting the performance of management accounting and its influence on business performance; (ii) Build a quantitative analysis model of this relationship; (iii) Policy implications from research results. The study conducted a survey of 390 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam to create a practical basis for the measurement model. The Mekong Delta is always considered an area with significant economic development compared to the whole country with 55,089 businesses and over 768 trillion VND registered in capital. Among enterprises in the Mekong Delta, medium-sized enterprises accounted for 28.3%, small and micro enterprises accounted for 68.4%. Due to the large geographical distance, the study selects a sample of five provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region: Can Tho City and provinces Long An, An Giang, Dong Thap, and Ca Mau. These are also localities with a larger number of active SMEs than other provinces in the region Vietnam (Ministry of Planning and Investment, 2020).

Foundation Theory
Institutional theory of organizations is an adaptive change processes framework. It examines the impact of external environmental factors and market conditions on organizational change and growth (Barnett and Caroll, 1995). Applying institutional theory, Burns and Scapens (2000) consider the change in management accounting as a change in the rules and habits of the organization. According to Meyer and Rowan (1977) formal and informal management accounting change is used to imply that change is not specifically directed (formal change), but can develop from actions. The intention of individuals to enact and change the habits of the organization (informal change). Formal change occurs through the introduction of new management accounting systems and techniques which, in turn, cause the organization to change including its operations. Thus, management accounting practice includes formal practices such as valuation systems, pricing techniques, financial systems, performance evaluation systems, and strategic accounting Smith et al. (2008). This theory explains the implementation of management accounting applied by businesses.
Contingency theory states that the effectiveness of an organization's operation depends on its foundation. That is, the effectiveness of an organization depends on its ability to cope with the uncertainty of the business environment (Morton and Hu, 2008). The traditional school of thought holds that similar organizations can share an optimal structure for all (Weber, 1947). However, in reality there is always a significant change in the organizational structure. Contrary to traditional theory, it is unable to confirm that there can be a single best and all-encompassing organizational structure. Otley (1980), applied contingency theory to management accounting practice and explained that there is no single universal standard accounting practice that can be applied to all organizations. This theory considers certain influencing factors that will assist management in deciding to choose an appropriate management accounting practice. These factors can be changes in the technology and infrastructure of an organization. The contingency view suggests that an effective management accounting system should accommodate both internal and external factors (Battilana and Casciaro, 2012). Internal factors can be likened to similar ownership structures or management teams and key personnel; external factors such as technological change, competition and market forces.
Scientific management theory of Taylor and Person (1947) shows that the important principles of management are: Each part of an individual's job is analyzed in an "scientific" way, and the most effective method of doing so is proposed "one best way" to do. This includes checking the conditions necessary to do the job and measuring the maximum output that a "best" employee can do; then employees have to do this work every day. The person suited best for the job is selected, again "scientifically". The individual is trained to do the job in the exact way it is intended. According to Taylor, everyone has the ability to be "the best" at some job. The role of management is to find out which job is right for each employee and train them until they reach the top. Managers must cooperate with workers to ensure that the work is done in a scientific manner. There is a clear "division" of work and responsibilities between management and employees. Managers are concerned with planning and monitoring work, and employees carry out it.
The above theories are related to this study, in which it is important to explain the cognitive nature of management accounting, the ability to apply management accounting and effective management of enterprises.

Experimental Studies
Small and medium enterprises are enterprises with small scale in terms of capital, labor or revenue. According to Ayyagari et al. (2003), according to the World Bank's criteria, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are enterprises with less than 200 employees, capital and revenue from 15 million USD or less. In Vietnam, Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP (Nguyen, 2018), SMEs are defined according to the criteria of labor, capital and revenue according to different production and business fields. Management accounting: The field of accounting includes three main areas: financial accounting, management accounting and auditing. In particular, management accounting involves creating accounting information for management and employees to assist them in performing their work (Caplan, 2006). Management accounting is an important tool to provide appropriate information for managers to make business decisions and it is not only widely applied in multinational business organizations around the world but also in medium-sized enterprises in developing countries. Moreover, management accounting has been playing an important role in business activities of enterprises (Ndwiga, 2011). According to Kamilah and Zabri (2018), the implementation of management accounting is the building of an information system in an organization to provide reliable information to add value to customers and the organization, through which, good performance of management accounting will facilitate effective decision making and assist organizations in promoting business activities.
Factors affecting the implementation of management accounting: Since the early 2000s, many researches around the world have identified the factors affecting the implementation of management accounting in enterprises, including: Competition in the market (Kordlouie and Hosseinpour, 2018;Nair and Nian, 2017;Wu and Boateng, 2007); Size of the firm (Ahmad and Zabri, 2018;Godil et al., 2019;Lucas et al., 2013;Nair and Nian, 2017); Perceptions of business owners/ administrators of management accounting (Ahmad and Zabri, 2018;Nguyen et al., 2019); Professional qualifications of accountants (Godil et al., 2019;Lucas et al., 2013;Nair and Nian, 2017). Based on empirical studies, the study proposes the following hypotheses: H1: The size of the business affects the performance of management accounting; H2: Competition in the market affects the performance of management accounting; H3: Perception of business owners/ administrators affects the performance of management accounting; H4: The professional qualification of accountants affects the performance of management accounting. Implementation of management accounting, management efficiency and business efficiency: Effective management: Facing a highly competitive market environment, forming marketing strategies, consolidating business operations and upgrading service quality have become essential for business survival. Effective management is an important tool to help enterprises survive and sustain themselves in a competitive environment. It is expressed through the comparison between the optimal output and input of a business. Furthermore, management efficiency is the result of production and business activities that reflect the ability, with constant inputs, to maximize output with effective management has motivated them to value customers in participating and purchasing products and services (Sun, 2019 ).
Business efficiency: According to Business Ratios Guidebook (2020), business performance of enterprises is measured by the ratio of net profit to sales (Return on sales, ROS). In which, net profit is profit after tax. This indicator shows how much profit per dollar of revenue. The larger the ROS, the higher the business performance. According to Liu et al. (2011), the ratio of net return to total assets (ROA) is also a measure of business performance of the enterprise because assets are used to support other business activities. It determines whether the company can generate a commensurate return on assets rather than on revenue. This indicator shows how much profit for a dollar of investment property. The larger the ROA, the higher the business performance. Return on equity (ROE) is also a measure of an enterprise's business performance (Carter and Jones-evans, 2009;Sylvester and Austin, 2019).
Performing management accounting will provide forecast information for business managers and investors to evaluate expected future financial in terms of income, revenue, expected cash flow, non-financial information such as risk and uncertainty (Bravo and Dolores, 2019). Thus, implementing management accounting will affect the efficiency of enterprise management (Phornlaphatrachakorn and Na-kalasindhu, 2020). Management efficiency is a factor that determines the performance of an enterprise and its profitability. It can be measured in two respects, such as the difference between its actual performance and what could be achieved under best practice decisions (Chang and Ma, 2019;Sun, 2019 ). Since 2000, many empirical studies have shown that when enterprises use management accounting well, their management efficiency and business performance will be higher (Alleyne and Weekes-Marshall, 2011;Merchant and Van der, 2003;Mitchell et al., 2000;Nuhu et al., 2016;Phornlaphatrachakorn and Na-kalasindhu, 2020;Sylvester and Austin, 2019). In addition, studies on SMEs in Palestine and Pakistan show that the level of competition in market and the size of enterprises have a positive impact on business efficiency. In addition, research on enterprises in Palestine and SMEs in Pakistan shows that the level of competition and the size of enterprises have a positive impact on business performance of enterprises (Ojra, 2014;Saeed et al., 2013). Based on experimental studies.
Based on the empirical studies, this study proposes the following hypothesis: H5: Implementing management accounting has a positive impact on the efficiency of enterprise management; H6: Effective management has a positive impact on business performance of enterprises; H7: Enterprise size has a positive impact on business performance of enterprises; H8: The level of competition in market has a positive impact on business performance of enterprises.

Research Model
Theoretical review and empirical research are needed for further research to extend the theory, provide more empirical evidence and management implications related to implementation of management accounting and business efficiency of the enterprise. Previous studies highlight insights into the impact of implementation of management accounting on business efficiency, and measure relationships using different qualitative models, independent metrics such as exploratory factor analysis or separate regression models, but do not provide an adequate basis for a comprehensive analytical framework on business efficiency. Therefore, the aim of this study is to extend the findings from previous studies on the above relationship and integrate analysis of the relationships in the linear structural model. The research team selected the research model for SMEs in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam as follows:

Measurement
All scales are adjusted from previous studies with some adjustments to suit the research context in Vietnam. We designed three processes for conducting surveys. First, we surveyed using the expert method to discuss with financial industry experts, including with SME financial management experts including 10 with at least five years of experience working in these financial regulatory agencies in Can Tho City. They then suggested some adjustments to ensure that the questionnaire is relevant to the context of Vietnam. Second, pilot survey with 20 business owners or business managers in Can Tho City to re-check the survey questionnaire for no errors and appropriate content. Thirdly, surveying enterprises in five typical provinces and cities (Can Tho City, provinces of Long An, An Giang, Dong Thap, and Ca Mau), enterprises have experienced in implementing management accounting. A total of 390 SMEs respondents filled out the questionnaire. The survey sample was selected based on the respondents' willingness to participate in the study.
A five-way Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" was used to measure all observed variables: "Business size", "Market competition", "Professional qualifications of accountants", and "Implement management accounting" with 17 observed variables were included in the questionnaire. The measurement factors are based on the scale of Nair and Nian (2017) in the study on the implementation of management accounting for SMEs in Malaysia, developed by the authors appropriate to the context of Vietnam based on the results of the expert discussion. Measuring the scale of "Management efficiency", three observed variables based on research on SMEs in Thailand by Phornlaphatrachakorn and Na-kalasindhu (2020). Measuring "Business efficiency", four observed variables were included in the questionnaire. The measurement elements of this scale are based on the assessment of Lucas et al. (2013) and were developed by the authors as a result of expert discussions. To measure the scale "Perception of business owners", four observed variables were included in the questionnaire. The measurement factors for these scales are based on the scale of Nguyen et al. (2019). A detailed measurement table of the scale and observed variables is available in Appendix.

Data Collection and Processing
The survey was conducted for 390 SMEs in the Mekong Delta. The survey was conducted from June to December 2019. After data processing, 370 observations were guaranteed to be relevant and used for data analysis.
Because of the theoretical model with a set of interrelationships, the linear structural model (Partial Least Square -Structural Equation Model, PLS-SEM) was used to test the above hypotheses (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988;Kline, 1998). The analysis of the linear structure is performed according to a process consisting of four steps: (i) Reliability test of scale; (ii) Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA); (iii) Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA); and (iv) Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Data analysis was done using SPSS and AMOS 20.0 software.

Description of Survey
-Production and business fields: Among 370 surveyed enterprises, the production and business sectors of enterprises are in the fields of Trade and services, Industry and construction, and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.    The results shown in Table 2 show that: All the observed variables satisfy the conditions in the reliability analysis of the scale through the coefficient Alpha > 0.6 and variable-total correlation > 0.3 (Nunnally and Burnstein, 1994).  (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988;Hair et al., 2006).

Exploratory Factor Analysis
The results presented in Table 3 show that: the factors of IMA are extracted into four factors corresponding to the measured variables of the theoretical model with the total variance extracted is 66.372% at the Eigenvalue of 1.624; EFA of IMA is extracted into four observed variables with extracted variance of 68.859% at Eigenvalue of 2.756. EFA of MEFF is extracted into three observed variables with extracted variance of 76.576% at Eigenvalue of 2.297. EFA of BEFF is extracted into four observed variables with extracted variance of 70.933% at Eigenvalue of 2.837; The EFA was conducted by Promax Rotation Method.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis
The measurement model that is consistent with the actual data must be consistent with five measures: (i) Cmin/df; (ii) TLI, (iii) CFI, (iv) NFI; and (v) RMSEA (Gefen et al., 2011). Based on Figure 2, the results of the measure values of the confirmatory factor analysis are presented in Table 3.   (Bentler and Bonett, 1980;Hu and Bentler, 1995) 1517 Good 2 Tucker-Lewis Index The closer the TLI is to 1, the more appropriate; TLI > 0.90 Consistent; TLI ≥ 0.95 in good agreement (Hu and Bentler, 1995) 0.962 Good 3 Comparative Fit Index CFI > 0.90; 0 < CFI < 1, The closer to 1, the more suitable (Bagozii and Jy, 1988;Hu and Bentler, 1995) 0.967 Good 4 Normal Fit Index NFI, the closer to 1, the more suitable; NFI close to 0.90, accepted; NFI > 0.95 Good fit. (Chin and Todd, 1995;Hu and Bentler, 1995) 0.910 Good 5 Root Mean Square Error Approximation (RMSEA) RMSEA < 0.05, the model fits well; RMSEA < 0.08, accepted; The smaller the better (Bentler and Bonett, 1980;Browne and Cudeck, 1993) 0.037 Good Table 4 shows that the measurement model is consistent with the actual data.

Figure-7. Results of the linear structural analysis
The results presented in Figure 7 show that: the model has a value of Cmin/df = 1.906; TLI = 0.934; CFI = 0.940; NFI = 0.882; and RMSEA = 0.05. Thus, the integrated model fits the actual data.   Table 6 shows that factors affecting "IMA" in order of influence from high to low: COM, SIZE, QUAL, and MPER. Factors affecting "BEFF" in order of influence from high to low: MEFF, SIZE, and COM. Implementing management accounting (IMA) has a positive impact on management efficiency (MEFF). Effective management has a positive impact on Business efficiency (BEFF), with a confidence level of over 95% (In Table 5).

Discussion and Management Implications
Firstly, the factors affecting the implementation of management accounting include: enterprise size, market competition, perception of business owners, and professional qualifications of accountants. This result is similar to the study on Malaysian SMEs by Nair and Nian (2017). Enterprises should focus on (i) raising the size of the enterprise's capital by increasing revenue, continuing to expand its scale and expanding its branches; (ii) Pay attention to improving the competitiveness of enterprises in the market; (iii) Raise awareness of the role of modern management accounting in enterprises; and (v) Regularly improve the qualifications of accountants. Second, the implementation of management accounting affects management efficiency, and consequently affects the business efficiency of enterprises. Third, management efficiency, enterprise size, market competition affect business efficiency. Fourth, management efficiency plays an intermediary role in the relationship between the implementation of management accounting and business efficiency. This result is similar to the study on SME in Thailand by Phornlaphatrachakorn and Na-kalasindhu (2020) and the study on SME in Palestine and Pakistan (Ojra, 2014;Saeed et al., 2013). Therefore, improving the management accounting system should be considered in the strategies and plans for SME development.

Conclusions and limitations of the Study
The present study aims to extend the theoretical framework and provide evidence in empirical results on the implementation of management accounting and business efficiency, with evidence from SMEs in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings highlight a strong intermediate role of management efficiency. The study also provides some insight into the interweaving relationship between factors through the Structural Equation Model.
The study has certain limitations. The survey subjects were only taken from SMEs in the Mekong Delta, which limits the generalizability of the study. Future research should examine different types of SMEs, in other regions, and make comparisons to enhance the generalizability of the findings. Moreover, this study only considers the factors of the implementation of management accounting and management efficiency impact on business efficiency because there are other factors affecting business efficiency that this study has not mention.

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Accountants understand how providing appropriate information to senior managers will affect the performance of management accounting QUAL4 18 Accountants with a high degree of professional training in accounting will affect the implementation of management accounting. QUAL5 V Implement management accounting IMA 19 Implement management accounting in making budget estimates IMA1 20 Implement management accounting in the content of responsibility accounting IMA2 21 Implement management accounting in accounting content of production costs and product prices IMA3 22 Implement management accounting in providing relevant information for decision making IMA4 VI Management efficiency MEFF 23 We can gain an actual performance that is better than operational inputs MEFF1 24 We achieve a goal in deciding for a selection of best operational strategies MEFF2 25 We have an actual outcome following the expected plan MEFF3 VII Business efficiency BEFF 26 SMEs implementing good management accounting will increase the rate of return on assets (ROA-Return on Total Assets) BEFF1 27 SMEs implementing good management accounting will increase the rate of return on equity (ROE-Return on common equity) BEFF2

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SMEs implementing good management accounting will increase the ratio of net profit on sales (ROS-Return on Sale) BEFF3

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SMEs implementing good management accounting will increase the ratio of net profit on cost (ROS-Return on cost) BEFF4