The Use of Management Accounting in Healthcare

The primary aim of this thesis is to examine the impact of implementing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in particular IFRS 15, on financial and management accounting, and to contribute to a deeper understanding of the interaction between them in the public healthcare sector, with a specific focus on University and Teaching NHS Foundation Trusts in the United Kingdom. The thesis is structured as a cumulative dissertation based on three thematically related published studies. The first study presents a systematic literature review on IFRS 15 and its implementation in practice, providing a broad theoretical foundation and identifying areas for further research. The second empirical study narrows the focus to public healthcare in the United Kingdom and analyses the effects of the transition to IFRS reporting on selected financial indicators, in particular Public Dividend Capital (PDC), illustrating the unintended effects of the change in accounting rules from the state’s perspective. The third quantitative empirical study investigates the impact of implementing IFRS 15 on the financial performance of University and Teaching NHS Foundation Trusts from both financial and management accounting perspectives, demonstrates a statistically significant impact on reported financial performance, and thoroughly analyses its unintended effects. The findings highlight the need to incorporate accounting changes into management control systems and provide recommendations for policymakers and managers of healthcare organisations.