Management accounting in supply chains (or supply chain controlling, SCC) is part of the supply chain management concept. This necessitates planning, monitoring, management and information about logistics and manufacturing processes throughout the value chain. The goal of management accounting in supply chains is to optimise these processes. This strategy focuses on supporting management.

As value chains become more complex due to globalization, supply chain management (SCM) has become increasingly relevant in theory and practice. SCM encompasses extensive management-control tasks. This range of subjects is summarized by the definition of supply-chain controlling. The transfer of existing management control systems (MCM) to the SCM is insufficient because these primarily aim at internal (company) needs. Beyond past-oriented, financial figures there must also be future-oriented measurement; a number of approaches exist in the literature.

Supply-chain management (SCM) has become increasingly relevant in theory and practice in light of more-complex supply chains. The SCM performs extensive operational tasks, including supply-chain controlling. Seuring^[1] transfers the three main concepts of German supply chain-controlling literature into the specific demands of SCM:

The rationality-oriented approach of supply-chain controlling coordinates all participants in the supply chain to improve performance. Common management systems and instruments for performance measurement are developed, enabling guidance for individual companies and the entire supply chain. The coordination-oriented approach supports the supply-chain leadership. Organizational objectives include the selection of strategic partners, the distribution of tasks among companies, process management and ensuring the provision of information to all participants. The information-oriented supply-chain controlling concept emphasizes providing partners with relevant information for decision-making. An efficient reporting structure must be implemented, including strategic and operative organizations in the system and their technical aspects.

A requirement for the supply chain is the support of cooperating companies, ensuring future cooperation; companies must focus on common tools and targets. For this, an understanding of processes within the participating companies is indispensable.^{[according to whom?]} Information exchange (including sensitive data) within a supply chain is necessary to ensure its control, with coordination among in-house information systems. The requirements for management accounting in supply chains are significantly higher than the provision of key figures, but this is a fundamental task.

The tasks and functions of controlling may be transferred to management accounting in supply chains, supplemented by a cross-company approach. However, the past-oriented aspects of the traditional concept are inappropriate. Due to the strategic importance of supply-chain management, forward-looking control requirements must be taken into account. Because of the complexity of a supply chain, a focus on interface management is necessary. In the literature, several tasks and functions are defined. Management accounting in supply chains has the following features:

• Planning
• Monitoring and control
• Information supply
• Coordination
• Rationality and reflection

Because of different controlling directions, in management accounting of supply chains different aims are pursued and influence each other. Again, the challenge is the cross-company factor. Independent companies must agree on a common strategy for the SCM and define common aims. Two types of aims exist: direct and indirect.

Management accounting in supply chains draws on modified traditional instruments of managerial accounting to accomplish cross-company objectives. There are two measuring instruments: the supply-chain map^[2] and the supply-chain operations reference (SCOR).^[3]

• Supply chain
• Supply chain management
• Management control system