Cultural analysis of the management accounting application in China

Management accounting is an applied subject. As YU Xu-ying said, it not only embodies the concept of technology, also reflects the fixed concept of social culture. Viewing from the cultural point, this paper analyses the applying status quo of management accounting in China. Its main viewpoints are as follows: management accounting is originated from the West, and its appearance is built on the basis of the West thought of management, so, to a certain degree, it is influenced by the West culture. In fact, its application in China is in a new cultural circumstance so that it is certainly influenced by the Chinese culture, especially the Chinese traditional culture; thus one of the important reasons for the undesirable application of management accounting in China is the difference between the East culture and the West culture. Therefore, the special cultural factor of China should be considered in order to promote what is beneficial and to abolish what is harmful if management accounting is widely applied in China.