Exploring the interface between management accounting and marketing: a literature review of customer accounting

Abstract

The availability of customer data has been enhanced in the digital economy, which can be used to measure the performance of marketing activities. Accounting techniques using customer data are collectively called customer accounting (CA). To seek the interface between management accounting and marketing, this study first discusses the three accounting weaknesses (the lack of revenue milepost information, revenue sustainability measurements, and intangibles capitalization) and relate them to marketing concepts (customer journey, customer acquisition and retention, and customer assets). Next, this study reviews literature on CA. Revenue accounting (RA), which focuses on revenue in an accounting period, and aims at the planning and control of marketing. Customer profitability analysis (CPA) has developed in the stream of strategic management accounting. The central focus of CPA is the allocation of selling, general and administrative expenses to individual customers through activity-based costing. Customer lifetime value and customer equity (CLV and CE) focus on the present value of cash flow from customer acquisition and retention. While RA and CPA respectively focus on revenues and costs in an accounting period, CLV and CE take cash flows in all future periods into consideration. Finally, links of each CA tool to the three marketing concepts are discussed to seek further development of CA.