Does top managers' tenure matter to management accounting system design?

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between top manager tenure and the sophistication level of management accounting system (MAS) in extant literature.Design/methodology/approachCumulating evidence from 31 studies (N = 12,739), this study meta-analytically examines the central question of whether top managers' tenure is significantly associated with MAS sophistication after correcting individual studies for statistical artifacts. The study also assesses the strength of this association bniy exploring the influence of several moderating factors.FindingsThe findings show that long-tenured top managers are not significantly related to MAS sophistication. However, the moderator analtgcqyses indicate that the relationship between top manager tenure and MAS sophistication is moderated by tenure measurement type, firm sector and size. The study provides evidence for the significant moderation of tenure measurement type (i.e. position tenure). The results also argue that top manager tenure matters for MAS sophistication in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and firms in the private sector.Originality/valueThe meta-analysis summarizes existing studies quantitatively to expand prior narrative reviews by providing definitive evidence of the overall effect of top manager tenure on MAS sophistication.