Supervisors: Thomas Borup Kristensen
Discussants: Panos Mitkidis & Carsten Bergenholtz

Abstract
Amid escalating stress levels observed among employees both locally in Denmark and globally (Gallup, 2023; Pedersen et al., 2023), this Ph.D. seeks to explore the complex interplay between management accounting practices - specifically focusing on budgeting, costing systems, and performance measures - and their profound impact on the psychological well-being of employees.

Despite previous research into the influence of management accounting on employee well-being, differences in findings persist, particularly regarding the limited attention given to the implications for psychological stress (Bedford et al., 2022). To enhance the theoretical understanding of the human implications associated with diverse management accounting techniques, this study employs method theories rooted in psychology (Lukka & Vinnari, 2014).

The research methodology is based on an extensive survey distributed among Danish companies, and on the usage of Danish register data.

Through the presentation of three focused papers, this project aims to examine the significant impact of budgeting characteristics, performance measures, and costing systems on employee psychological safety and stress levels. This research underlines the essential role played by the enhancement of psychological safety and the reduction of stress levels through the implementation of effective management accounting techniques. By emphasizing organizational benefits in terms of increased learning, engagement, and performance, the project wishes to highlight the positive implications of a human-centric approach to management accounting.

Everyone is welcome!