This academic paper reports the findings of a project exploring the contributions of management accounting, reporting practices and performance measurement systems in processes of innovation and change within thirteen companies of various sizes within Europe, the USA and the Middle East.

Based on the findings from these case studies and also drawing on current debates on reporting practices, project management and performance measurement systems, as well as on studies in rhetoric and design thinking, the researchers introduce the concept of management accounting as a “Maieutic Machine” – where Maieutic’ is a term from Greek philosophy referring to the emergence of knowledge through a process of enquiry involving asking a logical sequence of questions.

Such a “Maieutic Machine” enables managers to ask the right questions and search for solutions.

The report provides practical guidelines and examples from industry of what features a maieutic machine should have, how it should be designed and implemented and why management accountants would find it useful in regaining a key position in the governance of decision-making processes within organizations.