Ekonomistyrningens betydelse för produktivitet på byggprojektnivå

Sammanfattning: The construction industry in Sweden has long been important both for the national economy and the community as a whole. The industry is very sensitive to economic fluctuations. In a downturn, it is important to limit increases in costs, but this also applies during a period of prosperity. Costs can be reduced by increasing productivity on site. Yet, research shows that it is unusual to measure productivity in construction. It is more common to measure variations against the project budget in order to maintain control over the project and its costs. When the actual costs are compared to the budget, it does not only show how much money there is left but also the estimated final cost of the project. This means that the project budget is one of the most important control tools in the construction industry. The main purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the development of theory within the area of the design and use of management accounting and its impact on construction productivity. The research was based on three studies. The first was a literature review which forms the theoretical framework. The second study was a web-based questionnaire survey which was sent to 150 construction site managers in Sweden with the objective of finding out if and how management accounting was used on their construction projects. 49 percent completed and returned the questionnaire. The third study included an interview-based survey. In this study, there were 10 recently finished construction projects. The financial data from each project were examined and then the site manager from each project was interviewed. The purpose was to find out if they had experience of working with management accounting in their projects and, if so, to see if there were any correlation between their management accounting and productivity on the project. A detailed plan in the early stages can form the basis for achieving the project's goals as well as utilizing resources in an optimal way. The findings show that site managers spend a lot of time in planning and follow up actions; however, the lack of human resources in the project organization means there is not enough time to deal with all necessary matters. In this research project, the focus has been on formal management accounting control tools such as budgeting and estimating. Even though these tools are important, the findings from the studies show that other factors are important for increasing construction productivity and improving overall financial results.