Narrative accounting for competence creation

Purpose – The present paper aims to explore what type of information is useful for managers and employees in understanding the company and the requirements for particular jobs within the company. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal study was undertaken in a Swedish company. A number of narratives were collected with the help of asking for stories in the context of an interview, critical‐incident technique and recording of spontaneous storytelling. Findings – The finding in present paper is that narrative accounting is a new way of looking at management accounting. Narrative accounting consists of visualisations and narratives emanating from within an organisation. Research limitations/implications – The present paper explores an area were few studies have been conducted. Practical implications – The usefulness of present paper is that practitioners may understand that there is a need for complements to traditional accounting in the context competence creation. Originality/value – The research shows that narrative accounting is a new way of looking at management accounting.