While organizational change management is not a new topic to the business world, it remains consistently overlooked in system implementation projects. This oversight often results in implementations that are doomed to fail regardless of how well the system may be designed from a technical standpoint. This Statement on Management Accounting (SMA) considers the human perspective and reaction to change, particularly with projects focused on the implementation of new systems: How and why do individuals typically respond to change in the work environment, and what can be done to ease the impact when negative reactions occur?

    A structured approach to organizational change management will help identify and minimize issues and risk associated with the implementation of a new system or process. This SMA defines and describes organizational change management as it relates to any branch of business and how it applies to management accounting in particular. It details the typical phases of emotional reactions when change is occurring in the workplace and ties these phases to the stages of a typical project management methodology. Ultimately, activities and tools to deliver and control the organizational change management process are presented in actionable terms that may be immediately applied to a workplace environment. The SMA concludes with a description of the methods for assessing the success of change initiatives.