Journal of Business & Financial Affairs

While an increasing body of literature progressively proposes that accounting–marketing integration would yield strategic marketing synergies, another stream of literature suggests ineffective accounting–marketing integration. This paper aims to bridge the dyadic research gap in the optimal business performance arising from the integration of accounting and marketing functions. Based on a survey from accounting and marketing managers financial services organisations, this study identifies departmental differences and boundary fencing as core relational features in this dyad. Despite the perceptual divergences in the accounting–marketing dyad, most respondents perceived an integration of these functions to be an effective tool in their respective organisations.

Marketing actions frequently create long-term value yet this is often not recorded in financial accounts. The same records are typically used for internal reporting limiting both recognition of the value created by marketing, and accountability for the misuse of market-based assets. Creating comprehensive “marketing accounts” can mitigate the problems caused by financial accounting's omission of market-based assets. We explain current accounting practice, outline the idea of marketing accounts, and contrast this with current accounting practice.

Roles of accounting and marketing communications in official documents concerned with widening arts engagement in England are examined. Four discourses are identified in a framework as interpretive lenses: metaphysical, modern, postmodern and post-metaphysical. Accounting and marketing communications were associated with all four discourses to some degree. However, accounting was primarily conceptualised by the authors of the documents as a modern discourse, whilst they primarily portrayed marketing communications as a purveyor of postmodern and post-metaphysical discourses.

An important aim of this special issue is to contribute to the interdisciplinary research literature on marketing and accounting. This is important also from a practical point of view since both the marketing and accounting functions are often ‘under attack’ within companies. Drawing on previous research and the individual contributions to the special issue, we identify and discuss three important themes related to the marketing–accounting interface in a changed business landscape: developing the marketing–accounting interface by including and handling important qualitative aspects; developing the marketing–accounting interface by handling and including inter-organisational issues and processes; and developing the marketing–accounting interface by analysing the translation from value creation processes to the monetary dimension.