THE BALANCED SCORECARD: STRUCTURE AND USE IN CANADIAN
COMPANIES
A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
in the Department of Accounting
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon
Marvin J. Soderberg
i
ABSTRACT
This thesis develops a balanced scorecard model based on the attributes of Kaplan
and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard (1992, 1996, 2001). The model is then operationalized
using a survey that is administered to CMAs (Certified Management Accountants)
employed by for profit, Canadian companies with greater than 51 employees. One
hundred and forty nine usable responses were received. The thesis attempts to answer two
research questions: (1) What attributes of a Kaplan & Norton (hereafter K&N) Balanced
Scorecard (BSC) are present in the performance measurement systems of Canadian
organizations? and (2) What are the differences between organizations with different
levels of K&N Balanced Scorecard adoption?
Of the 149 responses, 110 (73.8%) organizations were classified as BSC firms
(Levels 1 to 4) and 39 (26.2%) were classified as non-BSC firms. The 110 BSC firms
were further classified as follows: 15 (13.6%) as Level 1 BSC firms, 14 (12.7%) as Level
2A BSC firms, 20 (18.2%) as Level 2B BSC firms, 25 (22.7%) as Level 3 BSC firms and
36 (32.7%) as Level 4 BSC firms. Thus, based on our conceptual model, we can say that
32.7% of the BSC firms (24.2% of the total respondents) had a fully developed K&N
BSC.
The study found several differences between Level 4 and Level 1 BSC
organizations. For exam ...