As a powerful approach to accounting for competitive advantage, strategic management accounting remains largely unexploited. Externally focused on the market, strategic management accounting integrates insights from management accounting and marketing within a strategic management framework. Consequently it can be distinguished from seemingly related attempts to develop a more strategically significant approach to accounting to management. In addition to debating these issues, the paper draws on field study data to suggest a potentially fruitful advance of the strategic management accounting concept in the form of brand management accounting.