Effect of Information Systems on Management Accounting Adaptability

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to explore the factors relating to the information systems in an organization, and to explain the degree of adaptability of management accounting with those factors. Also, it is aimed to examine whether management accounting adaptability is a suitable predictor for management accounting effectiveness, or not. In this study, the sample consists of the Iranian companies from all industries. To examine the internal consistency of the constructs, exploratory factor analysis was used; and to examine the assumed relationships between the constructs, a partial least squares modeling was developed. The findings suggested that information system flexibility is a driver of management accounting adaptability, while there was no significant direct relationship between integrated information systems and management accounting adaptability. Further analysis revealed that there was a moderating effect of information system flexibility on the relationship between integrated information systems and management accounting adaptability. The findings also highlighted the importance of shared knowledge, values, and communication between stakeholders and information system in the proposed relationship. Finally, the research findings showed that management accounting adaptability leads to management accounting effectiveness due to systems’ ability in providing relevant information in continuous basis that is consistent with management accounting theory.

Keywords

• information systems
• management accounting adaptability
• management accounting effectiveness
• shared knowledge