A contingency model of perceived effectiveness in accounting information systems: Organizational coordination and control effects

A contingency model is advanced that examines sources of requirements for organizational coordination and control as they affect the extent of integration in an accounting information system. Requirements that are contingent on the degree of organizational formalization, information interdependence among functional areas, and dependence in interorganizational information sharing and electronic data interchange links, are examined. The congruence or fit of system integration with those requirements is a key concept that influences beliefs about system effectiveness. Results of the empirical study indicated that, as hypothesized, the fit between the accounting system design and the contingency factors resulted in a more successful system. Specifically, system fit was a significant factor that explained variations in perceived AIS effectiveness, as measured by decision makers' perceived satisfaction with the accuracy and monitoring effectiveness of output information. The effect of system fit on a second factor of perceived AIS effectiveness, as measured by decision-makers' satisfaction with the perceived quality of information content in system outputs, was only marginally significant. The study addresses an important area in accounting systems research that directly relates to the decision facilitation and control objectives of accounting information.     

论信息需求与会计信息系统的发展

本文通过回顾信息需求在会计信息系统发展历程中的重要作用,认为信息需求是推动会计信息系统发展的直接动力,但信息需求的扩张受到信息技术和管理认知水平的制约。在此基础上,针对日益增多的信息需求群体和复杂多变的信息需求内容与现行会计信息系统之间的矛盾,提出了建立“需求决定型”会计信息系统的设想。     

Impact of accounting process characteristics on accounting outsourcing - Comparison of users and non-users of cloud-based accounting information systems

Prior literature informs us that a company's decision to outsource a business process depends on process characteristics such as how frequently the process is performed or how specific the assets required by the process are. In this article, we compare the effects of accounting process characteristics on outsourcing decisions across users of traditional and cloud-based accounting information systems (AIS). By focusing on outsourcing of accounting processes among small and medium sized enterprises, we investigate the effect of five business process characteristics (frequency, human asset specificity, uncertainty, information intensity, and need for customer contact) on the outsourcing decision. Our results reveal that process frequency has a weaker negative effect on the outsourcing decision among users of cloud-based AIS. This appears to contribute to users of cloud-based AIS outsourcing a larger variety of accounting processes. Compared to traditional AIS, the inherent properties of cloud-based AIS such as ubiquitous access, scalability, and integration seem to encourage users of cloud-based AIS to also outsource processes that are frequently performed.     

论会计在实体经济与虚拟经济互动中的传导作用

论文探讨会计在经济体系(由实体经济与虚拟经济组成)中的作用方式及其后果。实体经济与虚拟经济基于二者之间的价值联系而互动,会计是实体经济与虚拟经济互动运行中的信号传导机制。会计真实反映的特点决定了会计计量会如实反映市场价格波动,并通过财务报告披露的传导、信息使用者非理性行为放大市场价格波动幅度,如此,会计与虚拟经济、实体经济形成一个循环因果累积的过程。经济发展的波动性和周期性是这个循环因果累积过程的结果。论文从宏观视角认识会计的经济角色,解读会计与经济周期性波动的关系,推演出会计信息披露和信息使用的改革方向。     

Reimagining design science and behavioral science AIS research through a business activity lens

In this paper, we present a novel approach for reimagining the scope and impact of design science and behavioral science accounting information systems (AIS) research. We do so by first explicitly considering the broad impact of accounting on business functions. The proliferation of information technology throughout the organization coupled with the blurring of the lines between “accounting” and “business” activities has spawned a world where (technology-enabled) accounting has truly become the language of (technology-driven) business. Leveraging the International Standards Organization model of the phases of business activity, we highlight how utilization of information systems artifacts in each business activity phase yields a broad array of AIS research questions. Second, we encourage design science and behavioral science AIS research to work synergistically, such that the outputs of each paradigm inform the research conducted in the other paradigm. We suggest that a more purposeful integration of design science and behavioral science AIS research over time can improve the rigor and relevance of AIS research to advance knowledge in the field, amplify the impact of AIS research for our colleagues in both accounting and information systems, and improve the practical applicability of the research findings.     

How information systems influence user decisions: a research framework and literature review

Technology has created new information alternatives that may influence the way information system users make decisions. This paper proposes a research framework for examining how features of an information system affect the decision-making process. The framework is synthesized by merging frameworks from the accounting information systems (AIS) literature and the human information processing (HIP) literature. The framework is then used to organize a literature review of 15 journals from 1987 through mid-1999, which identified 57 decision-making studies. Findings indicate that a wide range of opportunities is available for information systems research on issues of contemporary importance. This discussion includes changes in the decision process initiated by implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, data warehouses, electronic commerce, virtual organizations, on-line financial reporting, and disaggregated financial statement information.     

Disclosure of outsourcing in the annual report: Causes and market returns effects

Firms increasingly are utilizing outsourcing to enhance or maintain their competitiveness. Prior research shows that capital markets value a firm's decision to outsource. This study uses a sample of firms announcing outsourcing arrangements in a press release to examine which factors are associated with the subsequent decision to voluntarily provide or withhold information about outsourcing in their annual report. The paper also examines whether annual report disclosure is a reliable signal of future market performance. We find that underperforming firms, larger firms, and firms experiencing negative outsourcing announcement market returns and negative long-term market returns are more likely to disclose outsourcing in their annual reports. There is also evidence that firms' disclosure of outsourcing in the annual report signals an improvement in market performance that is credible to the capital markets. We contend that the disclosure and subsequent firm performance issues we investigate apply to any type of outsourcing arrangement, and therefore our results are relevant to future information systems research on this subject. Our findings also suggest that regulatory standards could reduce private information search costs for investors by providing a common disclosure methodology for outsourcing activities.     

The effects of decision aid structural restrictiveness on cognitive load,perceived usefulness,and reuse intentions

As accounting environments become increasingly automated through information technology support systems, the underlying systems are increasingly restrictive in an effort to direct user behavior and decision making. However, consistent with the theory of technology dominance, restrictive systems have been found to dominate users' decision processes and to have a detrimental effect when decisions require knowledge from outside the system's capability. This study expands upon this research through an examination of users' preferences for more (less) restrictive systems based on their own level of domain knowledge. Incorporating theory on task technology fit, we theorize that users with less knowledge will prefer to be dominated by the system, while users with greater levels of knowledge will prefer a system that provides the user with a level of control over the decision process rather than submitting entirely to the decision aid's control. These theorizations are empirically tested through an experimental design that varies the level of systems restrictiveness across groups of novice and experienced participants. The results confirm that novice (experienced) participants find a highly restrictive system substantially (minimally) reduces cognitive load, increases (decreases) usefulness of the decision aid, and strengthens (weakens) the intention to reuse the system in the future. The results add an important piece to understanding the effect of restrictive systems in that the users that are most susceptible to dominance by decision aids are the users most willing to adopt a restrictive system that reduces the effort they must put forth and in turn reduces the knowledge they accrue from using the system.     

The market for lawyers and quality layers in legal services

We study the functioning of the market for lawyers, considering the strategic interaction among litigants, lawyers, and judges. We investigate the value of legal representation and of systems of quality certification, such as the Queen’s Counsel system. In our setting, higher quality lawyers obtain better‐quality evidence and are better able to interpret it. Judges receive information from the lawyers and have reputational concerns. We show that reputational concerns generate a decision bias in favor of certified lawyers and that this causes misallocation of lawyers at the market equilibrium. As a result, whereas a higher quality of lawyers increases welfare, public information over quality may be welfare reducing.     

A conceptual foundation of design and implementation research in accounting information systems

This structured literature review focuses on the design and implementation of systems in Accounting Information System (AIS) research. The review has two objectives: 1) To look in depth at AIS research regarding the design and implementation of information systems related to accounting in the last fifteen years; 2) To understand design and implementation issues in AIS. To do so, this research examines the current state of design and implementation research in the domain of AIS, using a structured review of abstracts in top-level Information Systems, Accounting, and AIS journals. Using a design science in IS theoretical framework, the review categorizes themes and trends in AIS literature. Some of the most relevant themes include audit/auditors, enterprise resource planning, monitoring and control, adoption, and decision making. The most relevant issues include training, commitment, investment, culture, and existing business processes. The research includes gaps, limitations, and opportunities for future research.     

AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE “FIT”BETWEEN STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN

This paper was motivated by the limited understanding of the role of accounting vis a vis other information in supporting the needs of management. The paper reports the findings of a study which examined differences in the design parameters of management information systems in firms adopting different strategic priorities. Based on a sample of 49 business unit general managers, the findings indicate that the effectiveness of business units is dependent on a match between the design of the information system and the firm's strategic posture. Information systems which have the characteristics of a broad scope system were found to be more effective in firms employing a strategy of continuous product/market development and innovation (Prospectors) than in firms which were protecting a comparatively narrow and stable product-market (Defenders). The results have important implications for management accountants involved in the design and implementation of management information systems, especially in firms adopting a more innovative strategic posture. In particular, the study sheds light on the role of accounting as part of the “mosaic” of information provided to managers for decision making.     

An analysis of the research productivity of AIS faculty

During the past 25 years, a number of articles have examined the accounting research productivity of individual faculty members and institutions. Many articles have focused on the quantity of publications, with a few incorporating a quality measurement component. Concurrently, other research efforts have examined the quality of the journals that are considered to be potential outlets for a broad, cross-section of accounting academics. These studies, taken as a whole, have provided valuable insights into the research productivity across the domain of accounting academics. The purpose of this paper is to examine research in the subdiscipline of AIS, from both a quantity and quality perspective and evaluate both institutional productivity and individual faculty productivity. Information from all AIS research published from 1982 through 1998 in 45 accounting and information systems journals was collected and analyzed. Using this data, we show which journals are considered the highest quality outlets for AIS publications, which faculty have published the most AIS research, which employing institutions are rated highest in AIS research productivity and which doctoral granting institutions are rated the highest for AIS research productivity. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the AIS research domain and to accounting by providing valuable insights into the quality of AIS research.     

Towards a meta-theory of accounting information systems

The purpose of this paper is to articulate a model for accounting information systems (AIS) research that synthesizes the primary theoretical perspectives of the extant literature. Building on the three orientations used in prior research (technological, organizational and cognitive approaches) and adopting an explicit systems perspective, we develop a model that links system design alternatives to the three orientations and to task performance. The model places a central focus on the accounting task and suggests a matching process between requirements of the task and system design alternatives at multiple levels of analysis. We also demonstrate how the application of the model suggests future research opportunities, organized around four research propositions.     

The expert systems life cycle in AIS research: What does it mean for future AIS research?

Accounting information system (AIS) is the intersection of the accounting domains and the computer science and information systems domains. Periodically, new technology emerges that generates a new AIS research to explore the application of that technology to the accounting domains. AIS researchers compete with researchers in information systems, computer science, electrical engineering, plus other technology-related disciplines. AIS researchers are also frequently competing with the organizations (e.g., accounting firms) that have resources that far exceed academic resources. This paper explores the life cycle of expert systems research by accounting researchers to provide general insights into the roles of accounting researchers in technology domains. From 1980 through 2011, 315 accounting-related expert systems papers were published. Those publications generally transitioned through the industry life cycle stages. The peak years were the early 1990s. Although most of the expert system publications appeared in AIS-oriented publications, by the 2005–2011 timeframe, a little more than 50% appeared in non-system journals. There were 387 unique authors involved in writing the 315 articles. Interestingly, 20 (5.2%) authors wrote 58% of the papers and 311 (80.4%) authors wrote just one paper. In the practice community, Brown (1991) listed 43 expert systems in use or under development at the Big 6. Any use of expert systems in the firms ended in the late 1990s.     

Activity-based costing user satisfaction and type of system: A research note

This paper examines user perceptions of Activity-based costing (ABC) performance for three different types of system in a major information and communication provider in South East Asia. Few prior ABC studies have considered the effect of system type on ABC performance. The study draws on a survey of 54 developers and 181 users of 16 different ABC systems within the organisation to produce five performance constructs (cost accuracy, cost-benefit trade-off, ABC impact, information use, and decision action). The results show that both the development inputs and user performance perceptions varied with the type of system (embedded, stand-alone, ad-hoc). While embedded systems enjoyed far stronger inputs (e.g. top management support, rewards and recognition, task significance) and greater development team cohesion than stand-alone systems, they were perceived by users to perform significantly less well. These findings suggest that system type is an important factor in assessing ABC performance.     

会计信息系统规划特征与可信性关系研究

本文在大量调研中国企业和用户的基础上,以会计信息系统的可信性为切入点,对影响可信性的行为和后果进行了理论探讨和实证研究。研究发现:(1)会计信息系统初期的规划行为对系统的日后运行产生明显影响,其中合规性、可控性、参与性与可审计性等规划特征对会计信息系统的可信性影响较大,且程度各异;(2)对会计信息系统可信性影响包括规划时的技术因素和管理因素,后者大于前者。最后,文章给出提高会计信息系统可信性的几点建议和措施,包括从战略规划阶段开始重视会计信息系统的可信性问题;将会计目标导向性及各部门人员的参与性嵌入系统的规划过程等举措。     

Control,organisation and accounting

Organisation control is a subject of fundamental importance to the designer of accounting control systems. Yet discussions of accounting control tend to take place against a back-cloth of incomplete and outmoded theories of organisation and simplistic and authoritarian concepts of control. In this paper, the applicability of a cybernetic model of control to the control of human organisations is explored, with particular reference to the role of accounting information systems. The analysis uncovers a number of issues that require resolution before the model can be applied to accounting information system design. Some directions for research on accounting controls are discussed.     

The Limited-Service Brokerage Decision: Theory and Evidence

This study examines the home seller’s brokerage services decision, comparing full-service brokerage and limited-service arrangements. A model is developed which considers seller motivation and availability of effort, along with the cost of brokerage services, broker productivity and market dynamics as factors of influence in this decision. Limited-service arrangements are found to have a significant impact on price and marketing time. The popularity of limited-service arrangements is strongly influenced by the total dollar cost of brokerage services, which, in turn, is determined by housing market conditions.