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.     

Can knowledge based systems be designed to counteract deskilling effects?

Recent calls in the information systems research community argue that we know intelligent systems deskill users, and future research should focus on how to design systems that do not deskill, rather than continue to examine whether the phenomenon occurs. This should be a wakeup call for public accounting firms focused on implementing restrictive audit support systems, which leads to de-skilling of novice accounting professionals. Our research focuses on redesigning knowledge-based systems to facilitate expertise development and counteract the de-skilling effects that result from use of such systems. Specifically, we manipulate the design of the system interface by providing information cues in a screen format consistent with expert knowledge representations and manipulate automatic provision versus voluntary use of explanations for users during task completion. Results show that after using the knowledge-based system to complete a series of reenacted client engagements over a three-day period, both the interface design manipulation and automatic provision of explanations had a positive effect on novice accounting professionals’ development of expert-like knowledge structures. The results of the study have important implications for the development of knowledge-based systems intended to support accounting professionals’ (and other knowledge workers’) expertise development processes.     

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.     

Formal Analysis of Segregation of Duties (SoD) in Accounting: A Computational Approach

This study examines a computational framework for segregation of duties (SoD) in the design as well as implementation of accounting systems. The framework consists of a model of workflows in accounting systems based on workflow graphs, a partial order model of roles performed by the actors in the accounting system, and a specification of SoD rules. We develop a set of algorithms for four SoD rules that can be used in the enforcement of SoD. For the SoD rule that precludes task type conflicts, our results show that while compliance verification can be carried out efficiently, finding an SoD compliant assignment of tasks is computationally intractable. For those situations, we present an integer linear programming (ILP) formulation for finding compliant assignments using public domain ILP solvers. For the remaining three SoD rules, we demonstrate efficient ways of testing compliance for a given assignment as well as finding compliant assignments.     

Determinants of accounting innovation implementation

Accounting innovations are often not successfully implemented or diffused throughout the organization. This study seeks to explain this phenomenon. One of the major impediments to the successful implementation of accounting innovation is that management accounting systems are generally used to serve the decision control needs of top management while at the same time purportedly supporting the decision management needs of lower level managers. To the extent that the accounting system is used for decision control, innovation creates the potential for wealth effects to occur. This prompts managers, whose wealth will be negatively affected, to resist accounting innovation. We present conditions where it is likely for negative wealth effects to occur. Under these conditions the system will fail to achieve its intended objectives. Our theoretical model examines how decentralization choices influence resistance to accounting innovation. We argue that delegation of decision rights can limit the potential for resistance in two ways—(a) by creating the environment which allows managers to ensure that their subunits are able to adapt to the new signals provided by accounting innovations and (b) by enabling subunit managers to become involved in the design of these systems. Our model also enables us to assess the consequences on organizational outcomes when subunit managers resist accounting innovations. Based on data collected from production managers, our results demonstrate the importance of decentralization choices on the effective implementation of accounting innovations.     

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.     

利用决策支持系统提高农业项目投资决策效果

本文对农业项目投资评估的研究进行了简要综述 ,并对农业项目投资评估的研究领域进行了划分 ,分析了当前决策支持技术的发展动态 ,认为将决策支持技术应用于农业项目投资评估中可解决项目投资决策问题的结构不良问题、决策方案的模糊性、目标的冲突性等问题 ,进而提高项目决策效果。     

The persistence of international accounting differences as measured on transition to IFRS

The international accounting classification literature emphasises the importance of understanding how institutional factors shape accounting regulations and practices. With the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the European Union and Australia in 2005, our empirical study examines whether three international accounting classification systems relating to equity financing, law and culture still had merit as measured on transition to IFRS and explore whether they are effective in grouping accounting systems. Using IFRS as the yardstick, we find statistically significant differences in the measurement of shareholders’ equity as between strong (Class A) versus weak (Class B) equity financing systems, common law versus code law systems and cultural systems based on ‘Anglo’, ‘Nordic’ and ‘More Developed Latin’ cultural groups. With regard to the measurement of net income, however, we find statistically significant differences only in respect of strong (Class A) versus weak (Class B) equity financing systems. Our findings demonstrate that traditional international accounting system differences still persisted at the time of IFRS adoption even after long periods of harmonisation and growing international accounting convergence.     

Optimal warranty arrangements for the design of accounting information systems

This paper investigates optimal price/warranty arrangements for the design of accounting information systems (AISs) when the user of the system has alternative sources of information. A mathematical model is developed that focuses on two systems design scenarios commonly encountered in practice: (1) enhancement and (2) replacement. In an enhancement scenario the AIS user hires the AIS designer to enhance the value of the current AIS by incorporating additional features into the original system. Systems replacement, on the other hand, implies that the designer produces a new system that makes the original system obsolete. Under a replacement system, a simple limited warranty implements the user's optimal decision rule so that no losses occur due to unobservability of the user's decision. For the enhanced AIS design however, the user's action may depend upon the signal from the user's preexisting AIS. Therefore, when the user's decision is not observable, the designer does not know if the user's decision is a result of the systems enhancement or a result of the original system. Due to incomplete contracts, a more complex and costly warranty arrangement is required. Hence, losses occur under enhancement AIS although quality can be maintained with a limited warranty. Since it is difficult to assess the quality of the information system prior to purchase, the potential for a market failure exists where high-quality systems are driven from the market by low quality systems. These findings show that a market failure can be prevented in the design of information systems through contractual warranty arrangements. These warranty arrangements, however, must be tailored to the specific design task.     

United we stand,divided we fall: the failure of an accounting information system in a major radiology provider

This article explores the way in which a major Australian radiology organization implemented a complex accounting information system and how workers in the 72 radiology practices that had to use it resisted the change. The study reports on the issues that led to the circumvention of the system by individuals and, after only three years, complete withdrawal of the accounting information system by the parent organization. This article has implications for firms in the health care and other sectors considering implementing new accounting information systems. Organizations need to incorporate change management techniques and provide open communication to all stakeholders to minimize disruption and potential problems.     

Accounting information systems research over the past decade: Past and future trends

This article reviews the extant accounting information systems (AIS) literature by conducting an analysis of AIS articles published in 18 leading accounting, management information systems, and computer science journals from 1999 to 2009 with a view to identifying whether or not the focus of AIS research has changed, and if so how it has changed, since the Poston and Grabski’s (2000) review of AIS research from 1982 to 1998. We also report our insights into where AIS research is likely to be heading in the future. We analyse each of the 395 articles identified as reporting AIS research to identify their underlying theory, research method and research topic. Our results confirm the continuing decline in analytical and model‐building research in AIS‐related research and this decline is associated with a similar decline in the use of computer science theory to motivate this research. We also find that two theoretical platforms, in particular, now account for almost half (48 per cent) of all AIS research: cognitive psychology and economics. Experimental research methods and archival studies continue to grow as the preferred methods for testing the AIS‐related theories derived from these theory domains.     

Great Galway Goslings: Organizational Context of Managerial Accounting*

This case seeks to enhance student understanding of the relationship between accounting information and the order fulfllment and production activities of a manufacturing frm, Great Galway Goslings. Great Galway Goslings manufactures goose sculptures and has been suffering losses in recent years. Students draw on the skills they learned in financial accounting to analyze the company's order fulfllment activities, identify economic transactions, and prepare journal entries. The case provides a link to managerial accounting topics as students use segment financial statements to create contribution margin income statements, perform break‐even analyses, and recommend whether Great Galway Goslings should keep its retail business segment. Students will become familiar with the key features of business process management (BPM) and the extensive, real‐world activities that a manufacturing entity engages in to fll an order. Students will analyze the company's existing order fulfllment process and apply their knowledge of BPM to recommend process improvements for Great Galway. This case contributes to the accounting case literature by serving as a bridge from financial accounting to managerial accounting, intertwining many topics from managerial accounting into one cohesive case, and providing real‐world business process knowledge. Student feedback indicates that, overall, the case met its stated learning objectives. Great Galway Goslings is appropriate for an undergraduate introductory managerial accounting course but can be adapted to the equivalent graduate‐level course or an accounting information systems course.     

Toward a better expert system for auditor going concern opinions using Bayesian network inflation factors

We develop an analytical model intended as the first stage in the development of expert systems to improve auditor knowledge in, and assist in the decision process of, Going Concern Opinions (“GCOs”). Our approach is consistent with a design science approach to developing information systems, resulting in an initial artifact, the mathematical model, which can, through iterative design science and behavioral research, inform a technology-based expert system. Based on Bayesian networks, our model provides insights about auditors’ revision, or inflation, of the probability to issue a GCO based on the interrelationship that forms with the incremental existence of one, two, or three publicly observable financial statement risk factors – net operating loss, negative cash flows from operations, and negative working capital. We calculate the revised probabilities using empirical data of GCOs from 2004 to 2015. Results reveal that the incremental relationship (one, two, or three factors present) effectively models expert auditors’ decisions to issue a GCO, and suggests the existence of these measurable inflation factors that represent situational and auditor-specific factors. We also find that Non-Big Four auditors inflate these factors differently than Big Four auditors to arrive at a decision to issue a GCO.     

Making accounting degrees fit for a university

This contribution is a commentary on the paper by Chabrak and Craig (2013) that calls for accounting pedagogy reforms that place accounting within its socio-economic context and enable students to formulate critiques and alternatives. It examines four areas pertinent to this: accounting curricula and pedagogy; accounting's relation within universities and to professional accounting institutions; student expectations; and accounting academics. The commentary concurs with the plea of Chabrak and Craig for curriculum and pedagogy reforms but notes the difficulties this faces in the UK (and possibly elsewhere) given the growing commercialisation of and competition between UK universities, and the influence of professional credentialing upon accounting academics who lack knowledge of accounting research. However, there is a public interest need, and a student and employer desire for curriculum and pedagogical reform and university teaching quality systems do not militate against this. The conclusion is that it lies with accounting academics to counter the drift of accounting degrees imitating from professional accounting courses.     

Continental European accounting model and accounting modernization in Germany

Classification techniques based on one or few dimensions are widely used in research studies and textbooks to explain and predict the development of accounting systems internationally. However, their usefulness in international accounting has been limited in today's globalized world. For example, in the context of the EU, IFRS are required for consolidated accounting, while national accounting systems continue to be the dominant system for unconsolidated accounting in many countries. Using Germany as a case study, the objective of this paper is to examine whether Germany can still be classified within the Continental European model of accounting following the Act to Modernize Accounting Law (Bilanzrechts-modernisierungsgesetz — BilMoG), which was promulgated on May 29, 2009. This Act introduced some major reforms to the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch — HGB), such as removing the close connection to tax rules and introducing new recognition and valuation regulations, which changed traditional principles of orderly accounting (Grundsätze ordnungsmäßiger Buchführung). As a result, the current German approach of financial reporting separates Germany from the traditional Continental European model of accounting and moves it somewhere on a spectrum between the traditional Continental European model of accounting and the Anglo-American model of accounting.     

A contextual model of information systems

The social-engineering of accounting and information systems has not kept pace with the awesome advances on the teachnical side. Attempts, such as human information processing systems, have proven too narrow and research efforts now are called for which include both the psychology of the user and the program conditions of the task. This paper outlines a model which combines both personal decision style and organizational technology to derive four distinct information systems styles — concise, cursory, diffuse, and elaborate - each of which is suited to a particular technology. The central idea is that accounting and information systems should be designed to be congruent with the organizational context which they serve.     

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.     

Investigating the effects of computer mediated interruptions: An analysis of task characteristics and interruption frequency on financial performance

Financial and accounting tasks require high levels of concentration as well as cognitive capacity. Today, advanced technology can help facilitate the effective and efficient completion of such tasks. At the same time, however, these same technologies can interrupt work flow and create work-related stress, thus having a deleterious effect on task performance. These interruptions can be characterized across a number of different dimensions, including frequency, complexity, duration, and relevance to the primary task, to name a few. This study examines the effects of interruption frequency, task complexity, and individual characteristics on cognitive load and subsequent decision-making performance on financial tasks. As hypothesized, the results indicate the significant influence of interruption frequency and order of task complexity on cognitive load which influences performance. This research has implications on the design and use of information systems by accounting professionals in order to reduce potential negative effects.     

Reviewing literature through multidimensional representations

Reviewing literature is a demanding task that calls for effective tools. After examining literature review (LR) practices, this paper develops an innovative approach in representing literature. In particular, the paper introduces depictions based on a three-dimensional structure that enables the generation of unitary and highly informative literature representations, thereby improving the completeness and reducing the mismatch between field complexity and the traditional figures and tables of LRs. The viability of the designed solution is shown by replicating a published LR on a representative topic of the accounting information systems (AIS), namely a literature review on enterprise resource planning systems in SMEs. Its benefits arise from comparing the literature representation developed here with the original figures. The paper has methodological and practical implications. Indeed, it proposes a structured approach to improve the representation of multifaceted literature, but it can also be suitable for other types of analysis. The efficiency and efficacy benefits that emerged from the evaluation activity make the output of the paper useful both for researchers and academic research users. In the light of developments in AIS research, the article also comments on potential applications in this area by examining some recently published LRs.     

An organizational contingencies view of accounting and information systems implementation

Most research on accounting and information systems (A&IS) development and implementation has focused on the individual and small group level phenomena which impact implementation success. While some researchers have considered organizational level variables, no consistent relationships between these variables and A&IS implementation success have yet emerged. To a great extent, this is due to an atheoretical research approach coupled with an undifferentiated view of A&IS.This paper develops a typology of A&IS types based on the nature of the task supported by the system. Theory and the results of research in the organization design area are drawn upon to develop propositions about the differential impacts of eight organizational characteristics on the implementation of different A&IS types. These propositions form an organizational level framework for analyzing A&IS implementation. The propositions can serve as testable hypotheses for future research efforts.