Exploring the Links Between IT Tools, Management Accounting Practices and SME Performance: Perceptions of CFOs in Ireland

Abstract

Notwithstanding its sectoral importance to wealth creation and employment, research on the role of management accounting in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is limited. This paper first examines the perceptions of chief financial officers (CFOs) on the impact of information technology (IT) tools on management accounting practices (costing, budgeting, and performance management). Secondly, it examines how CFOs perceive these management accounting practices are affecting the performance of their SMEs. The study is based on a survey of CFOs in Irish SMEs. We propose a conceptual model of these relationships. We use partial least squares (PLS) to analyse the data from the 109 participating CFOs. The results show a significant positive relationship between IT tools and all three management accounting practices, along with significant partial support for how CFOs perceive management accounting practices impacting the performance of their SMEs.

Role of Accountants in Developing and Using Management Accounting Systems (MAS) of SMEs in Pakistan: A Qualitative Approach

“…Arguing on the usage of MAS by SMEs, previous scholarship has paid less attention to it, as Armitage, Webb and Glynn (2016) argued. Even Lasyoud and Alsharari (2017) have corroborated that plenty of studies related to the design and usage of MAS are in larger organizations, but literature is scant in the SMEs context; therefore, these enterprises provide a significant context for an in-depth understanding of MAS (Cleary et al, 2022). In the previous literature, there are some dichotomies regarding the suitability of MAS in SMEs.…”

“…latif et al, 2023Kuttner et al, 2022;Greene & Hopp, 2017) have precluded this view that planning is not suitable for SMEs. Despite this paradox, most studies have acknowledged that MAS are significant for SMEs and can enhance the SMEs' survival (Kuttner et al, 2022;Cleary et al, 2022;Latif et al, 2023). Therefore, it can be reasoned that MAS provide significant information for planning and decision-making purposes in SMEs to develop more resources and remove impediments to performance.…”

“…All these experts usually manage the accounting systems of small firms; therefore, in the SME context, these can be termed as accountants (Weigel & Hiebl, 2022). In recent years, developing and using management accounting systems (MAS) in the context of SMEs have received enormous scholarly attention (Pelz, 2019;Cleary et al, 2022;Ma et al, 2022). Previous studies have paid less attention to the specificity of MAS in the context of SMEs which persuaded scholars to gain more insights.…”

Role of Management Accounting Systems in Sustainable Survival of SMEs in Pakistan: A Conceptual Framework

“…Nevertheless, these MA systems are extensively discussed in larger firms where resource constraints are minimal, and managers use management accounting function for handling complex business situations (Ma et al, 2022;Pelz, 2019;López & Hiebl, 2015;Scapens & Bromwich, 2010;). Even Pelz (2019) has argued that the IMA definition of MA is primarily associated with larger firms and overlooks the specificity of SMEs, which is rarely addressed in the literature (Cleary et al, 2022).…”

“…Over the last few years, there has been an escalated interest in building a better understanding of management accounting (MA) usage in organizations (Ma et al, 2022;Nandan, 2010;Perren & Grant, 2000). Notably, from the perspective of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the usage of MA has become a significant area of concern in management accounting literature (Cleary et al, 2022;López & Hiebl, 2015). MA scholars are engaged in demonstrating a great effort to investigate SMEs (Azudin & Mansor, 2018).…”