Critical factors of accounting information systems (AIS) effectiveness : a qualitative study of the Malaysian federal government

Smith, Julia and Binti Puasa, Sharinah (2016) Critical factors of accounting information systems (AIS) effectiveness : a qualitative study of the Malaysian federal government. In: British Accounting & Finance Association Annual Conference 2016, 2016-03-21 - 2016-03-23, University of Bath. (In Press)

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Abstract

This study presents a qualitative empirical evidence from a combination of pilot study (using a focus group approach) and semi-structured interviews with accounting personnel at the Accountant General’s Department and accounting divisions at ministry level. This study aims to explore the critical factors of Accounting Information System (AIS) effectiveness and user satisfaction criteria as a measurement for AIS effectiveness in the context of the Federal Government of Malaysia. The discussion during the focus group and the interviews focus on the user’s needs in order to operate the system effectively, in which reflect the critical factors of the system’s effectiveness. Additionally, their expectation towards the system in terms of what they want from the system is discussed in order to investigate the user satisfaction criteria for the measurement of AIS effectiveness. As a result, there are 27 critical factors of AIS effectiveness discovered in this study for the Federal Government of Malaysia, which categorised into three factors that are people factor, organisation factor and technology factor. On the other hand, the measurement of AIS effectiveness based on user satisfaction is classified into three main characteristics, which are perceived easiness of the system, perceived quality and information, and perceived benefit from the system. A framework of the critical factors of AIS effectiveness is proposed in this study.