The impact of investments in Information Technology (IT) on the strategic variables of accounting services firms

Abstract

The paper aims to identify and analyze the impact of investments in Information Technology (IT) in accounting services firms in the State of Rio Grande do Sul through its organizational strategic variables. A literature review on Information Systems (IS) leads to the initial research model, which was then validated and refined through the use of qualitative and quantitative procedures, resulting in a research tool formed by 7 variables – competitiveness, costs, market, products and services, productivity, internal organizational efficiency and inter-organizational coordination – and 19 items. The method used was a survey, applied to a sample of 785 companies, with an outcome of 158 valid questionnaires. Results show that the IT impact is higher on the strategic variable of productivity, followed by inter-organizational coordination, and that it is lower on costs and market. Variance analysis showed that there are no statistically significant differences among the enquired groups. A regression analysis was also performed, using competitiveness and productivity as dependent variables, and the other variables as independent. In both cases, Internal Organizational Efficiency was pointed as the most important one. In order to deepen this research, accountants were interviewed, and they confirmed the majority of the obtained results. Therefore, the conclusion is that the productivity and inter-organizational coordination are the variables mostly affected by IT investments, and that IT does not help to reduce costs in accounting companies. Furthermore, accounting offices use IT as an operational tool.

Key words: Information Technology (IT), accounting companies, strategic variables, organizations.