IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v16y2023i4p225-d1115301.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Analysis of the Use of Accounting Information by Portuguese SMEs

Author

Listed:
  • Ana Catarina Santos

    (Department of Management and Economics, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal)

  • Rui Pires

    (Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal)

  • Maria-Ceu Alves

    (NECE-UBI Research Unit in Business Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal)

Abstract

Despite the significant economic contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), little is known about the extent to which they make use of accounting information (AI). Although AI is considered one of the main sources of information for SMEs, many continue to ignore its potential, considering that this information is only intended to meet tax obligations. The literature stresses the influence of several factors on AI usage. However, the conclusions of the studies are fragmented, contradictory, and not very enlightening. Following these studies, the purpose of this paper is to explore which characteristics of decision makers, companies, and accounting services influence the importance and use of AI in SMEs. Data were collected through an online questionnaire survey applied to Portuguese SMEs. The findings show that the decision makers’ level of education, as well as their educational background, influence the importance they attribute to AI. It has also been found that smaller companies and SMEs that use outsourced accounting services make the least use of AI. Therefore, in addition to providing empirical evidence on the importance and use of AI, a debate that has been mainly theoretical, and on the importance of SMEs in any economy, this paper aims to raise awareness of the need to further study the decision-making process in such firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Catarina Santos & Rui Pires & Maria-Ceu Alves, 2023. "An Analysis of the Use of Accounting Information by Portuguese SMEs," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:16:y:2023:i:4:p:225-:d:1115301
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/16/4/225/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/16/4/225/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lucio Cassia & Stefano Paleari & Renato Redondi, 2005. "Management Accounting Systems and Organisational Structure," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 373-391, November.
    2. Lybaert Nadine, 1998. "The association between information gathering and success in industrial SMEs:the case of Belgium," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 335-351, January.
    3. Rui Pires & Maria-Ceu G. Alves, 2022. "The Impact of Environmental Uncertainty on Accounting Information Relevance and Performance: A Contingency Approach," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-15, September.
    4. Pascual Berrone & Hector Gertel & Roberto Giuliodori & Leandra Bernard & Eugenia Meiners, 2014. "Determinants of Performance in Microenterprises: Preliminary Evidence from Argentina," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(3), pages 477-500, July.
    5. Colin P. Hales, 1986. "What Do Managers Do? A Critical Review Of The Evidence," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 88-115, January.
    6. Esperanza Huerta & Yanira Petrides & Denise O’Shaughnessy, 2017. "Introduction of accounting practices in small family businesses," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(2), pages 111-136, June.
    7. Songini, Lucrezia & Gnan, Luca & Malmi, Teemu, 2013. "The role and impact of accounting in family business," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 71-83.
    8. Davila, Tony, 2005. "An exploratory study on the emergence of management control systems: formalizing human resources in small growing firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 223-248, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martin Quinn & Martin R. W. Hiebl & Ken Moores & Justin B. Craig, 2018. "Future research on management accounting and control in family firms: suggestions linked to architecture, governance, entrepreneurship and stewardship," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 529-546, February.
    2. Mattias Sandgren & Timur Uman & Mattias Nordqvist, 2023. "Accountants in family firms—a systematic literature review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 349-388, June.
    3. Martin R. W. Hiebl & Barbara Mayrleitner, 2019. "Professionalization of management accounting in family firms: the impact of family members," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(5), pages 1037-1068, November.
    4. Andrea Cardoni & Alessio Paradisi, 2020. "The implementation of management accounting in small-medium enterprises (SMEs). A knowledge transfer perspective," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2020(Suppl. 1), pages 39-61.
    5. Danuta DiskienÄ— & Virginijus TamaÅ¡eviÄ ius & AgnÄ— KalvaitytÄ—, 2018. "MANAGERIAL ROLES IN SMEs AND THEIR EFFECT ON PERCEIVED MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS IN LITHUANIA," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 9(1).
    6. Drago, Carlo & Ginesti, Gianluca & Pongelli, Claudia & Sciascia, Salvatore, 2018. "Reporting strategies: What makes family firms beat around the bush? Family-related antecedents of annual report readability," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 142-150.
    7. Anja Heinicke, 2018. "Performance measurement systems in small and medium-sized enterprises and family firms: a systematic literature review," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 457-502, February.
    8. Hall, Matthew, 2010. "Accounting information and managerial work," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28539, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Brigitte Kroon & Karina Voorde & Jules Timmers, 2013. "High performance work practices in small firms: a resource-poverty and strategic decision-making perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 71-91, June.
    10. Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu & Kevin Baird & Sophia Su, 2022. "The association between the interactive and diagnostic use of financial and non-financial performance measures with individual creativity: The mediating role of perceived fairness," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 371-402, September.
    11. Justin R. Hall & Selen Savas-Hall & Eric H. Shaw, 2023. "A deductive approach to a systematic review of entrepreneurship literature," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 987-1016, September.
    12. Simone Aresu & Luigi Rombi & Andrea Cardia, 2019. "Management accounting systems in venture capital-backed start-up companies," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(3), pages 35-58.
    13. Corten, Maarten & Steijvers, Tensie & Lybaert, Nadine, 2017. "The effect of intrafamily agency conflicts on audit demand in private family firms: The moderating role of the board of directors," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 13-28.
    14. Laura Broccardo & Elisa Giacosa & Francesca Culasso & Alberto Ferraris, 2016. "Budgeting process: an Italian survey in family and non-family firms," World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(2/3), pages 157-174.
    15. Rogério João Lunkes & Fabricia Silva da Rosa & Januário José Monteiro & Daiane Antonini Bortoluzzi, 2020. "Interactions among Environmental Training, Environmental Strategic Planning and Personnel Controls in Radical Environmental Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-13, October.
    16. Friederike Wall & Stephan Leitner, 2020. "Agent-based Computational Economics in Management Accounting Research: Opportunities and Difficulties," Papers 2011.03297, arXiv.org.
    17. Puspasari, Novita & Herwiyanti, Eliada & Pinasti, Margani & Institute of Research, Asian, 2021. "Barking Up the Wrong Tree: SMEs' Perception of Tax using the ZMET Method," OSF Preprints 8f4kp, Center for Open Science.
    18. Cindy Zawadzki, 2011. "L'évolution du fonctionnement de la PME lors de l'introduction du contrôle de gestion : leçons d'un échec," Post-Print hal-00650594, HAL.
    19. Hanna Silvola, 2008. "Design of MACS in growth and revival stages of the organizational life‐cycle," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(1), pages 27-47, March.
    20. Artie W. Ng & Douglas Macbeth & Leslie S. C. Yip, 2017. "Exploring performance drivers for technology-based ventures from early stage to expansion: perspectives of venture capitalists," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 335-359, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:16:y:2023:i:4:p:225-:d:1115301. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.