The Routledge Companion to Accounting Information Systems

332 Pages·2018·17.234 MB·English

by  Quinn, Martin, Strauss, Erik

The Routledge Companion to
Accounting Information Systems
Information technology has permeated all walks of life in the past two decades. Accounting
is no exception. Be it financial accounting, management accounting, or audit, information
technology and systems have simplified daily tasks and routine work, simplified reporting, and
changed how accounting is done.
The Routledge Companion to Accounting Information Systems provides a prestige reference work
which offers students and researchers an introduction to current and emerging scholarship in the
discipline. Contributions from an international cast of authors provides a balanced view of
both the technical underpinnings and organisational consequences of accounting information
systems.
With a focus on the business consequences of technology, this unique reference book will be
a vital resource for students and researchers involved in accounting and information management.
Martin Quinn is Associate Professor and Head of Accounting at DCU Business School. He has
published widely on management accounting and accounting change. His research interests
include accounting information systems and cloud computing.
Erik Strauss is Professor of Accounting and Control at Witten/Herdecke University. His
research interests are in the influence of technology on management accounting and control,
management accounting change and the role of the management accountant. He is a member
of the editorial board of Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management and Corporate Ownership
and Control.
Routledge Companions in Business, Management
and Accounting
Routledge Companions in Business, Management and Accounting are prestige reference works
providing an overview of a whole subject area or sub-discipline. These books survey the state
of the discipline including emerging and cutting-edge areas. Providing a comprehensive, up-to-
date, definitive work of reference, Routledge Companions can be cited as an authoritative source
on the subject.
A key aspect of these Routledge Companions is their international scope and relevance. Edited
by an array of highly regarded scholars, these volumes also benefit from teams of contributors
who reflect an international range of perspectives.
Individually, Routledge Companions in Business, Management and Accounting provide
an impactful one-stop-shop resource for each theme covered. Collectively, they represent
a comprehensive learning and research resource for researchers, postgraduate students and
practitioners.
Published titles in this series include:
The Routledge Companion to Accounting and Risk
Edited by Margaret Woods and Philip Linsley
The Routledge Companion to Wellbeing at Work
Edited by Sir Cary L. Cooper and Michael P. Leiter
The Routledge Companion to Performance Management and Control
Edited by Elaine Harris
The Routledge Companion to Management Information Systems
Edited by Robert D. Galliers and Mari-Klara Stein
The Routledge Companion to Critical Accounting
Edited by Robin Roslender
The Routledge Companion to Trust
Edited by Rosalind Searle, Ann-Marie Nienaber and Sim Sitkin
The Routledge Companion to Tax Avoidance Research
Edited by Nigar Hashimzade and Yuliya Epifantseva
The Routledge Companion to Intellectual Capital
Edited by James Guthrie, John Dumay, Federica Ricceri and Christian Neilsen
The Routledge Companion to Behavioral Accounting Research
Edited by Theresa Libby and Linda Thorne
The Routledge Companion to Accounting Information Systems
Edited by Martin Quinn and Erik Strauss
The Routledge
Companion to Accounting
Information Systems
Edited by Martin Quinn and Erik Strauss
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business.
© 2018 selection and editorial matter, Martin Quinn and Erik Strauss;
individual chapters, the contributors.
The right of Martin Quinn and Erik Strauss to be identified as the
authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Screenshots of Microsoft Excel used with permission from Microsoft.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-12586-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-64721-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
By Keystroke, Neville Lodge, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xi
List of contributors xiii
Introductory reflections on Accounting Information Systems xvii
Martin Quinn and Erik Strauss
PART A
The Accounting Information Systems discipline 1
1 Introduction to Accounting Information Systems 3
Peter Cleary
2 Development of Accounting Information Systems over time 13
Pierangelo Rosati and Victoria Paulsson
3 Technologies underpinning Accounting Information Systems 24
Gerhard Kristandl
4 Systems planning, design and implementation 39
Noel Carroll
5 Change management 55
Krister Bredmar
PART B
Organisational effects of Accounting Information Systems 67
6 Accounting Information Systems and how to prepare for Digital
Transformation 69
Sven-Volker Rehm
7 Accounting Information Systems and decision-making 81
Markus Granlund and Henri Teittinen
v
Contents
8 Changing the speed and format of information provision: examining
the temporal decoupling of accounting numbers and their analysis 94
Nicolás J. B. Wiedemann and Leona Wiegmann
9 Accounting Information Systems outputs: XBRL, AI and in-memory
technologies 108
Ting Sun
10 Outsourcing of Accounting Information Systems 120
Benoit Aubert and Jean-Grégoire Bernard
11 Accountants’ roles and accounting-related technologies 133
João Oliveira
12 Big Data and knowledge management with applications in accounting
and auditing: the case of Watson 145
Daniel E. O’Leary
13 Issues with Big Data 161
Bernhard Gärtner and Martin R. W. Hiebl
14 Accounting for capital investment appraisal: time for a radical change? 173
Elaine Harris, Thinh Hoang and George Ngan
PART C
Controlling Accounting Information Systems 191
15 Data security and quality 193
W. Alec Cram
16 AIS auditing: audit tools for a continuous auditing approach 205
Maria Céu Ribeiro
17 Leveraging Accounting Information Systems for standardization:
a case study of a SOX compliance journey 218
Ulrike Schultze
18 Supporting business strategy 235
Victoria Paulsson and Malcolm Brady
vi
Contents
PART D
Future directions of Accounting Information Systems 249
19 Integration with other data and systems 251
Miranda Kajtazi and Olgerta Tona
20 Technology, the future and us 262
Tadhg Nagle
21 Challenges to technology implementation 272
Pierangelo Rosati and Theo Lynn
22 New developments in information technology: a call for action 292
Joan Ballantine and Robert D. Galliers
Index 302
vii

Figures
3.1 Client-server architecture 27
3.2 Local area network 27
3.3 Wide area network 28
3.4 Network topologies 29
4.1 Factors which influence the success of AIS 41
4.2 Overview of system layers 42
4.3 System development lifecycle model 44
4.4 Waterfall model 48
4.5 Iterative model 49
4.6 Spiral model 50
4.7 V-model 51
4.8 Agile model 52
6.1 Basic objects and modelling pattern for an event-driven process chain 75
6.2 Sample process for developing an APD 78
7.1 Data environment and decision-making environment framing
decision-making 84
7.2 Uncertainty, decision-making and the roles of accounting practice 85
7.3 Summary of AIS and decision-making 92
8.1 Illustration of a dashboard 99
10.1 Outsourcing and offshoring decisions 121
12.1 Watson tone analysis of an email 149
12.2 Loan grading process 153
12.3 Data quality 155
12.4 What drives Days Late? 156
14.1 A typical spreadsheet 176
14.2 A spreadsheet may have custom functions 176
14.3 Spreadsheets can add basic comments but they do not encourage active
information and opinion sharing 177
14.4 Excel has basic optimisation tools, but managers need to have advanced
skills to use them 178
14.5 Modern spreadsheets have basic scenario management tools but a lack
of dynamic models to study the interactions among various parameters 179
15.1 Data security and quality objectives, controls and outcomes 195
17.1 Revenue by lines of business (2000 and 2011) 222
17.2 Control summary on SharePoint 227
17.3 Individual control in SharePoint (across three screens) 227
ix