The purpose of this study is to know the role and importance of computerized accounting information systems in Libyan commercial banks and to know the importance of participation of accountants in the planning and analysis stage, design stage and application stage of these systems. This study also aims to evaluate the performance of computerized accounting information systems in Libyan commercial banks by applying the most important variables that deal with this aspect, where (180) questionnaires were distributed to a sample of accountants working in Libyan commercial banks. And data is analyzed by re-gression analysis and t-test. The study concluded with a set of results. Based on this, the researcher formulated a set of recommendations, which both will show at the end of the research. And the study concluded that the effect of the participation of Libyan accountants working in commercial banks in the development of computerized accounting systems has affected the success of computerized accounting systems only in the application stage, unlike their participation in the planning and analysis stage, and design stage that according to the results of this study both of them have no effect on the success of these systems.
The accounting information system is one of the important systems for any economic project. It helps the project management to perform its functions effectively and efficiently through the system’s information that contributes to the decision making and control of project activity. Therefore, the efficiency of the accounting information system will depend on the success of the project or its failure to achieve its objective. With the widespread use of computers in data processing, especially finance, in most projects there is a significant impact on the role of computerized accounting information systems in these projects. In order for these systems to be able to contribute to solving many of the problems and financial decisions facing the project management and the rest of the users of the information, it was necessary to evaluate the information system applied from time to time and ensure that it is able to keep pace with the project activity and keep abreast of developments, contemporary business environment [
Many banks today rely on a number of computer-based information systems to make decisions. Since accounting has a large share of these systems, institutions and banks have become dependent on their accounting information systems to survive in the competition in the market. So, Information is a major part of these banks’ survival, and information is an important and important resource for the bank. In addition to other resources such as human resources, equipment, etc., the productivity of the bank―which is one of the most important factors that help the bank to compete effectively with other banks―is directly affected by the existence effective information systems. The development of accounting systems in general and computer-based systems, in particular, has been accompanied by a clear and significant interest in evaluating the success and effectiveness of these systems and their suitability to provide users with information and accounting information at different levels of function and different levels of management. Therefore, many researchers focused on the study of the most important factors affecting the performance of accounting information systems in banks, in order to urge these banks to focus on these factors and in order to build and develop effective accounting systems with high performance, the decision-making process, which in turn reflected positively on the financial performance of banks [
Looking at the factors affecting the performance and success of the accounting information system, the study focused on the most important factors, namely, the role played by accountants in participating in the development of accounting information systems in banks, whether in the process of building the system in general or through addressing their participation in the stages of building the system in particular, where the role of accountants is essential and major. They often combine the professional experience and the practical reality of the accounting system in the bank on the one hand and between science and knowledge of accounting principles and standards on the other hand, where according to Eldahrawi [
A review of the literature on the participation of accountants in the development of accounting information systems reveals the great lack of this subject. The following is a summary of some of the studies that were obtained in this field.
The study by Palanisamy and Sushil [
The study of Musa [
It should be noted that although the goal of previous studies differs from the objective of the present study, it has been guided in the preparation of the current study plan, particularly with regard to the questionnaire used and which were developed to achieve the objective of the present study.
The problem of the study lies in the lack of clarity and ambiguity in the participation of accountants in the various stages of the development of computerized accounting information systems, the extent of the success of these systems through this participation, and the need to know the obstacles that limit the participation of accountants in different stages of the development of accounting information systems. Therefore, the problem of the study can be formulated in the following main question:
What is the extent of participation of accountants in the development of computerized accounting information systems and the impact of this Participation on the success of the performance of these systems in Libyan Commercial Banks?
To answer the main question of the study, the following sub-questions were formulated:
1) What is the impact of the participation of accountants in the planning and analysis stage on the success of computerized accounting systems in Libyan Commercial Banks?
2) What is the impact of the participation of accountants in the design stage on the success of computerized accounting systems in Libyan Commercial Banks?
3) What is the impact of the participation of accountants in the implementation stage on the success of computerized accounting systems in Libyan Commercial Banks?
Through the reading of the problem of this study, and by focusing on the role played by the process of automation and development of accounting information systems, the objectives of this study can be drawn in the following:
1) Knowing the role and importance of accounting information systems in Libyan commercial banks.
2) Knowing the importance of participation of accountants in the planning and analysis stage, design stage and the application stage of computerized accounting information systems.
3) Evaluating the performance of computerized accounting information systems in Libyan commercial banks by applying the most important variables that deal with this aspect.
In order to achieve these objectives, an applied study was conducted on accounting information systems in Libyan Commercial Banks, especially since there are few studies in Libya―on the limit of the researcher knowledge―in this field related to banks.
This part of the study shows the study population, its tools, model, and hypotheses, moreover statistical methods which used.
The study model consists of six main variables were (The participation of accountants in the planning and analysis stage, the participation of accountants in the design phase, and the participation of accountants in the implementation phase) as variables that measure the participation of accountants in the Development of computerized accounting information systems [independent variables], and (System quality, accountant satisfaction, and system use) as variables used to measure The success of the Performance of Computerized Accounting Systems [dependent variables], as shown in
Based on the theoretical framework of the study, based on the study’s questions and objectives, and by reviewing the previous scientific studies, the hypotheses of the study can be formulated as follows:
H1: There is no statistically significant correlation between the participation of accountants in the planning and analysis phase of the computerized accounting information system and the success of the performance of these systems in Libyan Commercial Banks.
H2: There is no statistically significant correlation between the participation of accountants in the design stage of the computerized accounting information systems and the success of the performance of these systems in Libyan Commercial Banks.
H3: There is no statistically significant correlation between the participation of accountants in the application stage of the computerized accounting information systems and the success of the performance of these systems in Libyan Commercial Banks.
These hypotheses will be verified using the multiple regression analysis test as we will see later in Paragraph (6.2).
The study population represented in the Libyan commercial banks, and how they are affected by the subject matter of the study. As a result of the fact, the banking system in Libya is a central system of its subordination to the Central Bank of Libya [
Based on the relevant articles, in order to gather the data, was used the same questionnaire used in the study (Naash and Khamis, 2009) with some modifications to test the three hypotheses of this study and meet the study purpose. So, the questionnaire was divided into three sections as the first section include general questions, the second one cover all factors of independent variables, finally, the third one involves factors of the dependent variable as shown in
Moreover, the study tool was distributed to 225 banks and branches, of which 207 were retrieved with a response rate of 92% and 27 questionnaires were excluded (by 12%) because they were not valid for analysis, hence the questionnaires analyzed were 180 questionnaires (by 80%) as shown in
・ The stability of the questionnaire
As per many studies, constructs are considered to have internal consistency reliability when the Cronbach Alpha value exceeds (0.70). In this study, the reliability assessment was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (IBM 22).
The stability of the study instrument was verified. Where the α-Cronbach coefficient was computed for each set of questionnaire questions, where all measures in this study show a high level of reliability, ranging from (0.815 to 0.947). All scales exceeded 0.70, therefore the survey is considered reliable as shown in
In the beginning, it is required to indicate the percentage of demographic information for Libyan accountants who was involved in this study.
All of these gives the impression that their answers of respondents to the
Section | Field of study | Number | Questions | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | General Questions | 6 | 1 - 6 | |
2 | Independent Variables | Planning and analysis stage | 6 | 7 - 12 |
Design stage | 5 | 13 - 17 | ||
Implementation stage | 5 | 18 - 22 | ||
3 | Dependent Variables | 6 | 23 - 28 | |
7 | 29 - 35 | |||
7 | 36 - 42 |
Questionnaires | Num. | % |
---|---|---|
Were Distributed | 225 | 100% |
Were retrieved | 207 | 92% |
Were Excluded | 27 | 12% |
Were Analyzed | 180 | 80% |
Variables | Factor | Instruments | Cronbach’s α |
---|---|---|---|
Independent Variables | Factor I-1 | Planning and Analysis Stage | 0.947 |
Factor I-2 | Design Stage | 0.952 | |
Factor I-3 | Application Stage | 0.897 | |
Factor I | Overall Reliability of the Participation Extent of Accountants in the Development of Computerized Accounting Information Systems | 0.962 | |
Dependent Variables | Factor D-1 | System Quality | 0.868 |
Factor D-2 | Satisfaction of Accountants | 0.856 | |
Factor D-3 | System Use | 0.815 | |
Factor D | Overall Reliability of Success of the Performance of Computerized Accounting Information Systems | 0.916 | |
All Variables | All Factors | Overall Reliability | 0.940 |
Gender | Num. | % | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male | 150 | 83.3 | ||||
Female | 30 | 16.7 | ||||
Total | 180 | 100.0 | ||||
Qualification | Num. | % | Years of Experience | Num. | % | |
Bachelor | 78 | 43.4 | Less than 5 years | 42 | 23.3 | |
M.A. | 52 | 28.9 | 5 years - less than 10 years | 36 | 20.0 | |
Higher Diploma | 38 | 21.1 | 10 years - less than 15 years | 36 | 20.0 | |
Diploma | 4 | 2.2 | 15 years - less than 20 years | 32 | 17.8 | |
Bachelor | 78 | 43.4 | More than 20 years | 34 | 18.9 | |
Total | 180 | 100.0 | Total | 180 | 100.0 | |
Specialization | Num. | % | System used at the bank | Num. | % | |
Accounting | 116 | 64.4 | Flex Cube System | 112 | 51.9 | |
Business Administration | 28 | 15.6 | Traditional System | 52 | 24.1 | |
Finance and banks | 26 | 14.4 | MS Excel System | 40 | 18.5 | |
Economic | 10 | 5.6 | Islamic System | 12 | 5.6 | |
Total | 180 | 100.0 | Total | *216 | 100.0 | |
*More than one answer selected.
questions of the questionnaire were more realistic and objective, and the experience in this area an important character, especially as this study has a role in the study of the participation of these accountants in the development of accounting systems applied in banks, indicating that the highest percentage of respondents in this. The study was present during the stages of systems development in their banks, which increases the objectivity of this study.
The second section of the study tool covered the variables that measure the participation of accountants in each stage of the development of the computerized accounting information system, as follows.
As for the highest participation of accountants at this stage, it was in determining the accountants of financial and accounting reports to be extracted from the system and in the same proportion involved in determining the mechanism for implementing the introduction of accounting through the system, as this result was expected, especially that the most important characteristic of this stage for the participation of users in the System development, is to have a direct impact on the work of accountants.
The stage of implementation is one of the late stages of the process of developing the accounting information systems. This stage comes as a summary of what has been planned, analyzed and then designed. This stage includes many activities that have direct contact with accountants in the company, can be verified through the statistical results of the participation of accountants at this stage, which appears in
Set of Questions (Items) | Mean | % | Std. Deviation | Level of Mean |
---|---|---|---|---|
You participated in determining the financial reports to be extracted from the system? | 3.92 | 78% | 1.038 | High |
You participated in determining the mechanism of implementation of accounting entry through the system? | 3.89 | 78% | 0.997 | High |
You participated in the development of the financial statements flow mechanism during the bank’s accounting process cycle? | 3.78 | 76% | 1.055 | High |
You participated in identifying the most important benefits and needs to be expected from the application of the system? | 3.77 | 75% | 1.014 | High |
There have been meetings with system users by analysts to understand the requirements of these users of the system? | 3.68 | 74% | 1.147 | High |
You participated in the development of systems development policy at the bank? | 3.51 | 70% | 1.070 | High |
The general mean. | 3.76 | 75% | 1.053 | High |
Set of Questions (Items) | Mean | % | Std. Deviation | Level of Mean | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
You participated in the identification of internal control procedures on the system. | 3.86 | 77% | 1.144 | High | |
You participated in designing appropriate financial and accounting reports. | 3.66 | 73% | 1.130 | High | |
You participated in determining the format/formats for inputting and outputting financial statements. | 3.64 | 73% | 1.132 | High | |
You participated in the design of the method of preparation of adjusting entries and closing entries and others. | 3.57 | 71% | 1.187 | High | |
You participated in the design of the appropriate interfaces for the system. | 3.38 | 68% | 1.163 | Average | |
The general mean. | 3.62 | 72% | 1.151 | High |
Set of Questions (Items) | Mean | % | Std. Deviation | Level of Mean |
---|---|---|---|---|
Accountants were trained on the system after completion of its development. | 4.01 | 80% | 1.073 | High |
The accountant participates in the system application team. | 3.90 | 78% | 1.068 | High |
The system was checked by accountants in order to ensure that it could be applied without problems. | 3.87 | 77% | 1.016 | High |
The person responsible for the implementation process is selected from among the accountants in the bank. | 3.84 | 77% | 1.186 | High |
You participated in the development of the implementation plan of the system. | 3.60 | 72% | 1.034 | High |
The general mean. | 3.84 | 77% | 1.075 | High |
be conducted at this stage, the system was better evaluated and dealt with. As for the lowest participation rate for this phase, it was concerned with the participation of accountants in developing the implementation plan for the system, where it is noted that the process of developing plans for the application takes an administrative rather than an activity to be shared by accountants using the system.
After reviewing the rates of participation in the various phases of the development of accounting information systems, we noticed in
The descriptive statistics related to measuring the success of the performance of the system have been measured from the Third section of the study tool, and it was as follows.
Content of the Factor | Mean | % | Std. Deviation | Level of Mean |
---|---|---|---|---|
Planning and analysis stage | 3.76 | 75% | 1.053 | High |
Design stage | 3.62 | 72% | 1.151 | High |
Application stage | 3.84 | 77% | 1.075 | High |
Evaluate of factor I | 3.74 | 75% | 1.093 | High |
Set of Questions (Items) | Mean | % | Std. Deviation | Level of Mean |
---|---|---|---|---|
Easy to understand, learn and use. | 4.37 | 87% | 0.692 | Very High |
Flexibility in use. | 4.16 | 83% | 0.804 | High |
Compliance with the expectations of accountants who use it. | 4.02 | 80% | 0.845 | High |
Reliability in most accounting treatments. | 4.00 | 80% | 0.884 | High |
Provide ways to control accounting problems and errors. | 3.93 | 79% | 1.023 | High |
Quick response to accountant’s requirements. | 3.83 | 77% | 0.994 | High |
The general mean. | 4.05 | 81% | 0.874 | High |
Set of Questions (Items) | Mean | % | Std. Deviation | Level of Mean |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lead using your system to assist in the completion of the work better than not available. | 4.20 | 84% | 0.780 | Very High |
System language (display language) is easy to handle. | 4.18 | 84% | 0.771 | High |
Lead using your accounting information system will improve your productivity. | 4.07 | 81% | 0.894 | High |
The size of the system outputs is appropriate for your needs. | 4.02 | 80% | 0.818 | High |
You trust your accounting information system. | 4.01 | 80% | 0.825 | High |
You have complete satisfaction with the accuracy of the system in providing information. | 3.97 | 79% | 0.852 | High |
You believe that training and support for your system are appropriate and good. | 3.90 | 78% | 0.846 | High |
The general mean. | 4.05 | 81% | 0.827 | High |
As for the measurement of the extent to which the computer-based accounting information system is used,
So,
Set of Questions (Items) | Mean | % | Std. Deviation | Level of Mean |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Trial Balance is carried out through the computer-based accounting information system. | 4.19 | 84% | 0.614 | High |
The system is used to set up adjustment entries. | 4.10 | 82% | 0.702 | High |
The system is used to prepare the bank’s financial statements. | 4.09 | 82% | 0.645 | High |
The system is used to handle closing entries in the bank. | 4.07 | 81% | 0.729 | High |
The system is used for sufficient and frequent periods of time. | 4.06 | 81% | 0.658 | High |
Accreditation to the system in accounting treatments. | 4.06 | 81% | 0.738 | High |
The system is used to set up the bank’s own budgets and plans. | 3.90 | 78% | 0.777 | High |
The general mean. | 4.07 | 81% | 0.695 | High |
Content of the Factor | Mean | % | Std. Deviation | Level of Mean |
---|---|---|---|---|
System quality | 4.05 | 81.0% | 0.874 | High |
Satisfaction of accountants | 4.05 | 81.0% | 0.827 | High |
System use | 4.07 | 81.0% | 0.695 | High |
Evaluate of factor D | 4.06 | 81.0% | 0.799 | High |
that all elements of measuring the success of performance of computerized accounting information system (system quality, level of satisfaction of accountants, the extent of use of these systems). All are with a high rate of (81.0%).
After validating the search variables, the next step involved conducting multiple regression analysis to determine the effect of the independent variables (planning and analysis stage, design phase, application stage) on the dependent variable (the success of the computerized accounting information system). This analysis used to verify that the first three hypotheses (accepted or rejected), where the multiple regression formulated as shown in Equation (1).
AISPS = β 0 + β 1 PAS + β 2 DS + β 3 AS + ε (1)
where Equation (1) is:
・ AISPS = The success of performance of computerized AISs;
・ β0 = Intercept;
・ β1 to β3 = Coefficient of slope parameters;
・ PAS = Planning and analysis stage;
・ DS = Design stage;
・ AS = Application stage;
・ ε = Error term.
This model firstly requires that the overall scale for each variable (PAS, DS, AS, and AISPS) is calculated. Given that each variable is measured by a set of questions (items) and each respondent gives a score for each question, these scores are added together to form an overall score for each variable. The overall scale for each variable is simply the average of this total score. Using the overall scales for each variable and for each participant, the unknown parameters, β1 to β3, of the multivariate regression model was then evaluated using the Regular Least Squares method.
The linear regression was run. Where uses the success of the performance of computerized accounting information system (AISPS) measured by the averages of (system quality, level of satisfaction of accountants, the extent of use of these systems) as the dependent variable and Planning and analysis stage (PAS), Design stage (DS), Application stage (AS) as the independent variables. The overall results of this regression are displayed in
At first, the regression statistics presented in this table display that this regression model is statistically significant with F of 14.153, implying that the main null hypothesis of no statistical relation among the dependent and independent variables was refused at the 0.000 level.
But, when examining the variables of the sub-hypotheses we find that the first and second hypotheses that there is no relationship between the participation of the Libyan accountants in (the planning and analysis phase and the design phase) and the success of these systems (were accepted).
On the other hand, the third sub-hypothesis was rejected, which states that there is no relationship between the participation of Libyan accountants in the implementation phase and the success of these systems at the level of (0.000). Thus, was designated there is a relationship between the participation of accountants in the application phase and the success of these systems. Thus, the new regression Equation (2) that represents this relationship will be as follows:
AISPS = 2.917 + 0.22 ( AS ) (2)
Regression statistics | Planning and Analysis Stage (PAS) | Design Stage (DS) | Application Stage (AS) |
---|---|---|---|
Coefficients | 0.010 | 0.066 | 0.220 |
t-value | 0.118 | 0.973 | 3.743 |
P-value | 0.906 | 0.332 | 0.000 |
β0 (Intercept) | 2.917 | ||
F | 14.153 | ||
P < values | 0.000 | ||
R2 | 0.201 |
This study aimed to know the extent of the participation of accountants in the stages of developing computerized accounting information systems in Libyan commercial banks, where the extent of participation of accountants was examined at each stage of the development of computerized accounting information systems; the study also aimed to know the impact of this participation on the success of these systems.
Based on the analysis of the answers to the questionnaire and the test of the hypotheses of the study, the results obtained can be epitomized as follows:
1) There is a firm belief among accountants working in commercial banks that the use of their accounting system is what helped them to do the job better.
2) The computerized accounting information systems achieved high success rates according to the three criteria identified (System Quality 81%, Satisfaction of Accountants 81%, System Use 81%).
3) The participation of accountants in the application phase is the only participation that has an impact on the successful performance of computerized accounting information systems.
4) The planning, analysis, and design phases are technical matters for programmers and designers more than accountants and do not involve any variables that have a significant relative impact on the success of performance of the computerized accounting information systems.
This study examined the scope of accountants’ participation in the development of computerized accounting information systems, and the impact of such participation on the successful performance of these systems within the following limits:
・ Time limit: The study time limit represents the period from 01/06/2018 to 30/08/2018.
・ Spatial limit: The spatial limit is represented in the banks that work in the city of Benghazi Libya.
・ Human limit: The study is limited to financial administration staff and accounting departments who have financial and supervisory functions directly related to computerized accounting information systems, which means that the study will not include all employees working in this bank.
After reviewing the results of the study, a set of recommendations were issued:
1) The need to take account of the participation of accountants in the development of accounting information systems for all stages related to the development of these systems.
2) Programmers and analysts should focus on the design phase, where the results of this study found that the participation of accountants at that stage was less than in the planning and analysis stage and the application stage.
3) To establish training programs for accountants in the development of accounting information systems, so that accountants can participate positively in the development of the system where necessary.
4) In cases where the system development task is entrusted to specialized offices, the contract must include the requirement that accountants participate in the development process as a form of training.
The author declares no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Elsharif, T.A. (2018) The Impact of Accountants Participation in Development for Computerized Accounting Information Systems on the Success of these Systems’ Performance. Open Access Library Journal, 5: e4995. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1104995