MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS: ERP VERSUS BOB

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and best of breed (BoB) standalone systems in practice. The data for the study were collected through a postal questionnaire in 300 large and middle-sized industrial units in Finland. The questionnaire addressed questions concerning IS implementation (why, how and by whom the IS project was introduced), management accounting function, and the use of advanced management accounting techniques. The results obtained indicate that financial departments have been more interested in traditional BoB systems, while other departments have concentrated more on ERP solutions. Further, as the articulated motives behind the IS project were strategic, and moreover technical in nature, the solution in most cases was ERP, while in the cases where motives were either strategic or technical, the choice was BoB. Otherwise, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups of BoB or ERP adopters, and the problems perceived in management accounting or the adoption of advanced management accounting techniques (e.g. ABC, ABM and BSC).