From Functional Juxtaposition to an Integrated Digital Architecture for Management Control and Assurance in SMEs: A Systematic Review with an Integrative Purpose and a Theoretical Maturity Model

Abstract

This study examines the conditions under which an integrated digital architecture for management control and assurance can be developed in SMEs. Unlike earlier reviews that separately address accounting digitalization, digital management control, or digital internal auditing, it connects four streams on management control, internal audit, integrated assurance and sustainability, and SME digital maturity. A systematic review with an integrative purpose was conducted through nineteen queries run in OpenAlex on 24 July 2026. Of 1,029 exported records, 927 unique references were identified, 149 references were assessed using the documentary information available, and 68 articles published from 2020 to 2025 were retained. The descriptive analysis comprises 17 studies on digital management control, 18 on digital internal auditing, 18 on integrated assurance and sustainability, and 15 on SMEs and maturity. The synthesis distinguishes four meanings of integration and proposes a maturity path based on formalization, data governance, functional coordination, and organizational learning. The resulting conceptual model formulates six families of hypotheses that remain empirically untested. The contribution is limited by reliance on a single database, an English-language final corpus, and the absence of preregistration, inter-coder agreement measurement, and formal critical appraisal. These limitations define the agenda for future validation among Moroccan SMEs.

JEL Classification: L25; M10; M41; M42; M49; O33.

Paper type: Systematic review with an integrative purpose and theoretical development.