Literature review on the utility and toles assigned to the accounting information system and accounting data in SMEs

Abstract

The literature on the management systems of the SME manager shows that many small and medium sized entreprises would have only rudimentary management tools, this would explain the perference of SME managers for more informal media and verbal information (Mintzberg, 1990; Fallery, 1983). However, empirical research on this topic has led to nuanced conclusion. Therefoe, the vision of an embryonic accounting information system does not correspond to the real situation of all SMEs. The managers of SMEs are reported to have differentiated attitudes towards such data. In this context, the aim of this article is to try to determine, through a literature review, the extend to which SME managers consider formal accounting data to be relevant and useful. Relevance represents the ability of infirmation to influence user's decision by allowing them to either assess past, present, and future events or to confirm or correct their past assessments.

The literature review carried out shows that the results of many studies have refuted the findin advanced a priori in the literature that the AIS of SMEs. Even if this word concludes that accounting pratices are not generalized to all SMEs, in-depth analysis of empirical studies indicates that SMEs have fairly complex AISs, various accounting practices and that their managers use accounting data their management. As a result, the idea of a simple, rudinmentary and systematically underutilized accounting information system would in reality only be a trend.