Internal audit as a moderator of the relationship between accounting information systems and performance in Jordanian commercial banks

Abstract

This study aimed to find out the influence of Accounting Information Systems on the performance of Jordanian commercial banks, and the degree to which internal audit moderates this relationship. This was a current quantitative study designed to be at a descending trend of the survey conducted primarily on 12 major Jordanian banks’ accounting departments using descriptive and cross-sectional designs. From a total distribution of 358 questionnaires, 249 were returned, and after screening only 243 were deemed valid. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used as a statistical tool for data analysis, which is appropriate when exploring convoluted relationships and testing hypotheses. The findings indicate that there is a clear positive relationship between the implementation of AIS systems and improvement in the performance metrics at Jordanian banks; thus, hypothesis 1 is corroborated at a significant level of p < 0.01. More significantly, the findings suggest that internal audit highly strengthens the positive effect of AIS on bank performance, thereby supporting hypothesis 2 at the same significance level. This dual realization reiterates the needed adoption of advanced AIS by Jordanian banks and a general improvement to the internal auditors of the mechanisms that ensure they maximize on the benefits accruing in performance. More fundamentally, the findings underscore the dire urgency to incorporate efficacious AIS alongside with robust internal audit mechanisms in banking strategies, thereby providing crucial implications for bank managers and sectoral policymakers.