The manager and the accounting information system in small companies

Abstract

In very small organizations, the role of the manager in the choice and implementation of tools is predominant. In these entities, resources are scarce and accounting information systems are not very formalized. In this research work, we therefore sought to identify the typical profile of this manager and to understand his propensity to use accounting data. Several recent studies have highlighted the relevance of the concept of organizational bricolage to analyze the practices of small businesses. With this in mind, we have sought to explore the ways in which managers of small businesses use accounting information systems. For this, we opted for the qualitative research method based on semi-structured interviews with managers of small Tunisian companies. To conduct this study, we used a qualitative methodology. 36 companies were selected for study. The cross-site case study was favored because it maximizes generalization bias. Finally, the profile of the manager has an influence on the SIC and induces a type of MSE. The results of our research led to the conclusion that there are three types of small business leaders: survivalists, emerging and structured.