The research objectives and methodologies

The accounting information system is one of the most important systems for the contemporary business organization. Moreover, the importance of the accounting information system is increasingly growing as it helps in improving the internal communication system, creating accounting report, in keeping clients record as well as in making effective decisions. Hence, it brings significant additional advantages for the business organization. Moreover, the latest information and communication technologies provide a reasonable contribution in this matter. Hence, the entire business organization is trying to take the benefits of the new technology. The undertaken Accounting firm also tries to implement new time-keeping methods in order to improve the efficiency of the staffs.    

The research objectives for the undertaken research project are as follows:

• To identify the factors that can impede the implementation of the advanced information system
• To recognize the methods to increase the trust of existing staffs about the new technology implementation (Babbie, 2012, p.14).
• To detect the potential issue that the staff may face while they use the new system
• To recommend effective solutions that help in improving the efficiency of the employees in the new system

The research study for analyzing the difficulties come out because of implementing new technology to improve the information processing system within an organization the quantitative approach has been adopted (Bordens & Abbott, 2011, p.11). The main reason behind adopting the quantitative approach instead of the qualitative approach is that the quantitative approach support in collecting wide perceptions of the respondents and as the issue is related to the staffs, who are generally in large numbered. Hence, the quantitative approach is appropriate for the research (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2013, p.16). Besides this, it consumes lesser time and can be conducted in a lower budget; thus, it is also a significant reason for adopting the quantitative approach.

The staffs of the accounting firm are considered for the research study as the study is related to the staffs of the accounting firm. The staffs, especially the staffs who provide services to the clients are considered for the specific research study as they have to use the new system, the new technology of timekeeping (Glover & Bush, 2013, p. 12 ). They have to use this specific mobile application, so they are considered for the research study.    

The sample size is one of the most important aspects of the research study that help in collecting an appropriate amount of the views of the targeted participants that help in gaining adequate knowledge about the undertaken research subject matter. In this particular case, the staffs of the accounting firm are considered as the sample for the research study. The researcher for better knowledge about the perceptions of the staffs has considered minimum 100 staffs for the research study (Lavrakas, 2011, p. 10). Hence, the researcher has distributed a survey questionnaire to the staffs in their e-mail address for conducting an online research study. There are more than 100 staffs participating in the online survey and from the survey most well filled up 100 survey sheets are selected for the research analysis.     

Staffs as participants of the research study

There are two commonly used sampling processes used in a quantitative research study: probability sampling and non-probability sampling.  The random sampling method is referred as the probability sampling methods. It is one of the best methods for attaining a participant sample. There are four techniques used for sampling random, stratified random, cluster, systematic sample techniques (Narring, 2001, p.15). The undertaken research study has adopted a random sampling technique as it is easy to conduct, the high potentiality of attaining a representative sample, and it helps in meeting the assumptions of several statistical data. It can recognize and determine the population of the research appropriately. It supports in deciding desired sample size for the undertaken research.    

The survey is conducted with a well-structured survey-questionnaire. The questionnaire is constructed with multiple choice probabilistic questions so that the participants can easily answer the question and they required to invest minimum time for the survey work (Plano Clark & Creswell, 2009, p. 11). The respondents give their point of views about the time keeping techniques in this particular research. The perceptions of the respondent are collected as the numeric data.

Question 1: Do you think that the new technology helps you in your job? Yes/NO

Question 2: Do you face any issue with the new system? Yes/No

Question 3: Do you believe that old system was more effective than the new system?

The data analysis is important for the research study; the numeric data of the survey has been analyzed by statistical analytic tools (Quraishi, 2012, p. 10).

The research study has some limitation, and the most important limitation is time constraint that hinders the efficiency of the research.

Conclusion

The new timekeeping techniques are effective, but they employee need time and proper training for using this new technique efficiently. The quantitative research with random sampling technique supports the research in accomplishing the objectives of the research (Reed, 2015, p.11).

2. The qualitative questionnaires are usually semi-structured questionnaire with non-probabilistic questions, which need detail, descriptive answers and provide detail data. The qualitative research is mainly conducted by interviews.  On the other hand, the quantitative research is conducted by the survey (Wang, 2015, p.12). Moreover, the survey questionnaire is constructed with multiple choice probabilistic questions. The short numeric answers usually collected by the quantitative question.       

3. There are several methods used by the academic researchers in order to conduct an efficient research work, and among the methods, mixed method is most popular as well as effective methods. The researchers mostly use the explanatory sequential mixed methods and the exploratory sequential mixed methods. Moreover, both of them are effective in producing successful research outcome. The explanatory sequential mixed methods and exploratory sequential mixed methods may answer two different research questions (Reed, 2015, p. 12). The explanatory sequential mixed methods apply the follow-up question to elaborate the topic, or to prove adequate explanation to the research issue. On the other hand, the exploratory sequential mixed methods apply to follow up question to test or to get a generalized idea about the undertaken research topic. The exploratory sequential mixed methods are characterized by the starting stage of qualitative data collection as well as analysis followed by a stage of quantitative data collection plus analysis. It supports in exploring a phenomenon. It helps in developing and test a new theory (Quraishi, 2012, p.10). The explanatory sequential mixed methods initially the quantitative data are collected and analyzed and then qualitative data are collected and analyzed. It helps in explaining plus interpreting the outcomes of the quantitative study.  

The significance of Sample Size and Sampling techniques used

The management accounting system gathers financial data and information from business activities such as a change in the raw materials costs, shifts in the inventories and sales data, then converts the following information into the analysis reports. Some of the management accounting system includes inventory management system, price optimizing system, job costing system and cost accounting system (Alexander, Nobes & Ullathorne, 2016, p.13). The accounting management system analyses the existing operational data and information and develops informative reports such as the sales analysis, cost analysis and comparisons of the budgeted expenses with the actual expenses. The Simples solution should implement management accounting system to integrate the financial accounting system within the departments. The system will increase timeliness and eliminate redundancy of the management report. The system will provide significant information that will help in the decision-making processes and keeping the records.    

The implementation of the management accounting system in the organization need the support of the managers and employees. The implementation of the management accounting system is considered as a significant step for the development of a small business. The implementation of the system starts with the determination of the appropriate accounting system and deployment of all the resources (Britton & Waterston, 2013, p.14).  The factors that should be considered during the implementation of the system are as follows:

Management Support

The management of the company is responsible for implementing the system and setting goals on the basis of the system. The management has the responsibility for all the aspects of operation, performance, and management. Thus, the effectiveness of the implementation of the management accounting system relies on the management team support (Burke & Wilks, 2008,p.12). The support of the management is important to understand and influences and effectiveness of the management accounting. The management is responsible for the effectiveness of the management accounting system to deal with the budget, cost management, and budget.

Employee Involvement

The employee involvement is important for successful implementation of the management accounting system. The employees are the one who will operate the system, and they should have the required knowledge and skills. The employment involvement includes knowledge, information sharing, power sharing, and rewards. The employees should participate and contribute in effective implementation of the management accounting system. Training is essential, and they should contribute their suggestion and ideas during the implementation process. The reward is also essential to increase their involvement and information should be shared.

Structured survey-questionnaire and data analysis

Correct Complexity

The small and medium-sized enterprises should implement the management cost accounting system that matches to the complexities of their business. The less complex organizations can use the software system that can be integrated with the current accounting software (Holton, 2012, p.10). The organizations that have complex manufacturing processes or many products can use the customized solutions.

Scalability

The implementation of the management cost accounting system is easier and simple. Thus, it will not take time for the companies to implement the system. The efficiency and the productivity of the organization will increase with the increase in the efficiency of the processes (Horngren, 2014, p.12).

Expert Advice

The companies can take the help of the consultants before spending a lot of resources and time. The professionals can provide appropriate direction for the implementation of the management accounting system. 

Resource Availability

The companies can make use of their resources such as human resource and technology. The companies can implement other technologies to increase the efficiency of the software. The employees should be provided adequate training in order to operate the software (Powers & Needles, 2012, p.15).

The implementation of the management accounting system within the organization need the support of employees, managers, and technologies. The support of the staff members will enable the companies to implement the system successfully. The successful implementation of the system means increases in the efficiency and productivity of the organization.  The top management team of the companies plays a significant role in the implementation of the system.        

Management accounting system is using the financial information system for the purpose of providing the effective changes in the accounting systems. It also enables to achieve the appropriate objective feedback about the efficiency and the objectivity of the information system and also the enabled in identifying the opportunities and the risks areas (Weil, 2017, p.12). The management of the information system is being depicted on the basis of the managerial accounting information system which is being used for showing the appropriate usefulness and thereby the factors that can be determined which are affecting the managerial information are as follows: –

• Quality of the information: The devotion of the sufficient time is being made showing the creation of the attention which is being made for the purpose of maintaining the accurate and the genuine relevant information system. These are generally indicated to be affecting the management accounting system with reducing the quality of the information.
• Timelines of the information: The management accounting system can be maintained on the daily or weekly basis which will provide a more useful accounting system. Therefore, the timelines are identified to be affecting the management accounting system by not maintaining the timelines as prefixed for the system (McIntosh, 2011, p.12).
• Availability of the resource: The information of the business can be managed by the process of maintaining the appropriate management accounting systems. Therefore, the financial resources are very much essential for the purpose of funding the strategic projects. Due to the scarcity of the financial resources, the management accounting system may get affected and also the successful management cannot be achieved.
• Effective feedback: The effective feedback is depicted to be relying on creating the standards and the company culture must be geared for the betterment of collecting the relevant accounting system. Therefore, the maintenance of the log book for the organization is very much essential that enhances the effectiveness in the management accounting system.

Conclusion

The management accounting system can be implemented successfully with the support of the staff members of the companies. The Simples solution should implement the system to collect information and data that will be helpful in the decision-making process. The system is necessary for the development of the organization and will also increase the efficiency.  

References

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