Accounting Information System of Tunisian SMEs - Economic ...

Rarely explored in Tunisia, AIS theme arises interests of both theory and practice. On atheoretical level, the results of our study can be compared with those of previous studies. Theresults of this research led to mixed findings. Some argue that while many SMEs have onlyembryonic management tools geared mainly towards production of accounting data requiredprimarily to satisfy tax authorities (Dapuy 1987; Bajan-Banazak, 1993). Others however,claim that this vision does not capture all SMEs reality and suggest that CIS of SME is welldeveloped (Chapellier 1994; Lavigne, 1999; Nobre, 2001).All of these studies were conducted in developed countries in Europe, Australia and NorthAmerica, where accounting practices were invented. Our study should contribute to the debateon the complexity of AIS of SMEs in developing countries, including Tunisia. In Tunisia, thetransition from a heavy state-controlled economy to a more free market requires managers ofTunisian SMEs to change their attitude towards the role given to accounting in order to copewith turbulences which characterize this new business environment.This research therefore examines the complexity of AIS of Tunisian SMEs and the factorsthat may influence the degree of complexity. First, we aim at identifying the variables thatsignificantly influence degree of complexity of adopted accounting practices. The literatureindicates that researchers have used contingency theory to answer this question (Raymond,1985; Holmes and Nicholls, 1988; Chanhall, 2003; Abdel-Kader and Luther, 2008). In ourstudy, we chose to examine the influence of contingency factors of structural contextualnature on AIS complexity. These factors relate to age of business, its size, sector, ownershipstructure, its indebtedness and exports.However, the literature indicates that structural contingency factors are not enough to explainheterogeneity of AIS complexity because they ignore autonomy of human constructs(Chapellier 1994; Lavigne, 1999; Affes and Chabchoub, 2007). They offer other behavioralfactors relating not only to SMEs managers but also to professional accountants includingaccountants-employees and expert-accountants. We choose as behavioral contingency factorsage, experience, level and type of training. As for the accountant-employees, we choose asfactors their mission in the company, level and type of training and also courses or trainingundertaken. We also study the impact of the involvement of the accountant in themanagement of the company on AIS complexity. Second, we propose to check ourexploratory hypothesis that seeks to examine the impact of AIS complexity on financialperformance.SMEs’ managers need to develop information systems that enable them to make the bestdecision and then to effectively run their businesses. In line with these ideas, we propose totreat the dual problem (1) that which relates to factors determining SMEs’ AIS complexityand (2) that which tries to prove that AIS complexity is associated with SMEs financialperformance.Our paper is structured as follows: Section 2 presents the conceptual framework and researchhypotheses. In Section 3, we present the research methodology. Section 4 is devoted todisplaying, interpreting and discussing the results. Finally, we conclude.2