Journal of Social
Sciences 8 (1): 74–78, 2012
ISSN
1549–3652
©
2012 Science Publications
Evaluating the Performance of Accounting Information Systems in Jordanian Private
Hospitals
Majed
Alsharayri
Department
of Accounting,
Faculty
of Planning, Balqaa, Applied University, Salt, Jordan
Abstract:
Problem statement: This study aimed at identifying the
evaluation of accounting information systems performance used in the Jordanian
private hospitals. Approach: In order to achieve the objectives of the
study, a questionnaire has designed and developed for the purpose of data collection.
Results: It was distributed to the individual’s sample which are (15)
hospitals, (SPSS) software program was used in order to analyze data, descriptive
statistical methods were used to determine the views of employees in Jordanian
private hospitals who use accounting systems. Conclusion/Recommendations: The
study reached the following conclusions: The cost of modern equipment is very
high. Using modern programs help individuals to get the job done quickly. Employees
are unable to keep pace with human development in accounting systems.
Key
words: Performance, private hospitals, modem instruments,
information technology
INTRODUCTION
In
the era of Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century, it began to appear later
large scale of jointstock companies, which led to the separation of the ownership
of these companies form their administration, as well as the emergence of an
urgent need to prepare and publish financial reports about those companies periodically
and annually after auditing them by an independent external auditor that their information
gains the confidence and ensure that those managers of joint–stock companies
act in line and wishes of shareholders as owners. In addition to the
multiplicity and complexity of economic processes among private hospitals made
it necessary to create and improve the report’s entrances on the accounting
information.
Finally,
our current era is described as “Information Age”, where the production and information’s
delivery of services has become a widespread product and the demand of it
continues to increase. Accounting Information System plays a pivotal role in
decision makers’ service; this is what made the use of computers as processors
of information as indispensable in the world of accounting.
It
could be argued that the accounting system is the oldest systems of information,
which is still considered the main source of economic information in the
present day and in the future, because of the importance of financial
information in the decision–making.
The
accounting system has tended to be a system of information that does not stop
at the limits of data and financial information, but also it includes data and descriptive
and quantitative information which is useful in decision–making for users
distinct with plurality and diversity. Accounting information systems also
provide additional information beside financial information.
The
group of accounting programs users include current and potential investors,
lenders, suppliers, creditors, customers, governments and the public, in addition
to the administration, which its responsibility to prepare the accounting
programs and then displaying it, that information must be capable of achieving
the goal that it has been prepared for.
Significance
of the study: The significance of the study is based on
evaluating the performance of accounting information systems used in the
Jordanian private hospitals, where the accounting information systems is
consider as one of the components of the administrative organization
specialized in Accumulating, Classifying, Processing, Analyzing and
Communicating the financial information and the quantity to make decisions to
internal and external parties.
Problem
of the study: With advances in information technology,
which will be reflected on the performance of employees, there should be a
measure of information with certain quality to enable them to make decisions
relevant to their work.
Objectives
of the study: This study seeks at achieving the
following objectives :
1.
Acknowledge the extent of applying
accounting information systems in Jordanian private hospitals
2.
Identify the impact of accounting
information systems to improve the performance of employees in Jordanian
private hospitals
3.
Make recommendations and suggestions to
help in improving the performance of employees by strengthening the role of
accounting information systems in Jordanian private hospitals
Previous studies:
Rauplience and
Staerngis (2003) reached to a developed model to assess the effectiveness of accounting
information systems that characterized with openness and clarity of the
determinants and can be used in all stages of the system’s life cycle
(choiceapplication–exploitation) and evaluate mixed indicators (quantity–quality)
of the accounting systems’ effectiveness.
Salehi and
Abdoreza (2011) reviewed barriers in implementation by postulating six
hypotheses of accounting information system (middle managers, human resources,
organizational structure, environmental factors, financial issues and organizational
culture) in companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange. Finally, some results
were obtained in this manner: barrier of organizational structure with 26 percent,
middle managers with 26 percent, human resources with 25 percent, environmental
factors with 21 percent, organizational culture with 19 percent and finally
financial issues with16 percent were identified as barriers factors influencing
on the establishment of accounting information systems in listed companies on Tehran
Stock Exchange.
Grande et al.
(2011) research provided value added in accounting literature given the
scarcity of works dealing with the relationship between the application and use
of AIS and performance and productivity indicators in SMEs in Spain.
Banker et al.
(2002), in their study, Impact of Information Technology on Public Accounting
Firm Productivity, focused on five offices of an international public
accounting firm that recently made large IT investments, primarily in audit software
and knowledge–sharing applications. Both qualitative and quantitative information
from the research site are analyzed to estimate the change in productivity following
the implementation of IT. The results from both regression analysis and Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA) indicate significant productivity gains following IT
implementation, documenting the value impact of IT in a public accounting firm.
Naranjo–Gil
(2004) examined the effect of accounting information system design on the performance
of organizations pursuing different strategic priorities. The results provide
support of an indirect effect of sophisticated accounting information system on
performance, acting through a prospector strategy.
Sajady et al.
(2008) evaluated the effectiveness of accounting information systems of finance
managers of listed companies at Tehran stock exchange. The results indicate
that implementation of accounting information systems at these companies caused
the improvement of managers’ decision–making process, internal controls and the
quality of the financial reports and facilitated the process of the company’s
transactions. The results did not show any indication that performance evaluation
process had been improved.
Ismail and King
(2005) focused on measuring the alignment of Accounting Information Systems
(AIS) requirements with AIS capacity and then investigating whether this AIS
alignment is linked to firm performance. The results indicated that a
significant proportion of Malaysian SMEs had achieved high AIS alignment.
Furthermore, the group of SMEs with high AIS alignment had achieved better
organizational performance than firms with low AIS alignment. The findings
provided evidence of the importance of AIS alignment and deepened current
understanding of the requirements for accounting information and the use of IT
as an important information processing mechanism. More importantly, it opens up
possibilities for further study of AIS alignment in SMEs, both in Malaysia and
on a global basis.
Mia and Chenhall
(1994) examined the role of broad scope information, made available by Management
Accounting Systems (MAS), in enhancing managerial performance. It is proposed
that differentiation of activities into areas such as marketing and production
is an organizational response to manage uncertainty. The study argued that such
differentiation of activities moderates the association between the extent to
which managers use broad scope MAS information and performance.
Badescu and
Garces–Ayerbe (2009) proposes to analyze the impact of investments in
Information Technologies (ITs) on the productivity of Spanish firms. The
results obtained reveal that the sensitivity of labor productivity to changes
in technological capital intensity is positive and significant when firm–specific
effects are corrected.
Ajibolade et
al. (2010) provide empirical evidence on the moderation effect of the level
of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty (PEU) facing an organization on the
effectiveness of MAS designs. Results obtained suggest a strong moderating
effect of PEU on the relationship between MAS design and performance. Companies
with high PEU appear to perform better when more sophisticated MAS designs are
adopted.
Study
hypotheses: To achieve the objectives of the study,
many hypotheses were formulated in their null image as follows :
1.
First hypothesis: the used accounting
systems do not use modern instruments.
2.
Second hypothesis: the used accounting systems
do not use modern accounting programs for information.
3.
Third hypothesis: the working accounting
employees in this sector are not up to standard.
4.
Total hypothesis: The used accounting
systems do not keep pace with the requirements of information technology.
METERIALS AND METHODS
Population
and the study sample: Population of the study includes
all workers in Jordanian private hospitals and those who is holding the general
secondary certificate (high school) and higher. The researchers selected a
random sample of total population study which amounted to (15) hospital, that
represented (2%) of the population study, (35) questionnaires were distributed,
(25) of them were retrieved by a percentage of (71%).
Study
methodology: The study relied on the research
methodology descriptive, which starts from a study evaluating the performance
of accounting information systems used in the Jordanian private hospitals,
through an office survey and recognizing the previous studies and theoretical,
field and applied research, in addition to examine the most important previous
studies and analyzing it with appropriate statistical methods in order to
answer the study questions and test hypotheses.
Study
tool: A questioner was developed taking advantage from
previous studies, this questionnaire is composed of two parts.
Part
One: This part consists of data and personal information (demographic
variables) for individuals of the study sample (gender, age, educational qualification,
experience, functional level).
Part
Two: This part includes a group of (16) paragraphs that
measure the availability of computer systems in Jordanian private hospitals.
Paragraphs (1–6) measured the use of modern equipment, as paragraphs (7–11)
measured the extent of using modern equipment, while paragraphs (12–16)
measured the efficiency of human resources and the required level.
Tool’s
credibility: To verify the veracity of the tools
content that presented before a specialists jury in Al–Balqa Applied University
for the purpose of arbitration and to verify the authenticity of its amended
paragraphs content, which they approved, after the introduction of their
comments and proposed amendments at some of the amended paragraphs.
Statistical
analysis: Data which was provided by the questionnaires were
analyzed through subjecting them to (SPSS) to find the following statistical
indicators. Credibility and validity of the study:
Sample Alpha
25 86%
Table 1: Frequency distribution of
the study sample based on gender
Gender Repetition Percentage
Male
13 52
Female
12 48
Table 2: Frequency distribution of
the study sample based on age
Age group Repetition Percentage
Less than 25 Years 2 8
25–32 years
6 24
33–40 years
13 52
41–48 years
4 16
More than 48 years 0 0
Table 3: Frequency distribution of
the study sample based on educational level
Age group Repetition Percentage
High school or less 1 4
Intermediate diploma 5 20
Bachelor
18 72
Master 1 4
Doctorate
0 0
Table 4: Frequency distribution of
the study sample based on years of experience
Years of experience Repetition Percentage
Less than five years 8
32
5–10 years
12 48
11–16 years
5 20
17–22 years
0 0
More than 22 years 0 0
Table 5: Frequency distribution of
the study sample based on the functional level
Functional level Repetition Percentage
Manager 7 28
Assistant manager 4 16
Accountant
13 52
Head of department 0 0
Other 1 4
Table 6: The arithmetic mean and
standard deviation of Hypothesis
No. Hypothesis Arithmetic Standard
Mean Deviation
1.
The accounting
systems do not use
modern instruments
4.30 0.48
2.
The accounting
systems do not use
modern accounting
programs of
information 3.73 0.66
3.
The accounting
working staffs for
this sector are not up
to standard 4.26 0.57
4.
The used accounting
systems do not keep
Pace with
Information
technology’s
Requirements 10.96 0.000
We
can note in the previous Table that the value of alpha is equal to (86%), which
is larger than the statistically acceptable percentage of (60%), reflecting the
stability of the used measuring tool.
Study sample
description:
Gender:
The
above Table 1 shows that the study sample included 52% “males” and 48%
“females”.
Age:
The
above Table 2 shows that the study sample included a percentage of 8% of the
age group of 25 and 24% of the age group 25–32 and 52% of the age group 33–40
and 16% of the age group 41–48.
Educational
level: The above Table 3 shows that the study sample included
a percentage of 4% of the employees which their educational level was high school
or less, 20% of the employees which their educational level was intermediate
diploma, 72% of the employees which their educational level was bachelor, 4% of
employees which their educational level was master and 0% of the employees
which their educational level was PhD.
Years
of experience: The above Table 4 shows that the study
sample included 32% of employees which their years of experience were less than
five years, 48% of employees which their years of experience were (5–10) years,
20% of employees which their years of experience were (11–16) years, 0% of
employees which their years of experience were (17–22) years and 0% of
employees which their years of experience were more than 22 years.
The
functional level: The above Table 5 shows that the study
sample included 28% of employees which their functional level was “manager”,
16% of employees which their functional level was “assistant manager”, 52% of
employees which their functional level was “accountant”, 0% of employees which
their functional level was head of department and 4% of employees selected the
level “Other”.
Testing hypotheses:
The
first hypothesis: The arithmetic mean of all the
hypotheses came high as shown in the above Table 6, ranging between (3.73–4.3),
where the first hypothesis which was stated “The used accounting systems do not
use modern instruments, the highest arithmetic mean was (4.30), with a standard
deviation of (0.48).
The
second hypothesis: The second hypothesis which stipulates,
“The used accounting systems do not use software accounting modern information”
came with a higher arithmetic mean of (3.73) with a standard deviation of
(0.66).
The
third hypothesis: The third hypothesis which stipulates
“The accounting working staffs for this sector are not up to standard” came
with a higher arithmetic mean of (4.26), with a standard deviation of (0.57).
Total
hypothesis: The total hypothesis which stipulates
“The used accounting systems do not use modern accounting information programs”
came with a higher arithmetic mean of (4.11), with a standard deviation of
(0.46).
Testing
Hypotheses by using (T–test): The
above Table 7 showed that there were statistically significant differences at a
significant level of (0.05) in the first hypothesis, where the level of
significance was less than (0.05), therefore the basic hypothesis is rejected and
the alternative hypothesis is accepted.
Table 7: (T–Test) Analysis
Field The value Significance
No Hypotheses of “T” level
1.
The used accounting systems do
13.51 0.000
not use modern
instruments.
2.
The used accounting 10.96 0.000
systems do not use
modern g
accountinprograms of
information
3.
The accounting staff working 5.51 0.000
for
this sector is not up to
standard
4.
The used accounting systems do
12.14 0.000
not
keep Pace with information
technology’s
requirements
The
above Table 7 showed that there were statistically significant differences at a
significant level of (0.05) in the second hypothesis, where the level of
significance was less than (0.05), therefore the basic hypothesis is rejected and
the alternative hypothesis is accepted.
The
above Table 7 showed that there were statistically significant differences at a
significant level of (0.05) in the third hypothesis, where the level of
significance was less than (0.05), therefore the basic hypothesis is rejected
and the alternative hypothesis is accepted.
The
above Table 7 showed that there were statistically significant differences at a
significant level of (0.05) in the total hypothesis, where the level of
significance was less than (0.05), therefore the basic hypothesis is rejected
and the alternative hypothesis is accepted.
REDULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the study indicated
the following :
First:
The
existence of modern equipment and technology forms a positive image of
accounting systems’ performance.
Second:
The
uses of modern programs increase the effectiveness of the systems’ performance;
that what the study approved in the statistical analysis.
Third:
The
presence of qualified human staffs plays an important role in raising the
performance of accounting systems.
The study recommended the following
:
1.
Working on the provision of modern
devices and programs for employees in light of the use of accounting systems.
2.
Working on the training staffs on how to
use the systems.
3.
Working on the provision of specialists
in development and maintenance of the systems
CONCLUSION
The study
critically evaluates from both descriptive and analytical point of view the
performance of accounting information systems in hospitals.
This study
contributes to the existing literature by providing evidence of the use of
accounting information systems in Jordanian private hospitals. It has
empirically investigated the use of modern instuments, programs and human
efficiency.
The study
reached that the cost of modern equipment was very high. Using advanced
programs help individuals to get the job done quickly. Employees are unable to
keep pace with human development in accounting systems.
