Identifying and controlling factors affecting the quality of accounting information in the environment of applying enterprise resource planning system ERP in Vietnamese enterprises

The content affects the success of the ERP project and also affects the quality of accounting information, which are:

 The experience and capacity of the implementation consultant is demonstrated through compliance with testing procedures, training system users, and troubleshooting during the system implementation phase.

 Commitment and support from the senior management of the enterprise. Demonstrated in the commitment to innovation, determination to pursue projects, and measures to support business stability.

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 Project team capacity during system testing

 Training users of ERP system

 System testing: shows the methods and information for testing.

 The quality of data converted from the old system to the new system. It is evaluated through the content, appropriate form of the converted data as well as having complete data conversion records.

 Change Management Policy: Managing employee reactions

2.2.3.4. Operation and use phase.

This is the stage where the ERP system is officially used. During this stage, functional departments in the enterprise use ERP software to perform activities according to their functions. Accounting information products are created directly from this stage.

 Products and services . These are reports on business financial information and business operations information. For accountants, the quality of accounting information is the quality of information products of the ERP system.

 Work execution . This is a processing procedure including: collecting, entering, and processing information of subsystems in the ERP system. Due to the characteristics of ERP, the information processing procedure is also attached to the process of managing and performing business activities (reviewing and implementing) and controlling; and it is also the processing procedure of the ERP software. This procedure needs to be suitable for business processing needs.

and information processing of the enterprise and it determines the quality of information products. Therefore, studies all agree that this is the decisive factor for the success of the ERP system, reflected in the success of restructuring the processing process and choosing the appropriate ERP software (Plant and Willcocks, 2007). The thesis chooses " processing process " as the content that affects the quality of accounting information.

 Participants . During the usage phase, there are many people involved in the business operations and information processing process. In an enterprise, system participants include (1) employees performing business operations;

(2) a group of people who manage, monitor and approve activities; (3) accounting staff who provide data related to month-end accounting estimates such as closing entries and adjustments; (4) an IT group who develop policies related to system security policies and accounting information processing; (5) an audit group who evaluate and inspect the entire system; and (6) a senior management team of the enterprise. Outside the enterprise are consultants and ERP implementers who provide support services to the enterprise's participant group.

o The group of employees performing business activities . They are both the ones who directly perform business activities and the ones who enter initial data about daily business activities into the system. The quality of data and information depends mainly on the activities of entering data into the system by this group of people. Therefore, system operation skills, professional level, understanding of information flow and compliance with corporate policies and discipline are the core contents that affect the quality of information.

o Supervisory team . They need to provide operational approvals not only on paper but also on the ERP system to ensure timely progress according to operational procedures and ensure control of business operations.

o Accounting staff group . During the period, accountants need to enter data related to business activities but have not yet entered in the business activities department such as purchasing services or costs of creating value for physical assets that have been entered into the system from the business activities department. At the end of the period, accountants

Accountants enter accounting estimates, create closing journal entries and related accounting reports. This group of people needs skills and understanding of accounting and systems to be able to promptly detect errors in data in the system related to business operations as well as provide effective information analysis to users. In addition, accountants make period-end accounting estimates, so the reliability of the information is affected by the accountant's judgment.

o Group of people who build information security policies and systems (Group of departmental managers ). In an ERP environment, users have more access to system data, can more easily predict the results related to the completion of financial goals for their center or department, so they tend to intervene in data that is estimated or adjusted by policy (Brazel and Li, 2005, Brazel and Li, 2008). For this reason, the role of the group of people who build information and system security policies is very important. They need to build system and data access policies such as entering master files (declaring data), entering arising business data, viewing data, editing data. In particular, declaring and editing declared data about policies is extremely important to limit "flexible" adjustments to serve the completion of departmental financial goals. For example, declaring and adjusting depreciation policies and provision policies, allocating and transferring costs. They also need to build security records, secure access and security operation manuals for other employees such as access passwords, system operation habits, etc.

o Audit team. They are responsible for reviewing and evaluating the company's compliance with regulations, reliability of reporting and system controls.

o Senior management of the enterprise. They have the role of supporting the activities of all members in the enterprise, resolving conflicts

the resistance or resistance of the enterprise's employees to the implementation of ERP. This is a factor in the success of the ERP system (Wang and Chen, 2006, Xu et al., 2002)

o Implementation consultants. They have the role of supporting businesses in the process of using the ERP system. This is a factor in the success of the ERP system (Plant and Willcocks, 2007, Wang and Chen, 2006)

Studies have shown that the groups of participants in the enterprise have an important influence on the quality of the ERP system, requiring them to have skills and understand the responsibilities in their roles and positions (Vosburg and Kumar, 2001, Grabski et al.) and thus affect the quality of accounting information. The thesis chooses the group of people in the enterprise with the title of skills and knowledge of system participants "as a component of factors affecting the quality of accounting information. Skills and knowledge of participants (system users) demonstrate compliance with the usage process, the level of proficiency and mastery of system operations, and the way of exploiting information from the system. The support of the enterprise's senior management and the support of the implementation consultant are also selected as components of factors affecting the quality of accounting information.

 Data . This is data collected during the implementation of business activities and data stored in databases on policies and regulations, business activities performed and related accounting data. “Garbage in, garbage out” is a term often used in computer science books to indicate the importance of data to information quality. The term “dirty data” is used in computer science to refer to data that is: “inaccurate, inconsistent in the process of collecting, storing data in different locations during the process of collecting, storing, accessing data” (Vosburg and Kumar, 2001). An example of dirty data is: the same customer can be stored with 2 different information in 2 different customer codes; or the same order information but when stored in the sales department is different from the information in the accounting department about the delivery date or implementation. Required data

“Integrity” means: completeness, accuracy, consistency, only then can we create complete and reliable information thanks to accuracy, completeness, and consistency with each other. Due to the importance of data to create information, the thesis chooses “ quality of collected and stored data” as a factor affecting the quality of accounting information. The quality of collected and stored data is shown through accuracy, timeliness, completeness, and suitability to the information needs of users; safety in data storage.

 Technology. In the usage stage, “ technology” is the processing procedure and ERP software. In the ERP environment, the business processing and information processing procedures are performed through the operation of ERP software. It is demonstrated through meeting the requirements of business processing and information processing of the enterprise, controlling the information processing process, stable ERP software, ready to use; convenient, easy to use, easy to upgrade. Thus, the quality of information is directly affected by the processing procedure and the quality of ERP software. The thesis chooses “processing procedure and quality of ERP software” as the component of the factor affecting the quality of accounting information.

 Customers/product users. They are the recipients and users of accounting information provided by the system. In an ERP environment, customers include internal customers (also all employees and internal managers who need accounting information for their work) or people outside the system such as customers or suppliers (if ERP II is implemented), investors. Customers can access the ERP system directly or indirectly through corporate communication channels to get information.

For internal users, they are the ones who both input data into the system and retrieve information processed by the system, so their operations and attitudes in using the system contribute to determining the stability, accuracy, and timeliness of information processing. According to the ERP implementation experience of FPT company itself, because many employees retrieve too much data compared to actual needs, the system requires retrieving stored data from many places at different times, leading to system congestion.

congestion, slowing down the system, reducing the availability of information. Because they are also “participants” of the system, they were selected in the content of “skills and knowledge of system participants”.

For external users, they are the ones who require accurate and reliable information to make investment and lending decisions. Therefore, it has the opposite effect on the requirements to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of the system and affects the quality of information, and the thesis chooses " external users" as the component factor affecting the quality of accounting information.

 Environment. This component describes issues related to corporate culture, organization, supervision, inspection, and laws related to business operations and ERP software.

o Corporate culture environment. As presented in the system analysis phase, corporate culture is the ambitions and business philosophy of the enterprise set forth by the board of directors and management of the enterprise, in order to determine the behavior and solution in the work of the members in the enterprise. It is an important tool to guide and adjust the thinking and actions of employees in the enterprise, and is the glue that binds the functional departments in the enterprise. The ERP environment creates cohesion and interdependence in the process of performing work. In the system usage phase, corporate culture aims at the cooperation of individuals, bonding and sharing with each other in the process of handling business activities and information processing. It is the foundation to help the ERP system operate promptly and effectively, influencing the creation of timely and effective information. The thesis chooses " cultural environment " as a component of the factor affecting the quality of accounting information.

o Legal. Mainly related to the selection and adjustment of software during the system implementation process. It is demonstrated through the ability of both the consultant, the project team and the senior management of the enterprise in making

The decision to adjust the software should not choose the legal issue here as the content affecting the quality of accounting information.

o Inspection and supervision. According to the theory of control, monitoring and supervision activities are important components that help the system detect errors and adjust the system to help system management achieve management goals. At the stage of using the system, checking and supervising the process of using and maintaining the system is extremely important because it is the stage of directly processing data and creating information. Inspection and supervision before and during the processing of transactions will be performed by supervisors and department managers, and post-operational supervision will be performed by internal auditors or independent auditors. Therefore, the thesis chooses " inspection and supervision environment" as a factor affecting the quality of accounting information. This factor is assessed through periodic system inspection and supervision activities, regular monitoring of system access. In addition, the inspection and supervision environment is also assessed through the auditor's level and understanding of information technology and ERP.

 Strategy . Are strategies and policies for business management, human resources, and information processing in the ERP system. It includes strategies and policies:

o ERP system control. To ensure ERP system control, it is necessary to have policies to control business operations, system access, data and information to build control activities and monitor the ERP system. Therefore, the thesis chooses "ERP system control policy" as a component of the factor affecting the quality of accounting information.

o Human resources: Policies on using, rewarding, disciplining and training employees. It is very important because it is the foundation for ensuring and maintaining the quality of business employees. Therefore, the thesis chooses "human resource control policy" as a component of the factor affecting the quality of accounting information.

o Change management. During the usage phase, technical change management policies are reflected in the ERP system control policy to ensure that the system achieves reliability, safety, security, integrity and availability (Romney and Steinbart, 2006), so the thesis does not choose technical change management. During the process of using the ERP system, if the enterprise does not respond promptly to the state's changes in accounting issues, the quality of accounting information will certainly be affected. The issue of user reaction during the system usage phase has not been presented in other sections, so the thesis chooses " user reaction management policies and state reaction management" as the component factor affecting the quality of accounting information.

 Infrastructure. These are issues related to the equipment system and communication network related to the ERP system. If the infrastructure is damaged or interrupted during use, it will affect the quality of accounting information. Therefore, the thesis chooses " quality of equipment and infrastructure" as a factor affecting the quality of accounting information. It is evaluated through the stability of the system and system maintenance.

In summary, in the usage phase, the factors that influence the success of ERP are more numerous and can be divided into the following components:

 Business and information processing procedures, business operations control and information processing are appropriate and meet the characteristics of operations and management needs, and provide information.

 ERP software quality: control of information processing activities, stability and readiness to use, ease of use, ease of upgrade when there is a new version

 Quality of data collected and stored: timely, accurate, complete and suitable for users' information needs

 Quality of equipment and communication infrastructure: stability, readiness for use