The influence of computerized accounting systems on financial performance:

Abstract

Computerized accounting systems have become the engine of public accounting in the sphere of financial management reforms in Tanzania. Unfortunately, prior to this study, there was no evidence that previous researches provided the link between computerized accounting systems and financial performance of the Tanzanian public organizations. For this reason, this study investigated the influence of computerized accounting systems on financial performance using three proxy indicators namely usefulness of computerized accounting system, ease of use of computerized accounting systems and trustworthiness of computerized accounting systems. A survey research design was adopted covering five public organizations in Dar es Salaam with a total sample of 50 accounts and finance staff selected by judgmental sampling method. Research data was generated using survey questionnaires and analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and regression analysis with the aid of SPSS program version 25. The empirical results revealed that all three proxy indicators had positive and statistically significant influence on financial performance and accounted for about 41.1% of an overall variability of financial performance of the public organizations. In line with these results, the study recommends management of the studied public organizations to ensure ease of use of computerized accounting systems by enabling users to become skilful in using these systems and to improve trustworthiness of the systems by ensuring that they are free from frequent update of the software.