Does business intelligence mediate the relationship between ERP and management accounting practices?

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) in mediating the relationship between enterprise resource planning (ERP) and three sets of management accounting practices (MAPs): budgeting, costing and performance evaluation. It also examines the extent to which the usage of ERP affects the intensity of the application of various MAPs. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modeling (SmartPLS 3) is used to analyze data collected from a cross-sectional survey of 82 firms in the UAE. The results indicate that the constructs are valid and reliable and that the model supports the research hypotheses. Findings: The findings confirm the positive effect of the extent of using ERP systems, as a construct of modules, on the extent of applying three sets of MAPs. They also show that the extent of the use of BI&A systems partially mediates the relationship between the extent of the use of ERP systems and intensity of applying each of the three sets of MAPs. Practical implications: The results encourage organizations to adopt BI&A to reap the full benefits of ERP. Originality/value: In contrast to the extant research that presumes a direct influence of ERP on MAPs, this study investigates if the extent of the use of BI&A mediates the presumed relationship between the extent of the use of ERP and intensity of applying each of the three sets of MAPs.