Transformation of the Management Accounting Systemin Ukrainian Companies Based on BAS ERP

Abstract

Digitization of management accounting has become imperative to Ukrainian companies operating in unstable regulatory environments, erratic marketplaces as well as fragmented legacy system infrastructures. This paper will analyze how the implementation of a local popular Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system-Business Automation Systems (BAS)-related to the management accounting effectiveness and the soundness of decision making at a Ukrainian-based company. The multiple-case study methodology was employed. A 48 months period consisting of 24 months before and after system uptake were analyzed on three medium-large Ukrainian manufacturing, agroprocessing, and logistics enterprises. The triangulation of data was performed based on archival performance records, system change logs, and semi-structured interviews with nine senior informants, the Chief Financial Officer, Head of Controlling and ERP Project Manager of each case. Some of the performance indicators included time to close, budget accuracy, and manual journal recordings. Paired-sample t-tests were used to test Hypothesis 1; Within-case profiling and cross-case pattern-matching were the methods of testing Hypothesis 2, with Likert-scale scores as the tools of analysis.The three examples demonstrated good improvements. The monthly reporting time-to-close reduced by 7.87 days, and it was a 51-56 percent decrease (t =-6.42, p <.001). Manual journal entries were reduced by 74-78 percent with budget variance improvement by 20-53 percent (t =-3.78, p =.005). Every company achieved a high single source of truth integration (4.0-5.0). The variation in decision-making resilience showed a steady difference with respect to the dependency of vendors: the company, which achieved the lowest dependency (4.5), displayed the highest resilience, whereas the company, which achieved the highest dependency (3.5), achieved the lowest resilience, even though it recorded the most overall technical integration. This study provides longitudinal data of ERP-induced management accounting change in Ukraine and suggests a contingency model in which the dependence on the vendors serves as a moderating factor of the resilience benefits of digital integration. It is indicated that Chief Financial Officers need to put more focus on regulatory adaptation and minimize the vendor lock-in through contractual data portability and open API access.