Track

Accounting Information Systems

Abstract

We apply the viable system model (VSM) in the management control system (MCS) area in order to address the multifariousrelationships between enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and budgeting through the introduction of five researchcriteria: ERP system, budgeting, informal control, organizational hierarchy and the relationships among them. The researchquestion discussed is: How can we develop an MCS that addresses the relationships among budgeting, ERP systems,informal control and organizational hierarchy? It is found that the VSM application overcomes the limitations in MCSframeworks by addressing the relationships among formal and informal sub-control components across all the organizationlevels. The main conclusion of the research is that the amended VSM could be used to describe and explain the social aspectbetween ERP and budgeting in organizations. The unintended use and disconnection of ‘ERP as a database’ in VSM’s system2 explains why the relationship between ‘ERP as a system’ and budgeting remains multifarious.

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