THE IMPACT OF IT INVESTMENT ON EARNINGS MANAGEMENT: THE MODERATING ROLE OF IT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
THE IMPACT OF IT INVESTMENT ON EARNINGS MANAGEMENT: THE MODERATING ROLE OF IT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
Date
2025-06
Auteurs
BEN NABI Ahmed
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Résumé
This dissertation examines how IT investment affects earnings management in an Algerian consulting and research firm, and whether that effect is shaped by how authority over IT decisions is distributed internally. Using a single-case qualitative design, data were collected through semistructured interviews with six staff members across the Accounting, Finance, and IT functions, and analysed through narrative coding. Grounded in agency theory and the resource-based view, the findings show that IT investment improves the accuracy and traceability of financial reporting only when it is supported by a governance structure that distributes IT decision authority and embeds finance considerations into technology choices; without such a structure, adoption produces limited gains and leaves space for both accrual-based and real earnings management.
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IT investment, IT governance structure, earnings management, financial reporting quality, Algeria, consulting and research firm