Appendix 3

Information Sheet Sent with Postal Questionnaire

Information sheet

Project Title: 
Management Accountants and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Project Sponsor:
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (“CIMA”), 26 Chapter Street,
London, SW1P 4NP

Investigators:
Professor Stewart Leech
The University of Melbourne
Email: saleech@unimelb.
edu.au
Professor Severin Grabski Professor Alan Sangster
Michigan State University Open University Business School
Email: grabski@pilot. Email: a.sangster@open.ac.uk
msu.edu

Purpose:
The aim of this project is to determine the changes made and the changes required
by the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems on the work
and behaviour of management accountants. By examining the changes made and
the changes deemed required by management accountants, this study is critical to
the effective use of ERP systems in this vital area of accounting. The study will
provide advice to management accountants on the changes needed to achieve the
most benefit from an ERP system implementation.

Procedures, Data Collection and Use:

This stage of data collection is by survey. The development of the questionnaire
was informed by the current literature and information collected in pilot studies
conducted by Professors Sangster and Leech in three organisations in the UK. Once
the survey data has been collected and analysed, it is intended to conduct intensive
interviews with three or more companies (who have identified themselves as willing
to participate). The case studies will considerably enrich the data obtained through
the survey.
 132  Appendix 3

We will protect your anonymity and the confidentiality of your responses to the
fullest possible extent, within the limits of the law. Your contact details will be kept
in a password-protected computer file that is kept completely separately from the
data you provide. The link between these details and your responses will only be
made by the researchers and only to ensure that the questionnaire has been returned
to us. The data is processed without any identifying details attached, and is then
completely anonymous. Once the study has been completed, a brief summary of
the findings will be available to you from CIMA. The researchers will keep the data
securely in password-protected computer files for five years from the date of publi-
cation before being destroyed.
Participation:
Your participation in this project is completely voluntary. Should you wish to with-
draw at any stage, or to withdraw any unprocessed data you have supplied, you are
free to do so without prejudice. If you are happy to participate, please return your
completed questionnaire. Your participation is most important to our project and we
hope that you have the time to complete the questionnaire.
Queries or Concerns:
Should you require any further information, or have any concerns, please do not
hesitate to contact Professor Alan Sangster, Open University Business School,
(email: a.sangster@open.ac.uk).
The project has ethical clearance from the administering university, the University of
Melbourne. If you have concerns of an ethical nature, please contact The Executive
Officer, Human Research Ethics, Office for Research and Innovation, The University
of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia, telephone: 61 3 8344 4071 or fax: 61 3
9347 6739.