Efficiency of Accounting Software 1|Page

Perception of Accountancy Students on the Efficiency of Accounting Software to a Small

Business Operation in the Philippines

Cabanatan, Xaveiry Mel

Ocayo, Jia
Portillo, EJ

A Research Submitted to Mrs. Maria Charito Suyom

January 2022

Author Note
Xaveiry Mel Cabanatan, Jia Ocayo, Portillo EJ, Saint Paul School of Professional
Studies. 
Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Xaveiry Mel
Cabanatan, Jia Ocayo, Portillo EJ, Saint Paul School of Professional Studies, Campetic,
Palo, Leyte 6501. E-mail: 20181301@spsps.edu.ph, 20180919@spsps.edu.ph, and
20181372@spsps.edu.ph.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to acknowledge the support of the Saint Paul School of Professional

Studies – Faculty of Accountancy

We would like to thank God for giving us strength and motivation to finish our paper. We

could never have done this without guidance of the Heavenly Father.

We would like to express my gratitude to our parents, who provided us support to our

years of studying Accounting. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our advisor,

Mrs. Maria Charito Suyom for the continuous support of our research, for her patience,

motivation, and immense knowledge. Her guidance helped us in all the time of research writing

of this paper. We could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for our study.

We thank ourselves for the stimulating discussions, for the sleepless nights we were

working together before deadlines, and for all the fun we have had for the four years. Also, we

thank our friends in the following institution. In particular, we are grateful to our supporters for

enlightening us the first glance of research.

Last but not the least, we would like to thank Saint Paul School of Professional Studies.

This accomplishment would not have been possible without our dear school. Thank you.

Researchers
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ABSTRACT

Small business owners benefit from accounting software because it helps them track

accounts receivable and accounts payable, have a clear understanding of their profitability, and

be prepared for tax seasons. In the world of accounting software, a small business is one that can

use simple accounting software without extensive customization, but as business grows, its

accounting need become more complex, ERP Software or Enterprise Resource Planning software

might be needed. Filipinos, before the birth of electricity and technology, used bookkeeping as

oral tradition to record the financial transactions, it challenged the business operators to be

precise, careful and to be more critical thinkers.

The researchers believed that accounting software nowadays when pandemic, is even

more effective tool for the Filipino small business owners especially that online selling-buying is

becoming a trend. To bring innovativeness in the Philippines, is to identify the common

categories that can provide more substantial information to be used and determined by the

business operator that can help its business operation,

To conclude, the researchers are to provide more gathered factual information about

accounting software that is substantial.

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INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Throughout time, technology has proven to help make daily activities, jobs, work, and

overall, our way of life easier and faster. When it comes to accounting, technology has also

helped greatly improve how accountants and other users perform their tasks. Accounting

software make it easier for users to perform financial procedures. This software can also provide

users easy access into their financial records, and provide insight towards their financial health.

Multiple accounting software have been created throughout the years, e.g., QuickBooks, Gnu

Cash, Sage X3, and many more. This software has different uses, but they all serve the same

purpose; to ease the work of accounting and make business transactions faster.

In this modern era and fast paced world, those who don’t adapt to technological

advancements may get left behind. Business entities use accounting software to perform a variety

of accounting and book keeping tasks. It stores data and information to perform actual business

transactions, generating invoices, managing expenses and tax preparation. With the many uses

accounting software’s have, business entities can save plenty of time and resources. Human

errors can also be avoided, since this software provide accurate and fast results. Accounting

software also help reduce the workload of employees. Financial statements and tax returns can

also be created through accounting software. These few advantages that accounting software

contribute to business entities only proves how efficient this software can be.
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Research Problem and Purpose

Pre-covid, many businesses operate using accounting software. The researchers want to

provide a thorough insight on how accounting software can efficiently help a business based on

the perspective of accounting students as many students want to help and how they can

innovatively provide substantial fact and information by gathering and examining more papers

that can help a business operation to the society while still undergraduate. This paper also aims

to help clear any misconceptions about accounting software, if there are any.

Research Question / Objective of the Study

Are the numbers generated by these accounting software accurate all of the time? How

does this software help business operations? Are businesses that use this software more efficient

than those who don’t? These are only a few of the questions that the researchers would like to

answer in this paper.

Scope and Delimitation

This study is focused only on accounting software used by Filipino in the Philippines.

Information were based on the list of existing of available sources to the researchers. The target

audience of this study will be the intermediate readers of 18 yrs old and above. The data that will

be gathered will not be limited to books but also to the other sources such as online sources e.g.,

website, app.
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The study emphasized the accounting software as core element of the ideas and concept

of this research. The topic will be limited to the materials that will not confuse the readers on the

literal meaning and message of the accounting software.

Significance of the Study

To the students. This study will give them a helping hand for better understanding of

accounting software.

To the Parents. This study will help parents to read and understood the modern

technology and to learn more about accounting software.

To the researchers. The researcher could gain knowledge and apply the new gathered

information to influence more.

To the Future Researchers. This study could benefit them as a reference when conducting

a similar study.

Definition of Terms

Accounting - is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial

information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations.

Accounting Information System - the collection, storage, and processing of financial and

accounting data used by internal users to report information to investors, creditors, and tax

authorities.
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Business - Business is the activity of making one's living or making money by producing or

buying and selling products (such as goods and services).

Business Operation - is the harvesting of value from assets owned by a business.

Enterprise Resource Planning Software - is the integrated management of main business

processes, often in real time and mediated by software and technology

Operation - the fact or condition of functioning or being active

System - a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized

framework or method

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

In this chapter of the research paper, the researchers will discuss different articles or

research studies that have similar topic with the researchers’ paper. These articles may come

from different sources on the internet.

Throughout history, review of related literature sources has relied a lot on archives and/or

first- hand findings. But for this particular research study, the researchers will use the internet as

their source for past research articles, findings, and studies to apply on their own paper.

Related Studies
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1.) According to a study made by Yvonne Chang and Ismail Nizam, PhD:

Accounting information system is of immense significance to both businesses and

organization according to Hla and Teru (2015) as it facilitates management decision

making, quality of the financial report, internal controls, the company’s transaction

besides playing a crucial role in economic system. The study asserts that businesses and

organization should implement AIS because an efficient AIS yield sufficient accounting

information which is critical for effective decision making and also ensures adequate,

pertinent and true information are available to all levels of management to plan and

control business activities. IS application impacted the organization in form of the

benefits received. Through business performance, the impact of IT on organization is

discerned (Brynjolfsson and Hitt, 1996 & 2000; Osei-Bryson and Ko, 2004) leading to

business value (Lee, 2001).

https://swsu.ru/sbornik-statey/pdf/BusinessSystems.pdf

2.) From the research study of AbdiSalam Salad Abdulle, Zaini Zainol, Hawa

Ahmad: According to D and Amnim (2013), the result from their study shows that

information technology makes financial reporting more accurate, useable and better.

Moreover, accounting information systems (AIS) has a direct impact on the profitability

level of small-scale businesses. Further, data is easily classified in a more detailed way

which resulted in time-saving (Muhindo, Mzuza, & Zhou, 2014).

https://www.ijeat.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/v8i5C/E10230585C19.pdf
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3.) A study made by Alan D. Rogers about studying small business adoption of

Computerized Accounting Systems (CAS): The study included small business who had

already 94 adopted CAS (52%) and small business who had not adopted CAS (48%).

Perceived usefulness was more important to those small businesses who had not yet

adopted CAS (24.7%), however, once CAS is adopted, perceived usefulness decreases in

importance to about 2%. Once small businesses adopt CAS, ease of use becomes more

important and increases from 5.2% to 8.8%. Further studies of small business technology

acceptance might provide small businesses with additional information and tools

necessary for greater success.

https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3085&context=dissertations

4.) According to the research findings of Maureen Kapute Mzuzu: it shows that many

small scale businesses do not apply accounting information systems in their businesses

which resulted into poor performance levels as a result of luck of business information

records keeping. In addition to that, issues like fluctuations in demand, or change in

customer’s attitude towards certain product or services cannot be easily forecasted or

easily determined by management. It was further found that it’s very difficult for small

scale businesses to predict systems that process data into a decision oriented format

which may help them in making a corrective business decisions for example the use of

“what if” systems which uses lotus 1-2-3 which leads to efficient and fast completion of

work and also helps in handling voluminous work.

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/

279205654_Impact_of_Accounting_Information_Systems_on_Profitability_of_Small_Sc

ale_Businesses_A_Case_of_Kampala_City_in_Uganda

5.) Shiela Shanker stated this in her article about advantages of accounting softwares

for small businesses: small business accounting software offers many advantages over

manual systems. The software performs all functions that a manual system does, but

calculations are done automatically and the process goes much faster. For instance, you

enter a vendor once in the system and you use that data to process future payments to that

vendor without re-typing the information. For example, when you pay a vendor, the

accounting system automatically does the bookkeeping in the background, decreasing

cash.

Besides the speed of processing accounting data, another advantage of small

business accounting software is the way it organizes financial information. The data is

saved and organized in a certain way, which is easy to find. For example, if you want to

know if a certain bill was paid, look it up in the system and it will tell you when the bill

was paid, the check number and any other details about the vendor--all organized in one

place. If you lose an invoice or a bill, information about it may still be found in the

program. You can send out duplicate invoices easily. Instead of flipping through papers,

you can look for information that is stored in a systematic way.

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-small-business-accounting-software-

463.html
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6.) For the question “What are the impacts of accounting software in small- scale

business organizations?”, Adriene Raynott answers: Accounting software offers several

advantages to small-scale businesses over manual systems. Accounting software helps

them to track accounts receivable and payable, get prepared for tax season, and have a

clear vision of their business profitability. As a business grows, the accounting

requirements become more complex, so they need cloud accounting software for their

business accounting. There are several benefits of accounting software that impact the

growth of small-scale business organizations.

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-impacts-of-accounting-software-in-small-

scale-business-organizations

7.) An article from wilsonporter.com emphasizes the following:

Your accounting software shouldn't replace your accountant, but it can streamline your entire

operation, and make your accountant's job that much easier by helping ensure they get the right

numbers and data they need. Benefits of small business accounting software include:

ACCURATE DATA

The fast data processing available with accounting software makes crunching numbers a

quick, easy task for small businesses, and removes the risk of human error. Assuming the data

presented to the accounting software is correct, all extrapolated data will also be correct. This

means human calculations and manual data entry can be bypassed in favour of faster, more

accurate computation.
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DATA EXPORT

You'll likely need multiple accounting files in various formats. Accounting software can

smoothly and effortlessly generate spreadsheets, PDF files, CSVs and other file formats. In many

cases, a simple click on a drop down menu will allow you to export, save, and print your data in

an easy-to-understand format.

DATA SECURITY

A high-quality business accounting software will have impeccable security, protecting

private financial information for the companies whose data it handles. Access can be configured

to only allow access to people within the accounting department, or access from specific

authorised devices. Limited access can be granted to departments to input their data, but all other

information already in the system will be kept siloed.

https://wilsonporter.com/news/business-solutions-news-and-advice/do-i-need-

accounting-software-for-my-small-business/
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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY

Conceptual Framework

Dibrell, Davis and Craig (2008) suggest that performance of firms will be enhanced with

integration of either a product or process-oriented innovation strategy with investment in IT/IS.

The group of SMEs with high AIS alignment achieved better organizational performance than

firms with low AIS alignment (Ismail & King, 2005).

Illustration 1.1

3.1 Reliable

Accounting software systems are reliable since information is delivered on time and with

error-free performance that will result in timely and efficient decision making, which in turn

leads to better internal organizational efficiency. Therefore, this study hypothesizes that

businesses benefit greatly from using accounting software, since it takes very little time for

accounting software to complete tasks.

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3.2 Secure database

A business’s confidential financial information must not fall into the wrong hands, but an

accounting software ensures users that their vital information is in good hands with built in

firewall and security protocols in a centralized system. Therefore, this study hypothesizes that

businesses benefit greatly from using accounting software, since a secure system is in place to

avoid data leaks.

3.3 Ease of use

As long as you have basic knowledge on how to operate a computer, you can easily learn

how to use an accounting software. Therefore, this study hypothesizes that businesses benefit

greatly from using accounting software since you don’t need high skill level to use them.

3.4 Accurate data input and output

One advantage in using accounting software is that data input and output will be free

from human error. Human errors usually occur during calculation and data entry, which with the

use of accounting software can be avoided. Therefore, this study hypothesizes that businesses

benefit greatly from using accounting software by being free from human error.
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Method

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore, describe, and understand what the

current state of accounting software is, and what is needed to lead the Program effectively.

This descriptive study examined the topic through a student's perspective of open-ended

inquiry. Finally, the study examined how the data gathered reflected current research on

Organizational Effectiveness, the rationale for conducting a descriptive study was giving an

opportunity for the accountancy students to describe, in their own words, the current state of the

accounting software development, any challenges they may be experiencing, and what is

required to lead the Program effectively. 

An online semi structured interviews were appropriate because the margin of error is low

as the respondents register their responses by easy selection buttons, since all the responses are

registered online it is straightforward to analyze the data in real-time, and they allowed

accessibility to possible participants and a depth of knowledge that would emerge from the

descriptive data gathered. To assure that the data collected was from a wide range of participants,

demographic information was collected which included school name, course and years of

schooling.

A purposive sample of Accounting Students were asked to take part in semi structured

interviews. The sample was drawn from accounting students from a variety of colleges and

universities with various year levels. A purposive sample allowed for a cross-section of

representative participants by identifying the specific criteria. The criterion was that these

individuals had to be enrolled in an accountancy related course. The individuals’ courses were

not
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all Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, however, for the purpose of describing the

interviewees, they are referred to as Accountancy Students. 

An email invitation was sent to the accounting students whose contact information was

provided by themselves. To reduce the nonresponse rate, the email invitation provided details

such as the purpose of the study, the valuable contribution they will make to the study, and how

the information will be shared and utilized. There is no real agreement on what represents an

adequate sample size in research, but the aim was to interview between 12 and 15 Accountancy

Students. The final number of online semi structured interviews was 10, Analysis of interview

data occurred as transcription was being completed. Notes were taken after the interview and

compared with the transcribed text. Transcripts were then shared with two interview participants

to determine their accuracy.

Data Analyzing

Data analyzing is very important path of any research. After collecting the data, it should

be analyzed and interpreted. The data analyzed depend on nature of the sampling process,

measurement and data collecting method. To determine the objective of this research statistical

procedures are conducted. Sample data can be analyzed by using descriptive statistical analyzes.

In the descriptive analyze has been included mean, standard deviation, variance graphs and

tables to discuss the finding. The strong expansion and consequent physical and commercial

growth of the organization opened up in the organization’s business processes. Nichollas Nixon

(2005) found in his study that rapid growth in business generates dramatic changes in the scale

and scope of a firm’s activities. According to her, entrepreneurs in rapidly growing business

enterprises experience more difficulties in comparison to small growth business when deciding

or establishing the type of changes or evolution required to support their level of growth. The
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main problem area highlighted by the associate was the Business accounting system. Both

business companies purchase to software system for increase the business performance. The

software was supposed to be an accounting system capable of managing all financial aspects of

the business and though it appeared to be a tool that can be fully integrated with MS excel or

access so as to facilitate data analysis and report creation.it would have required a database

translation to function effectively. So we grouped the collected data into Dimensions, for

Efficiency are relevance, market efficiency and improved productivity. User Friendly dimensions

are user friendly skills.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Reliability

Efficiency Business Performance

User friendly

Results

Introduction

This chapter reviews the results and analysis of the qualitative data, the compilation of

the questionnaire and the results and analysis of the quantitative findings of the study. The

findings are also discussed in the light of previous research findings and available literature,
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where applicable, in order to identify similarities and differences between this study and previous

studies and literature.

Population and Sample

Participants were 10 accountancy students who are enrolled in private and public

institutions which are familiar with accounting packages in the Philippines. The final sample

included 40% male employees and 60%, 20% were from Saint Paul School of Professional

Studies, 20% were from Eastern Visayas State University, 20% were ABE International Business

College, 20% were Eastern Samar State University and 20% were Samar State University. We

used simple random sampling method to select the participants and used structured questionnaire

to collect data from the respondents.

The gender of the respondents

40% of the respondents were male while 60% were female. This implies that there was
no gender biasness.

Frequency Percentage

Male 4 40%

Female 6 60%

Total 10 100%

The respondent’s enrolled school

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The table below shows that 20%, 20%, 20%, 20% and 20% of the respondents were Saint
Paul School of Professional Studies, Eastern Visayas State University, ABE International
Business College, Eastern Samar State University and Samar State University
respectively. This shows that data was collected from all the regions and therefore the
information is reliable.

Frequency Percentage

Saint Paul School of Professional 2 20%

Studies

Eastern Visayas State University 2 20%

ABE International Business College 2 20%

Eastern Samar State University 2 20%

Samar State University 2 20%

Total 10 100%

Descriptive Analysis

Descriptive analysis is used for generating result. Descriptive statistics were calculated to

identify the nature of the research variables as follows.

Variables Mean Standard Deviation

Business Performance 3.26 0.795

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Reliability 3.62 0.834

Efficiency 3.48 0.767

User Friendly 3.24 0.991

The mean value and the value of standard deviation of dependent variables have been

shown. Mean value provides the idea about the central tendency of the values of a

variable. Number of observations of each variable is 10

Mean value provides the idea about the central tendency of the values of a variable. Mean

value of all selected variable were relatively high. It indicates that the respondents agreed

with the statements. Respondents’ performance was also comparatively high.

Sources:

https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/Wennberg_Managing%20a%20HGF.pdf

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Conclusion
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In conclusion, based on all data gathered, analyzed, and studied, applying and/or using

accounting software in small businesses or in any type of business can help a lot. It turns

complicated tasks simple, and makes simple tasks even easier. What once took hours to complete

can be done within minutes with a simple click of a few buttons.

According to previous research done by other researchers, businesses that use accounting

software have higher productivity rate compared to those that don’t use them. Accounting

software can provide businesses with different advantages, such as, a more organized and secure

filing system, faster calculations, reconcile bank accounts, generate financial reports, and many

more. With what accounting software can offer for small businesses, it is no longer a question as

to if they should start using them, it is only a matter of when will they start using them.

Students, the general public, and business owners should have more of a better

understanding on what accounting software can truly contribute to a business. The future of

modern accounting is looking bright as more and more software become available and ready to

use with easy access.

Recommendation

Throughout working on this study, some suggestions concerning the expansion of the

present study have arisen. First, in terms of data collection, I would suggest to collect data from

different sources. Secondly, I would suggest similar studies to be done in more business in order
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to compare the findings with the findings of this study. Finally, a similar study could be carried

out focusing on the effectiveness of accounting software systems in enhancing the business

performance. A similar study could also be carried out focusing on factors influencing

implementation of accounting software systems or even challenges faced during implementation

of accounting software systems in the business performance

TRANSCRIPTION
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Internet sources:

https://swsu.ru/sbornik-statey/pdf/BusinessSystems.pdf

https://www.ijeat.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/v8i5C/E10230585C19.pdf

https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3085&context=dissertations

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/

279205654_Impact_of_Accounting_Information_Systems_on_Profitability_of_Small_Scale_Bu

sinesses_A_Case_of_Kampala_City_in_Uganda

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-small-business-accounting-software-463.html

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-impacts-of-accounting-software-in-small-scale-business-

organizations