Our case first demonstrates, through a longitudinal field
study, the process of implementing so-called “best practice”
ERP systems and their influence on management
accounting practices while at the same time illustrating
how existing management accounting practices can influence
the ERP system. This empirical study when viewed
through the key construct of sociomaterial practice provides
rich insight into existing literature that has reported
on standardized information architectures and inflexible
accounting logics of enterprise software. Our theoretical
explanation moves beyond the simple attribution of
change to either human or technical agency (i.e., underor
over-socialized accounts) to produce a more compelling
theoretical explanation of the way in which a working
information system emerges through negotiations around
processes of use.
Second, we provide a theoretical explanation for what
happens between people and their technology tools when
the ERP is in production and users are working in the new
environment. Through the key construct of reconfiguration
we were able to focus on how persons and things might
be figured together differently when resistance is encountered
to a new sociomaterial arrangement following ERP
implementation. We found that supplementing, and so
changing, the best practice design is a viable and valuable
tool for creating a working information system and that
indeed sociomaterial assemblages evolve over time, always
subject to redefinition.
Third, we contribute to accounting literature by extending
knowledge on how software-based accounting tools
might work effectively within an organization. The construct
of relationality helped explain why multiple
practice communities that exist across the field of accounting
within an organization will likely be at odds. These
different communities will have more or less power to
influence the sociomaterial practices surrounding an ERP
configuration/reconfiguration and this can change over
time. For instance, it was the Economics Professor’s position
of Provost and his prior held position as VP Finance and
Administration that enabled him to have some influence
over the negotiations regarding the reinstatement of commitment
accounting. In a similar vein, the wealthy status
of professional schools such as Medicine had enabled them
to design their own support mechanisms for commitment
accounting. In sum, this study helps develop our understanding
of the linkages between accounting, information
technology and integrated administrative systems like ERP
that are widely used in contemporary organizations. We
discuss each of these issues next.