The specific applications were then each tested using a simple Chi-square test on the frequencies of use reported for that specific application. Five applications (which can be categorised as analytical-based applications) differed significantly at the 95% level: financial analysis; project management; budget variances; modelling; and personnel management. This implies that the two groups of firms are well separated based on these five
applications. Despite the low percentage of firms in both groups using these applications, the results in Table 4 indicate that the percentage of firms in the aligned group adopting these applications is higher than those in the not-aligned group. Other insignificant applications are mostly transactional-based such as general ledger,
accounts receivable and payable, billing and order entry, and purchasing and inventory. The results suggest that
the adoption of analytical-based applications is important for SMEs to achieve better alignment for the sample
firms