This study also found some support for Hypothesis 5, which proposed a relationship between internal expertise
and AIS alignment. While almost all firms in both the aligned and not-aligned groups employed accounting staff, firms that employed IS staff achieved better alignment than firms that did not. The evidence suggests that, in addition to seeking advice from external experts, employing internal IS staff is also important for SMEs to
achieve AIS alignment. While accounting staff are becoming more of a necessity for SMEs to help with routine accounting work, the results of this study suggest that owner/manager accounting knowledge, with the help of IS staff, plays a crucial role for SMEs to achieve better AIS alignment