Improving the procurement process: humanizing accountants with a human factors education

The purposes of this paper are to show how the development and procurement processes are affected by accountants and to consider what human factors knowledge accountants should have to facilitate the acquisition of systems that will make a genuine contribution and organizational improvement. Many systems are procured that do not provide a significant overall benefit to the acquiring organization. The process of acquiring significant systems almost always involves financial specialists who, by their training, focus on value for money. Findings of a study of accounting syllabi are reported with respect to human factors content. While accountants may have a large input into the decision making process with respect to system design and procurement, their awareness of all of the relevant human factors issues is limited. This is likely to negatively affect their decision-making capabilities. One body within the accounting profession that is redressing the balance is identified. Its use of t...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1998
• Where: ICIS
• Authors: Philip J. A. Scown
• Keywords: Factors Knowledge Accountants, Human Factors, Human Factors Content, ICIS 1998, ICIS 2001