Linking Report Individualization and Report Standardization: A Configurational Perspective

Many organizations are facing the challenge that employees supplement their standardized Accounting Information Systems (AIS) with individually tinkered spreadsheets or other types of workaround systems. While such supplements provide employees with the flexibility to adjust the AIS to their individual preferences and to respond quickly to new opportunities, these supplements also cause adverse effects such as data redundancy, limited report reuse, loss of economic scale effects, and loss of compliance with regulatory and supervisory reporting requirements. To provide organizations with a model for balancing report standardization and report individualization, I explore and analyse the AIS of four organizations. Specifically, I adopt a configurational perspective to examine two AIS use processes simultaneously: report standardization and report individualization. The resulting model indicates the need for an iterative approach which supports discussion and feedback on individualized reports and views individualized reports as prototypes for standardized reports. I conclude may work by discussing the value and limitations of the model and research design.