eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

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This study focuses on the state-of the art of and decision making process in the outsourcing of accounting in Finnish firms. My aim is to explore what tools and criteria have been used, what has been the role of each stakeholder group, and what other factors could influence the decision making. Moreover I intend to discover how the new IT technology like cloud computing and social media has transformed the management style in this particular process. A research among 4 Finnish small and medium sized enterprises has been made in the form of interviews. All the results are collected and classified into 3 categories. The analysis of these results is made from 3 aspects: culture, technology and service. In the context of cultural dimensions, I find controversial intuitive results to the Finnish culture. According to the results, top management is generally the decision maker and employees are rarely involved in the process. New technologies and devices enable the evolution of IT outsourcing channel, hence transform the business management style. Most companies are active in deploying advanced IT systems by making outsourcing contracts instead of in-house development. When selecting the service provider, companies usually consider what are their own demands and requirements, how expertise the service provider is, and the capability of system updating. A general framework of the mechanisms of integration and coordination of service processes is used to describe the efficiency and development of case firms. The framework, which assume that the different type of services differ inherently by the delivery strategies, is adopted from the model of service and channels to show the efficiency of outsourcing of accounting services among the case firms. The research results could help managers of accounting service providers or consultants to identify the key issues, focus on the strategic solutions and achieve edges over the competitors in the decision making processes.