ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses one of the more obvious and immediate impacts of new information technology (NIT) – that on the management information system (MIS). It focuses on the behavioural and organisational reactions to systems change, and the link between systems design and work design leading to support for the notion of participative systems design introduced earlier by Land. The book examines the adoption of new technology-based budgetary systems in small companies, outlining the diffusion of NIT in this sector and the potential applications, but stressing the behavioural and organisational changes implicit in this diffusion, and the particular importance of change agents. It reviews the impact of NIT on management accounting, emphasising the opportunities offered, in terms of the application of techniques, and then focuses on the implied change in the organisational relationship between management accountants and other information specialists.
