The Effect of Accounting Information Overload on the Quality of Managerial Decisions (A Field Study)

Abstract

At the time information overload is threatening not only social life, but also the health of many professionals, especially managers in businesses in developed countries, the phenomenon of accounting information overload seems to have no existence among managers working in manufacturing companies in Jordan. Financial Managers of almost 64 manufacturing companies were the respondents of the study. Information cues, time constraint, redundancy of information, poor information quality and irrelevant information are five sources of accounting information overload tested in the study. The result is that none of these sources exist. Consequently, accounting information overload has no existence in Jordanian manufacturing companies. The result of testing the effect of accounting information overload on the quality of managerial decisions is consistent with the finding of the absence of accounting information overload and it assures the absence of any other sources of accounting information overload not tested in the study. Briefly, accounting information overload has no adverse effect on the quality of managerial decisions. Finally, the study indicates that the use of computers bears no responsibility for overloading managers with information. In order to reach this finding, the sample was divided into two groups; companies using fully computerized accounting information systems and companies using partially computerized accounting information systems. The result of t statistics shows no statistically significant differences between the two groups.