Uses of ERP systems and their influence on controllership functions in Brazilian Companies

Uses of ERP systems and their influence on controllership functions in Brazilian Companies

Arnaldo Morozini De Lira^I; Cláudio Parisi^II; Ivam Ricardo Peleias^III; Marcos Reinaldo Severino Peters^II

^ISanto Andre Foundation CFO, São Paulo, Brazil

^IIFECAP, São Paulo, Brazil

^IIIFECAP and Pontifical Catholic University - PUC-SP, São Paulo, Brazil

^{Address for correspondence}

ABSTRACT

Controllership and Information Technology provide ways for companies to adapt to the competitive context of business environments. As such, the aim of this research is to identify and analyze the impacts of ERP systems on Controllership functions, verifying the relationships between the use of solutions and possible improvements in such functions. The need for management control and operations control were observed. This research is descriptive and exploratory of the survey kind. The subjects mentioned in this research are managers involved in Controllership activities in large companies from the Auto Parts sector in the State of São Paulo. The data obtained through a questionnaire by non-probabilistic samples were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics. According to the subjects, ERP systems modify Controllership functions and better serve the control needs of the operations. The results showed problems to be overcome in management control.

Keywords: Operations control, Management control, Information systems, Car industry.

1. INTRODUCTION

Managing companies in uncertain and dynamic business environments is a constant challenge. To some extent, the life cycle of many products and services has been increasingly shorter due to the fact that technologies have changed and evolved. Companies in such environments need to identify and adapt to a new reality; thus, many of them regard Controllership as a partner in the necessary search for development. Part of a successful adaptation lies in the use and application of Information Technology (IT). Through the observation of how organizations use IT, in many circumstances it is noticed that companies which do not adapt to a solution used by other players from the same sector will be at a competitive disadvantage (Saccol, 2004).

In order to accomplish its mission, Controllership may improve its business efficacy and operational efficiency through the use of IT. Among the available alternatives, ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) systems stand out, which are also called business management integrated systems, widely used since the 1990´s.

The implementation and the use of ERP systems represent a change in relation to previous technologies, as business processes are associated by an automated flow of work and a single database (Brazel & Dang, 2008). It is not only about a simple implementation of systems, this is a complex process whose success needs the efforts all the people involved in it (Muscatello & Chen, 2008).

The implementation and the use of ERP systems arouse the interest of scholars. Saatçioglu (2009), Helo, Anussornnitisarn and Phusavat (2008), Pries-Heje (2008) and Crisostomo (2008) have analyzed implementation processes, changes occurred and results obtained through the use of these systems. Davenport (1998), Wood Jr. and Caldas (1999), Neves (1999), Bergamaschi & Reinhard (2000), Saccol (2004), Mendes & Escrivão Filho (2002) have studied the influences of ERP systems on organizations.

According to Davenport (1998, pp. 124), ERP systems impose their logic on the strategy, on the culture and on the organization of the company; they are a general solution and their design reflects a number of hypotheses concerning the operations of the organization and they are developed to show good business practices; nevertheless, companies which use them must define such practices. The changes in the processes and in the culture of the organization are part of the interest scholars have in ERP systems (Davenport, 1998; Bergamaschi & Reinhard, 2000; Hwang, 2005).

Controllership is an administrative area in business management. One of its assignments is the provision of information for the decision making process to take place, helping managers in their search for management efficiency (Borinelli, 2006; Peleias, 2002; Catelli, 2001). As it plays its role, the meeting of the demands imposed by management control and operations control is observed among its different assignments (Peleias & Parisi, 2001). Meeting control demands requires information technology. It is then possible to conclude that the implementation and the use of ERP systems may contribute to and influence Controllership functions.

In this context, an answer is searched and given to the following question-problem: What is the relation between Controllership functions and ERP systems?

The general goal is to identify and analyze the impacts of ERP systems on Controllership functions, aiming at the existence of relations between the use of the solution and the possible improvements in such functions. The specific goals are:

a) To identify and catalog the theoretical foundations of the functionalities in ERP systems which are related to Controllership. b) To identify and analyze by means of field research: • which functionalities in ERP systems influence the functions of Controllership; • whether ERP systems impose their logic on Controllership functions, changing them.

The relation between the use of ERP systems and the improvements in Controllership is verified. The purpose of this work is to contribute to a better understanding, identification and analysis of the impacts caused by ERP systems (benefits or problems in Controllership functions), verifying and showing the existence of limitations yet to be overcome.

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Controllership and its Functions

Business environments are complex. Companies aim to improve their business processes in order to ensure the execution of their plans. In this context, Controllership is inserted into the company system, receiving internal and external influences, especially influences concerning technological changes and globalization processes in interconnected markets.

According to Roehl-Anderson and Bragg (1996), Controllership is developed with the inclusion of the global operations of the company, providing information to be communicated to its managers. Thus, it must be capable of analyzing information obtained from a variety of areas, developing and offering projections in a timely fashion so that decisions are made. The demands imposed on Controllership by organizations inspired Borinelli (2006) to study it, based on three different perspectives, shown in

Figure 1 below:

In an integrated manner, the author explores the study of Controllership as: a) branch of scientific knowledge (conceptual perspective), b) administrative unit, presenting Controllership in the context of the organizational model of the companies; and c) the study of its procedural aspects, exploring the functions, activities and artifacts promoted and used by Controllership.

This research is structured from the perspective of procedural aspects, by designing the "Controllership functions" variable, which enabled Borinelli (2006) to propose the following functions: information management, managerial and strategic, protection and control of assets, costs, risk management, accounting, tax and internal controls. Performance appraisal was classified by him as an activity and, in this research, it is classified as a function (Almeida, Parisi and Pereira, 2001), and control of assets is classified as an activity in the accounting function.

This option is in line with the proposition of Padoveze (2003, pp. 36-37), when the author states that Controllership is composed of two major areas: the first, accounting and fiscal, which handles corporate and fiscal information and functions related to the custody of assets; the second, planning and control, in charge of budgets, projections, simulations, costs and accountability.

Other authors have been studying Controllership functions. The variety of indentified sources demanded a summary of these functions.

The obtained result is in chart 1, below:

Controllership is supposed to meet all the control needs of organizations. Peleias & Parisi (2001) identify two groups of needs: a) For management control: they aim to ensure business efficacy; in order to achieve this aim, a structured management process is needed, composed of such stages as planning, execution and control; b) For operations control: they aim to ensure the efficient execution of operational activities resulting from the decisions made, through the optimal use of resources, promoting the safekeeping of assets.

Through the adoption of these definitions, it is possible to classify Controllership functions into these two groups. Due to the scope of some functions, such as tax, they may be classified simultaneously as needs for management control (tax management) and operations control (tax accounting). By taking the purpose of this work into account, which is to verify the influences of ERP systems on Controllership functions, a proposal to classify the functions is offered; that is, management of information and costs, classified as management control, and tax classified as operations control.

The adopted classification results in Figure 2, below, which shows Controllership functions:

2.2 ERP systems and their functionalities

An ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning - is a business software solution which proposes the integration of processes, functions and elements of the organizations, representing the evolution of the MRP - Material Requirements Planning - systems and MRPII , developed in the 1960´s (PELEIAS, PARISI, 2001; BIANCOLINO, 2010).

As stated by Momoh, Roy & Shehab (2010), the ERP system implementation is suitable for organizations when they are in search of the benefits of integrations and good practices for their information systems, adding a large number of functionalities. Nevertheless, when the authors (Correa, Gianesi, Caon, 2000; Peleias, & Parisi, 2001; Biancolino, 2010) research the state of the art of ERP implementations, they concluded that only 10% of them are successful and that it is necessary to research critical factors which are neglected by organization in order to better understand this context, such as: lack of the management of change, lack of commitment from the company´s top management, excess of customization, and a misalignment of the business strategy with the ERP solution, among other factors.

These works dedicate to solely research and understand the ERP functionalities related to Controllership previously discussed. Functionality is the overall set of functions embedded in an ERP system as well as its characteristics and different possibilities of use (Valente, 2004). The composition of the functions creates the transactional system which supports business processes. According to Hypolito and Pamplona (1999), management integrated system modules take into account the functionalities related to areas whose operations are specific. Thus, Controllership modules would include general accounting functionalities, billing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accountability and management of assets. Chopra & Meindl (2003) identify important points in the architecture and functionalities of ERP systems. The functionalities would be a general solution as to how companies operate in general. In order to make its use flexible by companies from many different sectors, ERP systems are developed so that the general solution is customized. As explained by Zancul (2000), most ERP systems offer similar functionalities and the most advanced and complete ones possess additional functionalities.

ERP functionalities are grouped by modules related to functional areas and to the companies´ business processes. Jetly (apud Zancul, 2000) highlights the variations in the adopted nomenclature by providers for similar functionalities and modules, which makes it difficult to perform comparisons between two or more ERP systems. Comparisons must be based on a neutral classification which shows the main modules and functionalities of these systems. Frezatti and Tavares (2003) proposed a systematic manner for the classification and choice of information system.

A summary-chart was developed for the bibliographic review, adding characteristics and functionalities of these systems. The characteristics and/or functionalities contain a summary of the main definitions, proposing a list of ERP functionalities. According to chart 2, below, the grouping of the main ERP functionalities is presented as well as the probable impacts on Controllership functions of the companies which use this technology:

Momoh, Roy & Shehab (2010) researched the state of the art in the ERP implementation. They identified, in the papers analyzed, various benefits resulting from the implementation and use of these systems by organizations, ranging from positive results related to the solution of legacy system problems to the improvement in the processes and management of companies. Sangster, Leech & Grabski (2009) have a more critical view of the potential benefits and argued that the success in the ERP implementation avoids the development of competitive disadvantages in the short term and, in this context, updates in ERP successful implementations and reimplementation occur in organizations. They also state that ERP systems cause a little impact on management accounting, usually in relation to the creation of more time to perform other value-added tasks.

Based on the probable benefits and expected advantages by organizations with the implementation of ERP systems, (Momoh, Roy & Shehab, 2010; Sangster, Leech & Grabski, 2009; Saatçioglu, 2009; Helo, Anussornnitisarn & Phusavat, 2008; Spathis, 2006) and of the functionalities of these systems, which may influence Controllership functions, a grouping of the probable effects related to the benefits and to the advantages to Controllership, through the implementation and the use of ERP systems, was inferred.

Chart 3 - Click to enlarge

The theoretical framework of Controllership functions, defined in topic 2.1, enabled the creation of Figure 03, which represents the ERP system's basic functionalities and the Controllership functions influenced by these systems. ERP systems impose their own logic on the strategy, on the culture and on the organization of the company (Davenport, 1998); they are a general strategy to assist all types of companies and their design reflects a variety of hypotheses concerning the manner in which organizations operate and are developed to show good business practices; however, the clients, the user companies, are the ones which define their good practices.

Figure 3, below, developed from the general purpose of this research, groups and relates Controllership functions (key-variable depends on the research) and the ERP system functionalities (key-variable does not depend on the research) into two groups, according to the needs of management of control and operations.

3. METHODOLOGY

This research is descriptive and exploratory in the auto parts sector, limited to the verification of the relation between the many "Controllership functions" and "functionalities of ERP systems". It is applied as to the research problem (Cooper and Schindler, 2003) and quantitative as to the research variables (Soares, 2003). A field survey was used as a research strategy (Cooper and Schindler, 2003), in an analytical and empirical manner (Martins, 2002). The data was collected through a closed questionnaire, described in the appendix, at the end of this article (Hill & Hill, 2002).

The questionnaire comprises four aspects: a) question: the question which was made; b) key-variable: the main subject to which the question aims to relate; c) purpose, identification and explanation of the goal supposed to be achieved through the answer for the question made; and d) reference sources of the theoretical framework: the author cites who the idea from which the question was originated. After establishing the points to be developed, an analysis was performed as to how the format and structure of the questionnaire should be. Closed questions were used, which provided possible answers, so that the respondents did not need to spend much time on the survey. The questionnaire structure was established in accordance with the assumptions for the research, associated with the theoretical framework.

The groups and sub-groups defined are described in chart 4, below:

A pre-test of the questionnaire was made in October 2009 with specialists from the involved areas (Controllership and Systems), which presented some improvements: a) not to use a code for the answers, but ticking them on a Likert scale ; b) to reduce the number of questions and the time to answer them; c) as a spreadsheet was sent to all the answers, the use of a search engine was suggested, in which a link was sent by email in order to access the questionnaire. This processed resulted in a questionnaire composed of 34 questions, described in ^{appendix 1}.

The population researched is composed of companies which use ERP systems, from the auto parts sector in the State of São Paulo. These companies were chosen due to the complexity of their processes as suppliers in the automotive sector, which promotes the demand for ERP. The end product of the commodity chain, of which the auto parts sector is part, the motor vehicle, is complex.

The production of its components demands a technology of products and processes which are different from one another. A motor vehicle, a car, a light or heavy one, is composed of components from such industries as metalworking, electrical/electronic and chemical (Sindipeças, 2009). Another characteristic of the commodity chain, of which the auto parts sector is part, is its hierarchy of tiers , or supply levels: a) systematic companies are the large transnational ones (in terms of revenues); they supply pre-assembled sets to car companies; b) domestic companies are typically suppliers of tier 2 and tier 3 components.

One respondent per company was chosen, preferably the Controller, the Controllership Manager, the Administration Controller and the Financial Manager and, in some cases, Specialists in Controllership. The scope of the functions is justified by the absence of the Controllership administrative unit in some researched organizations, in which the functions are performed by specialists and analysts related to the financial and administrative area. The research aimed at the Controllership department, at the Controller or at any other professional in charge of a similar task. When the company did not have the Controllership department, the research aimed at the financial and administrative area.

The research field was the State of São Paulo, the largest industrial hub in Brazil. In order to classify the size of the companies, the criterion of Law 11,941/2009 (current Law of Publicly Traded Companies) was adopted, for assets of over R$ 240 million or annual gross revenues of over R$ 300 million. According to the 2008 base year sectorial performance report, released by the Sindicato Nacional da Indústria de Componentes para a Indústria de Veículos Automotores (National Association for Automotive Components Manufacturers, 2009), the State of Paulo is composed of such 339 companies, that is, 71% of the 477 companies classified by them. The information about the companies, users of ERP systems in this sector, was not available. In order for the research to be more assertive, large companies were aimed at, according to the criteria established by the Law of Publicly Traded Companies. Based on these criteria, the distribution below described on Chart 5, indicates:

By taking the 19.5% into account for the companies in the State of São Paulo, a target population of 66 companies was defined. By accessibility, 9 other companies were added, which are not associated with the National Association for Automotive Components Manufacturers, though meaningful to the sector, 75 elements of the population were defined.

For the collection of the data, the starting point was the identification of the respondents by company. Based on the list of companies defined as elements of the target population, the contact was made by telephone, trying to reach the Controller, the Controllership Manager, the Administrative or Financial Manager or, in some cases, Analysts or Specialists in Controllership.

In the contact made by telephone, the purpose of the research was presented as well as the manner in which it would be conducted. 75 emails were sent containing a link to access the questionnaire, formatted in an application (https://www.google.com/accounts). After the answers were given, the system would verify the occurrence of questions without answers and would request a conclusion, creating a database with the answers of the research subjects. The application made the whole process easy for the respondent, reducing the time for data collection. The survey was conducted between November 29th, 2009 and January 20th, 2010. Of the 75 questionnaires submitted, 40 (53%) were sent back and regarded as valid (without errors or incomplete), comprising the research sample. The sampling technique used was the non probability sampling.

4. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The results obtained were tabulated and analyzed for each of Controllership functions, correlating them to ERP system functionalities. Next, they were analyzed in relation to what is established in the literature review, as per the table below:

According to table 1, 58.0% (complete agreement) of the respondents noticed improvements in the Controllership process with the elimination of redundancies. According to Peleias and Parisi (2001), ERP systems promote information integration across the organization, mostly developed in real time, with the best quality and without inconsistencies, with standardized procedures.

Standardization eliminates rework and improves processes, affecting Controllership activities in information management. Wood Jr. & Caldas (1999), Souza & Zwicker (2007) & Albertão (2005) agree when they state that ERP systems allow for the elimination of redundancies and create opportunities to incorporate new management concepts.

When the opportunities to implement new concepts offered by ERP systems are observed, the complete agreement presented in the sample is higher, 70.0%, converging with the findings of Saatçioglu (2009), who considers the improvement in management as the main benefit of the system. It is then assumed that this characteristic of ERP systems is a modifying factor in Controllership activities. As stated by Wood Jr. and Caldas (1999), organizations have faced more dynamic scenarios than the previous ones, which make them search for the adaptation to the new reality. Authors highlight the fact that there is no option but to change. It is then assumed that companies tend to use the new management concepts incorporated into ERP systems.

As to the creation of management information, 73.0% of the subjects completely agree with the fact that ERP systems meet the demands of Controllership regarding information integration, at a level of occurrence of 75%. However, when asked about reports meeting management needs, complete agreement drops to 28.0% and the same fact occurs as to the ERP availability to develop management reports. According to Saatçioglu (2009), ERP report procedures are poor, representing a barrier to the implementation of the solution.

It is assumed that, although ERP systems promote improvements in Controllership for information management, there are problems to be solved regarding these activities. Correa, Gianesei & Caon (2000) highlight the tendency to clearly indicate that the ERP system structures are used by companies as foundations of their information systems.

As shown in table 2, the reduction in time to obtain and produce management information is considered to be a functionality of support for Controllership (58%). One reason for this is the standardization of the database of the company (Kale, 2000), merging them into a single database, ensuring the integration between the systems and the end-users. In this research, 78.0% of the respondents completely agree that there was an improvement in the quality of the information.

For Riccio (2001), a centralized and standardized database promotes a change from a function-oriented company into a team-work oriented inter-functional, process-oriented, a more flexible and strongly integrated company. Souza (2000) observes the need for a change in the cultural vision of the owner of the information into a vision of responsibility for the information. When asked about the use of electronic spreadsheets to generate management reports, 40% of the respondents completely agreed and 50% partly agreed with it. As such, they showed manual reprocessing of information by 40% of the companies. This fact confirms the difficulty in developing new management reports, seen in question 4 of the previous item. To reinforce this perception, 63% completely agreed that the use of spreadsheets requires manual work to generate information, Laulkkanen and Sarpola (2006) cite the visibility of information, which assists the management process for decision-making. It is concluded that ERP systems may influence the quality, the integrity, and the shaping of the information that is used by Controllership in companies which have this technology available.

Table 3 shows 63% in complete agreement and an occurrence of 70% in the perception of the subjects that ERP systems affected the decision-making process in qualitative terms. In Neves' vision (1999), as a macro vision, the flow of information for the decision-making process becomes fast and precise, and as an operational vision, the integration ensures higher efficiency and effectiveness in the day-to-day work.

Focusing on the budgetary processes, table 4 shows that the perception of the respondents changes regarding the support which ERP systems provide in order to meet the needs of Controllership activities. The complete agreement was 30%, and the occurrence was 35%. ERP systems do not meet the needs of Controllership to simulate scenarios for 30% of the subjects. According to Helo, Anussornnitisarn & Phusavat (2008), one disadvantage of the use of ERP systems is that they do not fit into the management model, for the materialization of their principles occurs exactly by means of management artifacts, such as budgets and business simulations.

As Sacol (2004) points out, there are a few contributions made by ERP systems to the strategic variables such as clients and consumers, rivalry, competitiveness and the market. It concludes that ERP systems seem to add value to the variables like suppliers (relationship and monitoring) and to production (gains in productivity and scale in the use of software). For 38% of the subjects (complete agreement), ERP systems produce improvements in strategic planning.

After analyzing the measurement of the results, table 5 shows that the support given by ERP systems is partly verified by the respondents (55%). As for the follow-up of performance by department, complete agreement and occurrence stayed at around 68%. For Riccio (2001), ERP systems encompass several alternatives in programs and methodologies to improve the processes, including the innovation and improvement of the business processes; furthermore, it contains all the means to implement the BSC.

Also, analyzing the budgetary process, when inquired about ERP system functionalities to quantify operational plans and the quest for the commitment from the managers, the complete agreement was 45%, with an occurrence of 43%, in a similar agreement to the previous assertions. In order to gain commitment from the managers, Controllership may be a channel to facilitate the processes of changes in the organization, by using IT tools.

Table 6 reveals that ERP systems thoroughly meet the requirements of Controllership to manage costs in 55% of this sample, and in 35% in partial terms. To face these assertions, the subjects were asked about the rework in the cost reports from the spreadsheets, obtaining a partial agreement of 53%. It is assumed that, for managing costs, ERP systems from this sample do not completely meet the needs of Controllership.

With complete agreement of 35% and partial of 35% (table 7), the respondents stated that ERP systems allow for the use of new concepts to manage costs, as stated by Riccio (2001).

ERP systems lead to the standardization of routines and processes (Souza, 2003) and allow for the revision of processes through good models, tested and operating in several companies. Table 8 shows that, for 65% of the subjects (complete agreement and 63% occurrence), this standardization minimizes operational risks. The perception of the subjects on meeting legal requirements, which in turn reduce the risks for the company, is 53% at complete agreement and 45% at partial occurrence. Thus, in the majority of the subjects' perceptions, legal requirements are met by ERP systems.

Table 9 shows that the needs of Controllership regarding management accounting information are met for 53% of the respondents (complete agreement and occurrence), but 43% see these needs partly met. To avoid problems with management accounting information, Padoveze (2003) proposes an approach which he names systemic, where the informational needs would be brought forth beforehand, so that after the implementation of ERP, the information output meets the requirements of the various end-users. In this case, the structure of the chart or accounts is the base which allows the visualization of management information, a situation where Controllership plays an important role.

The analysis from table 10 allows concluding that there were changes to the organizational structure of Controllership, as emphasized by Davenport (1998), Bergamaschi & Reinhard (2000). The needs for changes in the processes and in the culture of the organizations are relevant. The implementation of ERP systems cause changes in the business processes, in the attributions, and in the responsibilities of the organizational structures, in the departments and in individuals.

The respondents completely (53%) and partly agree (33%) that the fiscal processes are performed according to the legislation (table 11). Peleias et al (2009) found that the end-users of the accounting and fiscal modules of an ERP system used in the transportation sector noticed improvements in the processes and in the relationship between areas, improving accounting controls as well as the fiscal area. Nevertheless, they found that the system did not improve the image of accounting in the organization, and that the fiscal module was the one that presented more problems. Thus, it is noticeable that there are problems and improvements in the functionalities of ERP systems regarding fiscal management.

According to table 12, in the perception of the respondents, the information provided by ERP systems contribute to the tax planning of the companies by 38% with complete agreement and 50% with partial agreement. According to Souza & Zwicker (2007), ERP systems meet the legal requirements of higher complexity, providing more conformity and more agility in fiscal management.

However, it is seen that, due to the partial agreement of 50% (partial occurrence of 53%) in the sample, it is possible to see that the information provided by ERP systems do not fully meet the demands to support tax planning. This is because, as defined by Borges (2000), it is necessary to project the industrial operations, the commercial businesses, and the provision of services, aiming to know the obligations and the tax charges contained in each pertinent legal alternative, so that through the legitimate means and instruments, the company may adopt an annulment, a reduction, or a delay in the fiscal burden.

According to table 13, the improvement in internal controls was seen in 60% of the sample, indicating that the functionality of ERP systems to redesign the processes may improve internal controls. According to Souza (2000), ERP systems allow to standardize the administrative activities in companies or groups with various locations. Thus, Controllership improves its monitoring, inspecting, governing, and verification of the organizational activities, to protect the assets and safeguard the organization's interests.

The reduction in the execution time of the routines was seen by the respondents, with a 58% complete agreement. The standardization of the processes increases the efficiency of the organization (Riccio, 2001), eliminating redundancies, repetitions, producing synergies and increasing fluidity (Peleias & Parisi, 2001).

Table 14 shows that, for 75% of respondents (complete agreement and 78% occurrence); ERP systems have controls by process which allow for the tracking of the information, improving the auditing processes. Thus, Controllership may obtain a reduction in the time taken for internal or external audits and a better quality of the controls. The decentralization of the transactions was seen by 65% of respondents (complete agreement). Peleias & Parisi (2001) point out that ERP systems allow for distinguishing the functions and activities in several areas, their regrouping or their redistribution, in case of modifications to the organizational structure, or even complete restructuring.

Some companies adopt the same ERP to meet their needs for standardization as defined by the car makers. This trend was seen in this sample: 55% of the researched companies adopt the same ERP. By using the same ERP, it is possible to adopt similar operational processes, improving the controls and the exchange of information with clients. It is deduced that ERP systems tend to standardize the companies' processes.

Since ERP systems have played a reference role for IT, by incorporating good practices, companies are pressured into using them to avoid losing competitive advantages. For Beuren & Muller (2010), many organizations become isomorphic, and consequently, Controllership functions are influenced by these aspects.

The main impacts found in this field research, relating the functionalities of ERP systems to Controllership functions, are summarized in Chart 6 below:

It was ascertained that the activities of Controllership in the researched companies are influenced by the functionalities ERP systems. This is due to the fact that upon implementing a unique and cohesive database, there are significant improvements in the management of information (Kale, 2000; Souza, 2000; Peleias & Parisi, 2001). It was ascertained that there was a reduction in the execution time of the routines of Controllership functions, since ERP systems allowed the elimination of redundancies and the improvement of the processes (Wood Jr., Caldas, 1999; Souza, Zwicker, 2007; Albertão, 2005; Sangster, Leech & Grabski, 2009).

ERP Systems affect the management controls of the companies researched, the improvement in the decision-making process, the availability of information, and the use of new concepts in cost management (Kale, 2000; Souza, 2000; Peleias & Parisi, 2001). Nevertheless, they present limitations in order to comply with the managerial formats when measuring the results, in the development of managerial reports and management tools, like budgeting (Sangster, Leech & Grabski, 2009).

The research points out an apparent contradiction, that is, although they identify these limitations, respondents gave a positive perception of the qualitative improvement of the decision-making process, which is a direct need of Controllership functions, which are not fully met by ERP systems

Considering the premise that Controllership (Almeida, Parisi & Pereira, 2001) is by excellence, the coordinator of the information of the economic-financial management of the organizations, the limitations pointed out by the implementation and the use of ERP systems at the respondent companies, as related to the managerial reports, the continuation of the use of electronic spreadsheets, and the support to the budgeting and simulations, are significant for exercising Management Control. These findings corroborate the results of the research by Sangster, Leech and Grabski (2009), on the impact that ERP systems have on managerial accounting. The development of these Controllership solutions, which materialize the organizations' specific characteristics and are difficult to standardize inside the ERP environment, tends to need high levels of investments in customization, more complexity and more costs in maintenance and updating of the system, maximizing the occurrence of excesses in standardization, a critical factor for the success of the implementation of ERP systems (Momoh, Roy & Shehab, 2010). Nonetheless, if ERP represented an evolution of the MRP and the MRPII systems (Correa, Gianesi & Caon, 2000), in the future, perhaps, its substitute may be even more complex and may also contemplate these functionalities for the total support of Controllership functions, substituting specialist systems and electronic spreadsheets.

5. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS, FUTURE POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS

In this paper, the aim was to learn the relationships between Controllership functions and ERP systems, as related to the needs for management control and for operations control. This field research showed that, in the respondents' perception, ERP systems more adherently meet the needs of Controllership functions to control operations. As for management control, the main deficiencies found were: a) information management functions for the support of the development of managerial reports; b) managerial and strategic for the support of simulation of scenarios, performance appraisal and budgetary processes; and c) cost function, improvements in the cost management reports.

As for the specific objective of identifying the theoretical foundations of the functionalities of ERP systems, as related to Controllership functions, the bibliographical research revealed 20 functionalities of ERP systems, and the description of the probable impacts on Controllership functions. Upon studying these descriptions, the impacts on these functions were grouped into four categories, showing different aspects which influence these functions: changes in the activities of a function, changes in the execution time of the activities of a function, the qualitative aspects associated with the function and the changes to the cost function.

As an objective to identify and analyze which functionalities of ERP systems influence Controllership functions, checking whether ERP systems impose their logic by modifying these functions, in the subjects' opinion, the most relevant aspects observed in this field research were:

a) Changes to Controllership activities: ERP systems created the opportunity to incorporate new management concepts, by eliminating redundancies in Controllership processes and by improving internal controls, in particular on the follow-up of the performance by department. The standardization of the processes was considered a factor which minimizes the inherent risks to the operations;

b) Changes to the execution time of the activities of Controllership functions: the respondents noticed a reduction in execution time of Controllership routines, generating gains in the execution time of the activities and in the time for obtaining managerial information;

c) Qualitative aspects associated with Controllership functions: improvements were seen in the quality of the information used by Controllership, as related to their functions. This is due mainly to the functionalities of ERP systems: Single database and the standardization of the processes through the implementation of the system. On the qualitative aspects, the tracking of the information stood out, improving the auditing process. The standardization of the processes produced by ERP systems minimize operational risks, improving the management of these risks by Controllership, providing better information for tax planning.

d) Changes to the cost structure for Controllership functions: there were changes in the organizational structure of Controllership, due to the changes in the processes associated with the use of ERP systems;

e) Improvements in the decision-making process: The majority of respondents noticed that ERP was a factor which improved the decision-making process.

Once the main and the specific objectives were defined, the question-problem posed was defined: What is the relation between Controllership functions and ERP systems? The results obtained reveal that ERP systems through their functionalities influence Controllership functions. These are changes in different perspectives and approaches: opportunities to incorporate new management concepts resulting from good market practices incorporated into ERP systems, the reduction in the execution time of the activities, improvements in the decision-making processes, and the qualitative aspects associated with Controllership functions. The impacts on these functions should be the subject of attention when implementing projects, changing ERP systems and updates of versions, as the management of the company could be compromised.

This research did not intend to exhaust this theme, due to the different perspectives in the analysis of ERP systems and of Controllership. Based on the results described herein, an investigation is proposed as to how Controllership functions are addressed during the implementation projects of ERP systems, ensuring that the needs of these functions are met, and observing the premises of the management model of the organization.

More in-depth research through case studies will allow for a better understanding as to how the functionalities of ERP systems assist Controllership functions or not, in particular situations, yet relevant to the research area.

To conclude, the results obtained are limited to the companies and to the respondents who collaborated with the researchers and cannot be generalized. Other limitations are: economic - auto parts sector; geographical range - the State of Sao Paulo; organizational - Controllership functions; technology and information - ERP system. USP, Brazil.

Cláudio Parisi

Doctorate, Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Accountancy at FEA-USP - Professor and Accounting Researcher at the Centro Universitario FECAP - Business Consultant

E-mail: [e-mail]

Ivam Ricardo Peleias

Doctorate and Master's degrees in Accountancy at FEA-USP - Bachelor's degree in Accountancy at the Faculdade Tibiriçá - Sao Paulo - SP - Professor and Accounting Researcher at the Centro Universitario Alvares Penteado and at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica - PUC-SP - Accounting Expert and Consultant

E-mail: [e-mail]

Marcos Reinaldo Severino Peters

Doctorate, Master's, and Bachelor's degrees in Accountancy at FEASP - Professor and Accountancy Researcher at Alvares Penteado - Business Consultant - Centro Universitário Álvares Penteado – Master's Degree Program in Accounting

Avenida Liberdade, 532 – Liberdade

São Paulo – SP – CEP 01502-001

telephone: [phone] – fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Manuscript first received 15/02/2011

Manuscript accepted 04/05/2012

Appendix - Click to enlarge

appendix 1

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appendix 1

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  12 Sept 2012
• Date of issue
  Aug 2012

History

• Received
  15 Feb 2011
• Accepted
  04 May 2012