WHEN RECORDS FAIL, REPORTS FALTER: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION QUALITY IN THE DOCUMENTATION–REPORTING ACCURACY RELATIONSHIP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEMP.935050Keywords:
Accounting Documentation Management Deficiencies, Accounting Information Quality, Financial Reporting Accuracy, Organizational Information Processing Theory, Narrative ReviewAbstract
Financial reporting problems can begin long before financial statements are prepared, particularly when the documents supporting business transactions are missing, unclear, incomplete, or submitted late. previous research has focused more on accounting systems and internal controls than on how documentation problems may affect the accuracy of financial reporting. This conceptual paper addresses this gap by examining accounting information quality as a link between documentation management deficiencies and financial reporting accuracy. Drawing on Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT), the study reviews Scopus-indexed literature using a narrative and integrative approach. The review suggests that weak documentation can make it more difficult to verify, classify, reconcile, and record transactions accurately. These problems may affect financial reporting directly through omissions, misclassifications, and cut-off errors, and indirectly by reducing the quality of accounting information used in the reporting process. Based on these relationships, the study develops four propositions covering the direct effect of documentation deficiencies on reporting accuracy, their effect on accounting information quality, the effect of information quality on reporting accuracy, and the mediating role of accounting information quality. The study contributes to OIPT by viewing documentation management as an important early-stage information-processing activity. Practically, it highlights the need for clear documentation procedures, timely submission, proper recordkeeping, and traceable audit trails.
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