FACTORS INFLUBI{CING 01\ THE PURCHASTI{G I}trCISIONS OF ACCOUNTING PACKAGBS IN SMES IN TTIE KURUNEGALA DISTR.ICT

Abstract

The study investigates the Requirements of Users, Cost of Selecting Accountilg Package, Main Features, Customization Capabilities, and Accounting package Functionality on purchase decision of accounting packages among SIvfEs i1 the Kurunegala districl. Although much research has been <ione on purchasing decisions gn accounting packages for large-scale businesscs. so far lack of research has becn do;re on purchasing decisions on accounting packages among small anri mediurn cliteqprises. This research study plan to examine tha.i problcm and fulfiIl the ernpirical gap in tiie purchase decisions of accounting packages arnc)ng Sitr{E,s in ihe Kururiegala ilistlicl;. Purchasing the appropriate accounting soft',vare has become an important issue fc,r many SMEs. Selecting the rvrong accounting software would be a greal clisaster, it might lead to major flnancial Iosses. Cerlain crucial I-actors Requircments ol- lJsers" Cost of Selecting Accountiug Package, Main Featrrres, Clustomization Capabilities, and Accounting Parckage Functir:nality should be taken into consicleration before purchasing the software. The otrjective of this paper is to investigate, analyze, and. evaluate the main factors SMEs should consider in their decision to purchnse the appropriate accounting software. More precisel'/. the stuCy lbcused cn evaluating the effect of selectetl r,ariablos orr Primary datii r,vere collected via a queslioilnaire. Struclure questionnaires rvere distribuled among 360 SMEs have seiecteci irL the I(urunegala disti:ict ttrlougl:, poptrlation study. The datawere analyzed t.rsing descripti've, correlation ane.l1.sis, simple regression attalysis, and rnultiple regression anaiysis.l,astly, tl:e result indic:a.ted that there is significant impact of Financia.l Insritr.rtions Characteristics, farnily factcrs anC macroeconomics factors on SMEs Loan Defbult. f'he findings of this study are usefirl in further erilarging and enrichment applications of these conceuts in practice.