Why the best business decisions aren’t always about the bottom line
The Hidden Story Behind Your Financial Reports
When was the last time you made a major business decision based solely on your financial statements? If you’re like most business leaders, the answer is probably “never.” The truth is, while revenue and profit matter enormously, they only tell part of your company’s story—and often, they tell it too late.
What if I told you that the quality of your accounting information system could be the secret weapon driving success in areas you never thought accounting touched? From customer satisfaction to employee engagement, from innovation capacity to market reputation—the ripple effects of a robust accounting system extend far beyond your balance sheet.
A groundbreaking new study from Vietnam’s University of Economics and Law, published in January 2025, reveals something fascinating: the quality of your accounting information system doesn’t just improve financial performance—it fundamentally transforms how well your organization makes decisions and performs across every non-financial dimension of business success.
Let’s dive into what this means for your business and why you should care deeply about accounting system quality, even if you never look at a ledger.
What Makes an Accounting Information System “High Quality”?
Before we explore the impacts, let’s clarify what we’re talking about. An Accounting Information System (AIS) is much more than bookkeeping software. It’s the comprehensive infrastructure that collects, stores, processes, and distributes financial and operational data throughout your organization.
According to recent research, a high-quality AIS has several defining characteristics:
1. Accuracy and Reliability The information it produces is consistently correct and trustworthy. When managers pull a report, they can stake decisions on its contents without second-guessing.
2. Timeliness Information is available when needed, not weeks after the decision window has closed. Real-time or near-real-time data access has become the standard expectation.
3. Relevance The system captures and reports information that actually matters to decision-makers, not just what’s required for compliance.
4. Completeness All necessary data is captured and accessible, including both financial metrics and increasingly important non-financial information.
5. User-Friendliness The system is accessible to those who need it, with interfaces that don’t require accounting degrees to navigate.
Think of it this way: your AIS is like your body’s nervous system. When it’s functioning well, you barely notice it—information flows seamlessly where it’s needed. But when it malfunctions, even slightly, every part of your organization feels the impact.
The Surprising Connection: From Accounting Quality to Business Success
Here’s where things get interesting. The Vietnamese study surveyed 306 non-financial companies and uncovered a powerful chain reaction:
High-quality AIS → Better non-financial information → Smarter decisions → Superior non-financial performance
Let’s break down each link in this chain:
Link 1: Quality Systems Produce Quality Information (Beyond Financial Data)
A robust AIS doesn’t just track dollars and cents more accurately—it creates infrastructure for capturing and analyzing non-financial information that’s critical to modern business success.
What’s non-financial information? Think:
- Customer satisfaction scores and loyalty metrics
- Employee engagement and retention data
- Product quality indicators and defect rates
- Innovation metrics (new products launched, R&D efficiency)
- Market share and competitive positioning data
- Environmental and social governance (ESG) metrics
- Brand strength and reputation indicators
Modern accounting systems integrate with CRM platforms, HR systems, supply chain management tools, and more. A quality AIS serves as the backbone connecting all these information sources, ensuring that decision-makers have a complete picture—not just a financial snapshot.
The study found that 87% of companies with high-quality AIS reported increased productivity, not because they were counting money better, but because the system provided the operational intelligence needed to optimize processes.
Link 2: Better Information Drives Better Decisions
This seems obvious, but it’s profound in practice. When managers have access to timely, accurate, and comprehensive information—both financial and non-financial—their decision-making quality transforms dramatically.
Consider a practical example: A retail manager needs to decide whether to expand a product line. With only financial data, they see that current sales are flat. Decision: don’t expand.
But with integrated non-financial information from a quality AIS, they see:
- Customer satisfaction with the product is exceptionally high (95th percentile)
- Social media sentiment is strongly positive
- The market segment is growing at 15% annually
- Competitors are entering the space aggressively
- Current inventory turnover is excellent despite flat sales (suggesting supply constraints, not demand issues)
Same financial data, completely different decision. The quality AIS enabled access to the non-financial context that changes everything.
The Vietnamese research found compelling evidence: 86% of companies reported improved effectiveness and 86% achieved business growth when their AIS quality was high. These aren’t coincidences—they’re the result of systematically better decisions enabled by better information.
Link 3: Better Decisions Translate to Better Non-Financial Performance
Here’s where the magic happens. When organizations consistently make better-informed decisions, their non-financial performance metrics improve across the board:
Customer-Focused Outcomes:
- Higher customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Scores
- Improved customer retention and lower churn
- Enhanced customer lifetime value
- Stronger brand preference and market positioning
Employee-Focused Outcomes:
- Greater employee engagement and satisfaction
- Lower turnover and improved retention
- Enhanced productivity and operational efficiency
- Stronger organizational culture and alignment
Operational Excellence:
- Reduced defect rates and improved quality metrics
- Faster cycle times and improved process efficiency
- Better resource utilization
- Enhanced innovation capacity
Strategic Positioning:
- Increased market share
- Stronger competitive advantage
- Improved stakeholder relationships
- Enhanced reputation and brand equity
The study’s findings validated what forward-thinking leaders have long suspected: companies using generative AI-enhanced systems achieved average returns of $3.70 for every dollar invested, with top performers reaching $10.30 returns. These returns manifest not just in revenue but in the non-financial indicators that predict long-term sustainability.
Why Non-Financial Performance Matters More Than Ever
You might be thinking, “This is interesting, but at the end of the day, don’t we need financial performance?”
Absolutely. But here’s the crucial insight: non-financial performance indicators are leading indicators, while financial metrics are lagging indicators.
Financial results tell you where you’ve been. Non-financial metrics tell you where you’re going.
Consider these real-world patterns:
- A drop in employee engagement today predicts turnover (and increased costs) six months from now
- Declining customer satisfaction scores precede revenue drops by quarters
- Innovation metrics (R&D productivity, new product success rates) predict future market share years before it shows in financials
- Quality metrics anticipate warranty costs and customer churn
Research from Deloitte and other major consultancies confirms that executives increasingly recognize non-financial measures as superior predictors of future financial performance. It’s why progressive companies now tie executive compensation to metrics like customer loyalty, employee engagement, and innovation quotient—not just profit margins.
The Vietnamese study reinforces this: organizations with high-quality AIS and strong non-financial information practices demonstrated enhanced market positioning, operational efficiency, and revenue growth—the financial outcomes followed the non-financial improvements.
The Critical Role of Non-Financial Information Quality
One of the study’s most important findings is often overlooked: non-financial information quality serves as a crucial mediator between AIS quality and both decision-making success and non-financial performance.
In simpler terms: it’s not enough to have a great accounting system. You need that system to capture, validate, and present non-financial information with the same rigor traditionally reserved for financial data.
This means:
1. Systematic Capture Non-financial metrics shouldn’t be afterthoughts collected in scattered spreadsheets. They should be integrated into your AIS infrastructure with formal data collection processes.
2. Validation and Quality Control Just as financial data goes through controls and audits, non-financial information needs verification mechanisms. A customer satisfaction score is meaningless if the underlying survey methodology is flawed.
3. Accessibility and Integration Non-financial information should be as easily accessible to decision-makers as financial reports, and ideally integrated into dashboards that show both together.
4. Consistency and Comparability Track non-financial metrics consistently over time and (where possible) in ways that allow comparison with competitors or industry benchmarks.
The research revealed something powerful: when companies combined high-quality AIS with strong non-financial information practices, they observed enhanced revenue growth and sustainable competitive positioning far beyond what either element achieved alone.
Real-World Applications: What This Means for Your Business
How can you apply these insights? Here are practical steps based on the research findings:
For Small and Medium Enterprises
The study’s Vietnamese context is particularly relevant here—most participants were SMEs facing resource constraints. The findings suggest:
Start with Integration, Not Perfection You don’t need an enterprise-level ERP system. Focus on integrating your existing tools—accounting software, CRM, HR platform, inventory management—so information flows between them.
Prioritize Decision-Maker Needs Survey your management team: What information do they wish they had when making decisions? Build your AIS improvement roadmap around those answers.
Include Non-Financial Metrics from Day One Don’t wait until your financial systems are perfect. Identify 3-5 critical non-financial metrics (customer satisfaction, employee retention, quality scores, etc.) and build infrastructure to track them systematically.
Invest in Training The study emphasized that 62% of companies cite lack of understanding about benefits as a primary obstacle. Education is as important as technology.
For Larger Organizations
If you’re operating at scale, the implications are even more profound:
Audit Your Information Quality Don’t assume your expensive systems are delivering high-quality information. Conduct formal quality assessments of both financial and non-financial data.
Break Down Information Silos The most common failure mode is having excellent systems that don’t talk to each other. Make integration a strategic priority.
Elevate Non-Financial Metrics Give non-financial information the same governance, validation, and reporting rigor as financial data. Create formal processes, ownership, and accountability.
Link to Strategy Ensure your AIS captures the specific non-financial metrics that matter to your strategic objectives. If customer experience is a strategic pillar, your AIS should make customer data as accessible as financial data.
For Leaders and Decision-Makers
The research offers specific guidance for executives:
Recognize AIS as Strategic, Not Just Operational Quality accounting systems aren’t IT projects or compliance exercises—they’re strategic enablers of better decision-making across your organization.
Demand Integrated Reporting Don’t accept reports that show only financial or only operational metrics. Insist on integrated views that combine both.
Invest in Digital Literacy The study found that managers’ digital literacy significantly enhances AI adoption effectiveness. Make ongoing education a priority for your leadership team.
Measure What Matters Identify the non-financial indicators that truly predict success in your industry, then build infrastructure to track them with the same discipline as financial metrics.
The Future: AI, Automation, and Beyond
The research highlights an emerging reality: modern accounting information systems are increasingly powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation technologies.
This isn’t science fiction—it’s happening now:
Predictive Analytics AI-enhanced AIS can forecast cash flow needs, predict customer churn, anticipate quality issues, and identify emerging market trends—all by analyzing patterns in combined financial and non-financial data.
Real-Time Decision Support Rather than waiting for month-end closes, leaders receive continuously updated intelligence that combines financial performance with operational metrics.
Automated Data Quality Machine learning algorithms identify data anomalies, inconsistencies, and quality issues automatically, ensuring the information feeding decisions is reliable.
Natural Language Interfaces Executives can ask questions in plain language (“What’s driving the increase in customer complaints in the Northeast region?”) and receive comprehensive answers drawn from integrated data sources.
The study found that organizations successfully implementing AI experienced substantial improvements: 87% reported increased productivity, 86% improved effectiveness, and 86% achieved business growth.
But technology is only part of the story. The research emphasizes that success depends equally on organizational readiness, leadership commitment, and change management capabilities.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Based on the study’s findings and broader research, here are critical mistakes to avoid:
1. Technology Without Strategy
Implementing sophisticated systems without clear objectives about what information you need and how it will improve decisions is expensive waste.
2. Financial Focus Only
Continuing to treat your AIS as purely a financial tool misses its full potential to drive organizational performance.
3. Poor Data Governance
Even the best systems produce garbage if data quality isn’t maintained. Inconsistent definitions, poor entry practices, and lack of validation mechanisms undermine everything.
4. Ignoring the Human Element
The study found that 60% of organizations report insufficient resources as a barrier. But often, the real issue isn’t money—it’s lack of training, poor change management, and insufficient stakeholder engagement.
5. Measuring the Wrong Things
Tracking non-financial metrics that don’t actually predict performance or align with strategy is busywork, not business intelligence.
Key Takeaways: What You Need to Remember
If you take nothing else from this research and analysis, remember these essential points:
- Quality accounting information systems impact far more than financial reporting—they drive decision-making quality and non-financial performance across your entire organization.
- Non-financial information is just as important as financial data—and a quality AIS should capture, validate, and report both with equal rigor.
- Non-financial metrics are leading indicators that predict future financial performance, making them crucial for forward-looking management.
- The full value chain matters: AIS quality → Information quality → Decision quality → Non-financial performance → Financial results. Weaknesses anywhere in this chain undermine the whole.
- Technology alone isn’t enough—success requires strategic alignment, organizational readiness, leadership commitment, and ongoing capability development.
- Integration is everything—the power comes from connecting financial systems with CRM, HR, operations, and other platforms to provide comprehensive intelligence.
- Start with decisions, not data—identify what information would improve your most important decisions, then build systems to provide it.
Conclusion: Seeing the Full Picture
The Vietnamese study’s most profound contribution isn’t revealing that accounting systems matter—we’ve always known that. It’s demonstrating empirically that the quality of your accounting infrastructure shapes organizational success in ways that never appear on financial statements.
Customer satisfaction, employee engagement, innovation capacity, operational excellence, market reputation—these are the factors that determine whether your company thrives or merely survives. And they’re all influenced, directly or indirectly, by the quality of your accounting information systems.
In today’s complex business environment, leaders can’t afford to fly blind. You need comprehensive, timely, accurate information—both financial and non-financial—to navigate successfully. Your AIS is the infrastructure that makes that possible.
The companies that recognize this, that invest in quality systems and integrate non-financial information with the same discipline they apply to financial data, aren’t just better at accounting. They’re better at decision-making. They’re better at executing strategy. They’re better at competing and winning.
And those advantages? They show up in metrics that matter long before they appear on the bottom line.
About This Research
This article is based on “Effect of accounting information system quality on decision-making success and non-financial performance: does non-financial information quality matter?” by Ngoc Tran Thanh Thuy, published in Cogent Business & Management, January 2025. The study analyzed 306 non-financial companies in Vietnam using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling to examine relationships between AIS quality, non-financial information quality, decision-making success, and non-financial performance.
Want to Learn More?
- Assess your current AIS quality against the characteristics outlined in this article
- Identify the top 5 non-financial metrics that matter most to your strategy
- Survey your decision-makers about information gaps that hinder their effectiveness
- Explore how modern AIS platforms can integrate your scattered data sources
- Consider how AI and automation might enhance your decision intelligence
The future belongs to organizations that see the complete picture—not just the financial snapshot. Is your accounting information system helping you see clearly?
