Analysis of Human Resource Status in Internal Accounting Control Systems in the Distribution and Service Industries

Purpose: We sought to investigate the operation status of internal accounting control systems in the distribution and service industries and verify whether investing in internal accounting personnel significantly influences the quality of the companies’ financial reporting. Research design, data and methodology: We identified descriptive statistics and performed a univariate analysis. Furthermore, a regression analysis verified the impact of investing in internal accounting personnel on the absolute value of discretionary accruals, a proxy for financial reporting quality. Results: Distribution and service companies allocated a significantly higher number of accountants to their internal accounting control systems than companies in other industries. We also confirmed that the absolute value of discretionary accruals significantly decreased as the average working experience of internal accounting personnel in distribution and service companies, in months, increased. Conclusions: In this study, we confirmed that distribution and service companies are devoting efforts to establishing internal accounting control systems and found that financial reporting quality is more effectively controlled as companies allocate more experienced personnel in their internal accounting control system.