Accounting information systems are made up of a series of steps and procedures that start with inputs and pass through different processors and end with outputs and since it is the final say between owners of property rights and management, its steps and procedures have been restricted by different accounting policies to ensure the impartiality and honesty of its results in expression, despite the great technological development and computerization of systems In various professional fields, the accounting system retained the mechanism of sequencing steps and procedures but this sequence was accompanied by new control procedures in line with both the absence of documentary documentation in light of the use of computers and reliance on artificial intelligence in analyzing and processing operations and the possibility of others penetrating the privacy of the system, although the accounting system has not changed in terms of the core concept, However, the transition from the manual mechanism to the computerized mechanism made the process of monitoring and controlling the system a difficult, complex and accurate process to the extreme and it consists of several elements linked to each other in order to perform a specific function or several functions and regardless of whether that system is computerized or not, it is always governed by policies And procedures that are followed routinely and those procedures are monitored by the administrator of the system to ensure that there are no breaches of the established policies. The accounting information system is the primary source for providing management with appropriate information for the administrative decision-making process through the financial statements that are prepared during the accounting period.

Research Problem

The research problem is determined by the weakness of the role of the accounting system in the financial and banking institutions as an information system because of its inability to provide information that helps in monitoring and evaluating performance and measuring the cost of services as well as evaluating the quality of financial and banking services provided to customers. The current research problem can be expressed through the following question: Do systems help Accounting information in improving the quality of financial statements in financial and banking institutions in a way that is commensurate with the many changes and developments that accompanied the modern business environment.

Research Objectives

The research aims to demonstrate the role that accounting information systems can play in improving the quality of financial statements in Iraqi financial and banking institutions by improving the relevance and reliability of accounting information and making this information an important and essential tool in making administrative decisions in a manner that is commensurate with the requirements of the contemporary business environment.

Research Importance

The importance of the research appears by highlighting the role that an effective accounting information system can play in controlling and evaluating the performance of financial and banking institutions and improving the quality of financial statements by improving both the suitability and reliability of accounting information, as the accounting information system is the main source for providing management with appropriate information for the decision-making process. For the purpose of determining the general structure of the accounting information system in the financial and banking institutions in order to improve the quality of the financial statements, it is necessary to determine the type and nature of the reports that need to be prepared to provide, display and communicate information to the beneficiaries and parties in order to serve them in the various decision-making processes. The administrative decision is made through the financial statements that are prepared during the accounting period.

Research Hypothesis

The research is based on a basic hypothesis: Accounting information systems help improve the quality of financial statements in financial and banking institutions in a way that is commensurate with the changes and developments accompanying the contemporary business environment.

Research Community and Sample

The research community is represented by the banks listed in the Iraq Stock Exchange. As for the research sample, five banks were chosen, which are the Iraqi Investment Bank, Al-Mansour Investment Bank, Sumer Commercial Bank, Erbil Investment Bank and the Commercial Region Bank. The search was applied for the years 2018, 2019, 2020.

The Theoretical Framework of the Research

The Concept and Importance of Accounting Information Systems: Accounting information systems are a set of elements, objectives, policies, principles, means of operation, personnel, inputs, outputs and control that are interrelated in a coordinated manner to accomplish accounting functions [1].

Accounting information systems are one of the components of an administrative organization concerned with collecting, processing and communicating information appropriate for decision-making to internal and external parties. beneficial to its users through organizational processes [2].

In order to get to know the concept of accounting information systems more clearly, it is necessary to know its location and its relationship with other systems within the economic unit. There are those who believe that the accounting information system is the management accounting system, where the management accounting is distinguished by its scope or dimensions, which is evident through the definitions of management accounting. In the accounting literature, management accounting is defined as identifying, measuring and analyzing information that helps managers achieve the objectives of the economic unit and this definition does not set certain limits for the scope of the accounting function, because accounting responds to management needs by providing appropriate information to solve problems it faces [3].

Supporters of this view believe that the adjective administrative does not mean that the accounting information system serves decision-makers within the economic unit only but rather it means serving decision-makers outside the unit as well, meaning that the administrative adjective means that we refer to the accounting information system at the level of the economic unit regardless of the parties that use the information [4].

There are those who believe that the accounting information system is one of the components of the management information system and the difference between them is that the first is concerned with all accounting data and information, while the second is concerned with all data and information that affects the activity of the economic unit. Supporters of this view believe that the management information system is responsible for All the data required to produce the necessary information for planning and controlling the activities of the unit and it includes all administrative levels and the accounting information system is concerned with providing the management information system with information about the financial activity of the economic unit in a specific period [5].

Objectives of Accounting Information Systems

Accounting information systems in any economic unit aim to achieve a general goal, which is to provide information that can benefit the parties that have direct or indirect relations with the economic unit and help them in making many decisions and it seeks to achieve this goal through sub-objectives the following [6]:

• Measuring all the economic events that occur in the economic unit through the processes of recording, tabulating and summarizing in accounting books and records

• Communicating all data and information through a set of reports and lists to all parties that can benefit from it

• Achieving internal control over all material elements that exist in the economic unit during the accounting period

• Help improve the quality of financial statements and reports and make them more appropriate to the needs of internal and external users

The goals of accounting in financial and banking institutions do not deviate from these goals but the nature and quality of information and the purposes of its use are different, due to the different accounting environment in government units than in business sector units for the purpose of determining the general structure of the accounting information system in the financial and banking institutions in order to improve the quality of the financial statements [7].

Accounting, like other human sciences, is a product of its environment, as the accounting environment consists of conditions, restrictions and social, economic, political and legal influences that may vary from time to time. Accounting also works to shape its environment and plays an important role in guiding decisions and economic, social, political, legal and organizational positions, as it provides feedback to individuals and organizations with information that can be used in shaping their environment by providing information to re-evaluate social, political and economic goals, as well as about costs, benefits and alternative means. To achieve these goals [8].

Basic Requirements for Determining the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Accounting Information Systems

Despite the emergence of recent trends in accounting in financial and banking institutions that contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the government accounting system as an information system, the adoption of these trends and the issuance of legislation for their approval differ from one country to another and to determine the basic requirements for determining the effectiveness of the accounting information system in financial and banking institutions, the This requires evaluating the role of modern trends in accounting in these institutions to increase the effectiveness of the accounting system as an information system, as follows [9]:

• Evaluation of the role of modern trends in accounting in financial and banking institutions to increase the effectiveness of the accounting system as an information system: Developed countries have realized the importance of accounting information systems to address the problem of the stagnation of the accounting system and have devised many appropriate systems to absorb the information received and reinforced these systems with advanced types of modern technologies And advanced methods through which you can meet the problem and remove it from its roots. However, the picture is different in developing countries, where most of these countries tended to legislate laws to adopt modern financial systems without taking into account the elements and requirements for securing the application of these legislations. Therefore, these legislations were weak and many of their provisions were not applied in practice or were applied in a distorted way [10]

• Requirements for developing the efficiency of the accounting system in financial and banking institutions: The efficiency of the accounting system depends on the accounting methods and methods that it adopts in processing data related to financial operations, which represent the basic inputs to the accounting information system. The accounting system can be developed through the following [11]:

• The use of the accrual basis in accounting for the operations of the financial unit: As the financial units follow different accounting bases that can be shown in a series, the first party is the cash basis and the second party is the full accrual basis. cash without regard to the fact of maturity

• Cost accounting application: There are those who underestimate the importance of using cost accounting in government units for several reasons, including that government units provide services to all citizens at nominal prices or for free. And the costs are of secondary importance and the budgets are prepared on the monetary basis and the control of the funds allocated in the budget is the primary concern of the legislators, not the control of the costs

• Requirements for developing the effectiveness of the accounting system in financial and banking institutions: The effectiveness of the accounting system depends on the information it provides and the extent to which it meets the needs of its users. This depends on the ability of the accounting system to display and communicate  information  through  the  reports  it issues and   for   the   Iraqi   government   accounting system to be able to issue financial reports as required and thus display and communicate information to achieve the objectives of the system as a whole [12]

The Importance of Accounting Information Systems in Improving the Quality of Financial Statements

For the purpose of defining the general  structure of the accounting information system in financial and banking institutions in order to improve the quality of the financial statements, it is necessary to determine the type and nature of the reports that need to be prepared to provide, display and communicate information to the beneficiaries and parties, as well as to determine the basic sub-systems that the accounting information system can consist of to provide information including It achieves the objectives of the accounting information system [13].

There are those who see the difficulty of separating between financial reports prepared for internal parties and financial reports prepared for external parties in government units, because profit is not considered a measure of performance but rather the measure depends on the efficiency of implementing its operations and the effectiveness of achieving its goals. For example, budgets are used as internal reports in the business sector, while they are a report a major financial for internal and external parties in financial and banking institutionsdisplay and communicate information to the beneficiaries and parties, as well as to determine the basic sub-systems that the accounting information system can consist of to provide information including It achieves the objectives of system [14].

From the administrative and accounting point of view, the government unit is a center of responsibility. If the laws and regulations set the general framework for the procedures for providing services to citizens, then the administrative director of the government unit must simplify these procedures without prejudice to the general framework so as to achieve the goal of providing services at the lowest cost and in a more efficient manner. This is essential, especially if The method of accounting and performance evaluation did not focus on the extent of compliance with the regulations and instructions only but also on the work it accomplished and the services it performed.

Accounting information systems help improve the quality of financial statements and this can be measured by relying on the model [15], as this model depends on the fact that economic units have the goal of maximizing their expected value, as the accuracy of the information disclosed to the public is taken into consideration. As a measure of its quality and that accuracy is explained by achieving a certain level of predictability of future cash flows within the framework of flexibility and discretion allowed by generally accepted accounting principles. Therefore, future cash flows can be expected more accurately through high accuracy and high quality of announced business results. The model can be clarified through the following [15]:

CFO_it+1/TA_it = β0+β1 CFO_it/TA_it+β2 ΔAR_it/TA_it+β3 ΔINV_it/TA_it+β4 ΔAP_it/TA_it+β5 DEPR_it/TA_it+β6 OTHER_it/TA_it+εi_,t+1

Then:

CFOit+1/TAit   : The ratio of future operating cash flow to total assets

CFOit/TAit        : The ratio of operating cash flow for the current year to total assets

β0                         : Regression constant

β6-β1                  : Regression coefficients for the independent variables

ΔARit/TAit       : The ratio of change in debtors to total assets

ΔINVit/TAit      : The percentage change in inventory to total assets

ΔAPit/TAit        : The ratio of change in creditors to total assets

DEPRit/TAit     : Percentage of depreciation to total assets

OTHERit/TAit  : The ratio of current benefits to total assets, calculated as follows:

OTHER_it/TA_it = EARN_it/TA_it–(CFO_it/TA_it+ΔAR_it/TA_it+ΔINV_it/TA_it–ΔAP_it/TA_it–DEPR_it/TA_it)

Then:

EARNit/TAit    : The ratio of operating income before exceptional items and discontinued operations to total assets

εi,t+1: random error

In order to obtain a measure of the quality of financial reporting, the focus is on the residuals obtained from the previous regression of future operating cash flows on the components of the profits of the previous period and this provides the residual value of the economic unit for each fiscal year display and communicate information to the beneficiaries and parties, as well as to determine the basic sub-systems that the accounting information system can consist of to provide information including It achieves the objectives of the accounting information system for the purpose of determining the general structure of the accounting information system in the financial and banking institutions in order to improve the quality of the financial statements, it is necessary to determine the type and nature of the reports that need to be prepared to provide, display and communicate information to the beneficiaries and parties in order to serve them in the various decision-making processes [4].

The Applied Side of the Research

An Introductory Brief About the Research Sample: The research community is represented by the banks listed in the Iraq Stock Exchange, which number (44) banks. As for the research sample, five banks were chosen, which are the Iraqi Investment Bank, Al-Mansour Investment Bank, Sumer Commercial Bank, Erbil Investment Bank and the Commercial Region Bank. The research was applied for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and the data for the applied side of the research was collected through the financial data published and available on the websites of the above financial  companies  listed  on  the  Iraq  Stock  Exchange  for the period (2018-2020), as the Iraqi Companies Law requires these companies to publish some information to the public in order to be Fully informed of the results of the company's activities and its financial position. Some data was also obtained from the bulletins of the Iraq Stock Exchange, the Central Bank of Iraq and the reports of the Office of Financial Supervision during the years of the research  and  a  number  of  sources  were  relied  upon  to collect data, including the financial statements and final accounts of the research sample companies and the reports of the boards of directors of the research sample companies.

Measuring the quality of financial statements in light of the accounting information systems in banks, the research sample for the period (2018-2020):

In  order  to  measure  the  quality  of  the  financial statements in light of the accounting information systems in the banks, the research sample for the period (2018-2020) will rely on the financial statements quality measure by focusing on the remainder obtained from the regression of future operating cash flows on the profit components of the previous period according to the following model:

CFO_it+1/TA_it = β0+β1 CFO_it/TA_it+β2 ΔAR_it/TA_it+β3 ΔINV_it/TA_it+β4 ΔAP_it/TA_it+β5 DEPR_it/TA_it+β6 OTHER_it/TA_it+εi_,t+1

As:

CFOit+1/TAit   : Ratio of future operating cash flow to total assets

CFOit/TAit        : Ratio of operating cash flow for the current year to total assets

β0                         : Regression constant

β6-β1                  : Regression coefficients for independent variables

ΔARit TAit         : The ratio of change in debtors to total assets

ΔINVit/TAit      : The percentage change in inventory to total assets

ΔAPit/TAit        : The ratio of change in creditors to total assets

DEPRit/TAit     : The ratio of obsolescence to total assets

OTHERit/TAit  : The ratio of current liabilities to total assets

εi,t+1                   : Random error

The ratio of the operating cash flow for the current year to the total assets of the banks in the research sample for the period (2018-2020) can be clarified through the schedule (Table 1).

Table 1: The Ratio of Operating Cash Flow for the Current Year to Total Assets (CFOit/TAit) in Banks, the Research Sample for the Period (2018-2020)

Source: Prepared by the researcher

It is noted from the Table 1 that the lowest value of the operating cash flow ratio for the current year to total assets (CFOit/TAit) in the research sample banks for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 was (-0.05873), (-0.27328), (-0.16547), respectively and the highest value for this ratio were (0.26150), (0.01404), (0.08040), respectively, either the average of the operating cash flow ratio for the current year to the total assets CFOit/TAit in the banks of the research sample was (0.09888), (-0.11672), (0.09888), respectively .

The percentage of change in debtors to total assets in banks, the research sample for the period (2018-2020) can be clarified through the schedule (Table 2).

Table 2: The Ratio of Change in Debtors to Total Assets ΔARit/TAit in Banks, the Research Sample for the Period (2018-2020)

Source: Prepared by the researcher

It is clear from the Table 2 schedule that the lowest value of the ratio of change in debtors to total assets ΔARit/TAit in the research sample banks for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 was (-0.00736), (-0.0448), (-0.00888), respectively and the highest value for this ratio. They were (0.09410), (0.01825), (0.17373), respectively, while the average was (0.044516), (-0.01283), (0.056422), respectively.

The percentage of change in inventory to total assets in the research sample banks for the period (2018-2020) can be clarified through the schedule (Table 3).

Table 3: The Percentage of Change in Inventory to Total Assets ΔINVit/TAit in Banks, the Research Sample for the Period (2018-2020)

Source: Prepared by the researcher

It is clear from the Table 3 schedule that there is no inventory in the research sample banks, which made the percentage of change in inventory to total assets ΔINVit/TAit in the research sample banks zero during the years 2018, 2019, 2020.

The percentage of change in creditors to total assets in the research sample banks for the period (2018-2020) can be clarified through the schedule (Table 4).

Table 4: Percentage of Change in Creditors to Total Assets ΔAPit/TAit in the Research Sample Banks for the Period (2018-2020)

Source: Prepared by the researcher

It is noted from the Table 4 schedule that the lowest value of the ratio of change in creditors to total assets ΔAPit/TAit in the research sample banks for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 was (-0.15991), (-0.11347), (-0.17151), respectively and the highest value for this ratio They were (0.26866), (0.44293), (0.00302), respectively, while the mean was (0.063616), (0.026326), (-0.05921), respectively.

The percentage of extinction to the total assets of the banks in the research sample for the period (2018-2020) can be clarified through the schedule (Table 5).

Table 5: Depreciation Ratio to Total Assets (DEPRit/TAit) in Banks, the Research Sample for the Period (2018-2020)

Source: Prepared by the researcher

It is clear from the Table 5 schedule that the lowest value of the depreciation ratio to total assets DEPRit/TAit in the research sample banks for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 was (0.00090), (0.00043), (0.00079), respectively and the highest value of this ratio was (0.00404), (0.00471) and (0.01346), respectively, either the average of the extinction ratio to the total assets DEPRit/TAit in the banks of the research sample was (0.00262), (0.003076), (0.004392), respectively.

The ratio of current accruals to total assets in the research sample banks for the period (2018-2020) can be clarified through the schedule (Table 6).

Table 6: Ratio of Current Accruals to Total Assets OTHERit/TAit in Banks, Research Sample for the Period (2018-2020)

Source: Prepared by the researcher

It is clear from the Table 6 schedule that the lowest  value of the ratio of current benefits to total assets for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 was (-0.23325), (-0.06610), (-0.26909), respectively and the highest  value 

for this ratio was (0.01489), (0.46884), (0.01035), respectively, while the mean was (-0.07162), (0.161394), (-0.08719), respectively.

The ratio of the future operating cash flow to the total assets of the banks in the research sample for the period (2018-2020) can be clarified through the  schedule (Table 7).

Table 7: The Ratio of Future Operating Cash Flow to Total Assets CFOit+1/TAit in Banks, the Research Sample for the Period (2018-2020)

Source: Prepared by the researcher

It is noted from the Table 7 schedule that the lowest value of the future operating cash flow ratio to total assets CFOit+1/TAit in the research sample banks for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 was (-0.31525), (-0.20468), (-0.33472), respectively and the highest The values ​​for these were (0.55595), (0.88499), (0.01991), respectively, while the mean was (0.13801), (0.061246), (-0.09934), respectively.

Based on the foregoing, it can be said that the financial statements prepared by the research sample banks help in providing adequate accounting information on the activities of the economic unit, so this information must be of the required quality through which it can meet the needs of users, because it can positively affect the Their various  decisions,  such  as  administrative  decisions  and investment decisions, as information is considered the final results of the data that have been subjected to processing to give a full meaning that is used in decision-making processes, description.With the aim of processing and producing them in the form of information that represents data and in the form of financial statements that are useful in the decision-making process and accordingly, accounting information systems help improve the quality of financial statements in financial and banking institutions in a manner that is commensurate with the changes and developments accompanying the contemporary business environment and thus the research hypothesis has been proven.

During this research, a number of conclusions were reached, as follows:

• Accounting information systems are a set of elements, objectives, policies, means of operation, inputs, outputs and control that are interrelated in a coordinated way to perform functions that are concerned with collecting, processing and communicating information to its users

• Accounting information systems in any economic unit aim to achieve a general goal, which is to provide information that can be benefited by parties that have direct or indirect relations with the economic unit and help them in making many decisions

• Despite the emergence of recent trends in accounting in financial and banking institutions that contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the government accounting system as an information system, the adoption of these trends and the need to issue specific legislations

• For the purpose of determining the general structure of the accounting information system in the financial and banking institutions in order to improve the quality of the financial statements, it is necessary to determine the type and nature of the reports that need to be prepared to provide, display and communicate information to the beneficiaries and parties in order to serve them in the various decision-making processes

• Accounting information systems help improve the quality of financial statements and this can be measured by relying on the (Barth) model, as this model depends on the fact that economic units have the goal of maximizing their expected value, as the accuracy of the information disclosed to the public is taken as a measure of its quality

Recommendations

Based on the conclusions reached, the research recommends the following:

• Reviewing and amending the objectives and strategies of financial and banking institutions to include recent trends in accounting information systems for their effective role in developing these institutions and improving the quality of their financial statements, as well as preparing the environment to adopt these trends and any other developments needed for future development

• Work to form periodic committees consisting of administrators, accountants and auditors that are responsible for reviewing and auditing the efficiency and effectiveness of the accounting system in financial and banking institutions and ensuring its ability to achieve goals, whether short-term goals, long-term goals or strategic goals

• Reviewing all the problems faced by accounting information systems in financial and banking institutions and working to solve them in a creative way in a way that suits the changes accompanying the contemporary business environment

• Work to increase the effectiveness of the accounting system as an information system. It is necessary to grant the financial units accounting independence so that the responsibility of the unit does not depend on preparing the final trial balance but rather goes beyond that to preparing an integrated set of reports that give a clear picture of the financial performance and financial position of the government unit and the cost of the services it provides. offered and programs implemented

• Reconsidering accounting information and working to improve its quality so that it is appropriate to the needs of internal and external users of accounting information as it enables them to make rational management decisions

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