Accounting information in micro manufacturing enterprises in Libya.

In an attempt to understand the accounting information generated and used for planning and control, a programme of research was conducted in selected micro manufacturing enterprises (less than 10 employees) in Libya. This research is an exploratory study as it represents the first attempt to study accounting information in micro manufacturing enterprises in Libya.The Strauss and Corbin (1990; 1998) grounded theory methodology approach was adopted and five case studies were conducted to obtain an in-depth understanding of accounting information. Data was gathered through fifty-seven interviews with owner managers, production managers, internal accountants, salesman, and employees. The data from the five case studies was collected and analysed based on grounded theory approach employing a structured set of coding procedures to generate substantive hypotheses for each case. From the five case studies, 110 substantive hypotheses emerged. These substantive hypotheses from the five cases were then compared and contrasted in detail and resulted in fifteen formal hypotheses (the main findings). These formal hypotheses included the impact of the owner/manager, enterprise and environmental features as well as the formal and informal procedures on the generation and use of accounting information for planning and controlling the business aspects. Also, they included the links between formal and informal procedures and accounting information (written or oral) generation and use for planning and controlling the business activities.The owner/manager, enterprise and environmental features include the owner manager's level of education in management and accounting skills, the number of business records and documents, the business size, use of internal accountant, competition and the government agencies. The procedures include product costing and pricing, financial, profit and manufacturing planning; productivity, inventory, quality, cash flow and capital expenditure control and make or buy decisions.