The impact of procurement card usage on cost reduction, management control, and the managerial audit function

Abstract

Purpose

Provide a better understanding of the functionalities and benefits of the procurement card technology (P‐Card), and examines the card's impact on management control and the audit function.

Design/methodology/approach

Describes the recent published works on P‐Card's benefits in costs reduction and data integration with information systems, aiming to provide comprehensive research and practical advices.

Findings

Provides information about the impact of P‐Card on business processes, along with opportunities to set managerial reports. The future of P‐Card technology is elaborated in order to broadening P‐Card usage.

Research limitations/implications

To explain the determinants of and outcomes from the adoption and usage of P‐Card, contingency variables such as size, business environment, and structure may be examined. Also, studies on P‐Card have only used the survey method as the way to gather information, while interviews, observation, and system documentation examination should be performed to corroborate the survey results obtained. Intangible benefits such as improved decision‐making, better management control, or improved job satisfaction should be considered to provide more robust assessment of P‐Card usage and benefits.

Practical implications

A useful source of information to help management auditors to take proactive approaches to improve business efficiency, design effective control systems, and streamline accounting processes.

Originality/value

The paper describes ways to integrate P‐Card data directly to computer‐based accounting information systems via electronic posting to the ledger offered by software capabilities.

Citation

Boulianne, E. (2005), "The impact of procurement card usage on cost reduction, management control, and the managerial audit function", Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 20 No. 6, pp. 592-604. https://doi.org/10.1108/02686900510606083