Affiliations: [a] Department of Accounting, College of Management, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C. | [b] Department of Accounting and Information System, Chang Jung Christian University, Taiwan, R.O.C. | [c] Department of Accounting, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Abstract: This study examines the moderating effects of professional training on the relation between information technology (IT) investments and financial performance of audit firms in Taiwan. The organization-level financial performance includes productivity and profitability. Total IT investments are divided into software and hardware expenditures. Empirical results indicate that professional training positively associates with productivity significantly but insignificantly with profitability. IT negatively relates to productivity and profitability. Both productivity and profitability are improved by the interaction between IT and professional training, indicating that professional training mitigates the IT productivity paradox. This study takes training and IT into account simultaneously to empirically examine the moderator role of training in the organizational context in which IT is deployed. Evidences obtained thus contribute information to both IT and human resources management literatures. Taiwanese audit market structure is similar to that of many western countries, empirical results of this study possess global managerial implications.
Keywords: Professional training, IT, performance, audit firms
