Accounting Software, Information Quality, and Firm Value of Consumer Goods Manaufacturing Firms in Nigeria

The increasing adoption of digital accounting systems and the growing importance of reliable, timely, decision-useful accounting information in corporate decision-making and market valuation, has called for studies to examine the effect of accounting software and information quality The study specifically examined the effect of accounting software adoption/effectiveness on firm value, the effect of accounting information quality on firm value, the joint effect of accounting software and information quality on firm value, and whether these variables significantly explained firm value variations The study was anchored on Agency theory and the success model of DeLone and McLean Information Systems. A mixed-method research design was adopted, combining questionnaire data with ex-post facto/panel data obtained from published annual reports and market information. This study focused on selected listed consumer goods manufacturing firms in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to accounting, finance, internal audit, information systems, and management personnel, while firm value was measured primarily using Tobin’s Q. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that accounting software had a positive and statistically significant relationship with firm value (β = 0.284, p = 0.001), while information quality also had a positive and statistically significant relationship with firm value (β = 0.391, p < 0.001). The regression model was statistically significant (F = 34.12, p < 0.001) and explained approximately 61.0% of the firm value variation, Firm size and profitability had positive and significant relationships with firm value, whereas leverage had a negative and significant relationship with firm value. The study concluded that effective accounting software and high-quality accounting information are important factors associated with firm value among listed consumer-goods manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Therefore, continuous investment in integrated accounting technologies, regular user training, stronger information-quality controls, improved cybersecurity, and greater board and audit-committee oversight of AISs are recommended