ications in informa tion systems management. There exists, however, opposition to the centralization concept from some disciplines which rely on information management. University administrators must assess the competing contentions.
Proponents of the centralization approach contend that the core instruction required for information managers is the same, regardless of discipline, and that such instruction may be most efficiently delivered under the direction of the Information Systems Department (Evans, 1985). Within the accounting disci pline, opponents of centralized instruction in computer appli cations to information management contend that centralization 3will result in (1) the replacement of the accountant by a tech nologically competent information professional as a financial information provider (Lewis, Mahoney, and Greenhill, 1986), and (2) a potential deterioration in the usefulness of accounting information, as the information providing responsibility passes to individuals with inadequate grounding in accounting theory (Joseph, 1987).
This research sought an answer to the following research question: Should computer applications in information manage ment for accounting be taught by the Information Systems Department (or its equivalent), or by the Accounting Depart ment? For purposes of this research, it was hypothesized that computer applications in information management for accounting should be taught by the Information Systems Department, or its equivalent.
With respect to the research purpose, literature is reviewed with respect to both MIS concerns generally, and accounting concerns specifically. The two bodies of litera ture are considered separately.
An information system within a contemporary organization is considered to be a computer based system which processes 4data into a meaningful form, so that it may be used by managers and administrators in the organizational de...