Determinants of information technology competencies among public sector accountants in Iraq

Employment of information technology (IT) in accounting denotes great change for the necessary IT competencies of accountants to successfully perform their functions. However, the IT competencies among Iraqi accountants are still not up to required standard. There is a need to determine the critical variables that can improve the IT
competencies among Iraqi accountants. Thus, this study examines the critical variables that influence IT competencies among accountants in Iraqi public sector under the intensity of civil conflicts. Data were collected through questionnaires. A total of 547 questionnaires were distributed to professional accountants in four cities in Iraq, i.e. Baghdad, Basrah, Kirkuk and Erbil. 301 were returned and 258 were deemed usable for analysis. This study uses the Pearson bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that achievement motivation, goal setting, mastery experience, effective training, supervisor support, emotional intelligence and technology readiness have positive and significant effects on IT competencies. In contrast, educational qualification, job stress, computer anxiety,
and perceived intensity of civil conflict have negative and significant effects on IT competencies. Further, there is no significant relationship between physical work environment and culture with IT competencies. The results of this study can be generalized to other countries in the world that have a civil conflict environment. This
study can also be utilized by various parties such as policy-makers, government agencies, public and private firm. The novelty of the study underscores the value and importance of cognitive variables, environmental variables, and behavioral variables which are significant to the learning and development of individual IT competencies among accountants under the intensity of civil conflicts