THE NEEDS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BASED ACCOUNTING RECORD IN INDONESIA SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMES)

Background: This study investigates factors to be considered by small and medium enterprises (SME) owners in choosing accounting applications (apps) that can assist their business operations. This research involves SMEs in East Java province of Indonesia. This is due to the consideration that SMEs in East Java contribute 57.5% of gross regional domestic product. Research method: This research is an exploratory study using the principal component analysis (PCA). Results: The study found that there were five factors that were considered by SME owners in selecting accounting app. These factors were operational, complete, personalized, support, and strategic. Operational factors were related to the support of accounting app for the sustainability of the company's operations. Completeness factors were related to the features available in the accounting app ? it was complete so that it could support current and future business operations. Personalization factors were related to the flexibility of accounting app in modifying the generate output according to the user needs. Support factors were related to facilities and infrastructure that had to be possessed by the company before using the accounting app, so that the app could run perfectly. The last factor ? strategic ? was associated with the ability of accounting app in meeting the needs of the company in the future, including the ability of accounting app integrated with other devices.