Assessing the Connection Between Accounting Information Quality and Strategic Decision-Making: An Analytical Study of Iraqi Banks

The paper will examine whether, and to what extent, accounting information quality is relevant to the strategic decision-making of banks in Iraq operating in difficult economic and political environments. The point is that the better the accounting information, the more reliable it is for managerial decision-making, as it reduces uncertainty. In that regard, accounting information quality is considered a multidimensional construct that includes relevance, reliability, and comparability. The study is empirically founded on a field survey with 150 employees in major banking functions, which include investment, risk management, information systems, internal audit, and accounting, on an analytical-descriptive approach. The results indicate that the perceived quality of accounting information and strategic decision-making are strongly linked. Though these findings suggest that the quality of information environments could enhance strategic decisions, the correlational nature means we cannot conclusively identify which improves strategic decisions; that is, organizations with higher strategic ability may invest more in information quality, or this may be due to more encompassing governance and regulatory factors. In practice, the results yield recommendations for banks in Iraq to improve their accounting systems to produce more decision-relevant, reliable, and comparable reports; strengthen internal control mechanisms; and standardize accounting policies to enhance clarity and consistency in financial reporting. On the whole, the research shows that enhancing banks' informational infrastructure may be an important aspect, but not the only one, in facilitating strategic decision-making in volatile situations.