Internal control and information technologies in micro and SMEs from east Antioquia: current state in their implementation and opportunities for improvement

Micro and SMEs are a fundamental component of the business chain in the world and it has been made necessary to implement in them control processes guaranteeing their permanence in time. The aim of this article is to present some internal accounting control issues resulting from the application of a survey to a sample of 379 micro and SMEs from east Antioquia, Colombia, in the frame of a characterization project about the accounting and financial management of these entities. The results evidence diverse problems in the micro and SMEs of the region caused by their administrators, who are the owners in many cases, and who ignore the management and control tools which allow to achieve a better organization that enables the permanence of their business in time.