Financial Decision-Making in Schools Using ARKAS-Based Management Information Systems: A Qualitative Case Study

Tri Emelia Rostari; Sudarwan Danim; Asti Putri Kartiwi

doi:10.35445/alishlah.v18i2.9992

Financial Decision-Making in Schools Using ARKAS-Based Management Information Systems: A Qualitative Case Study

Tri Emelia Rostari, Sudarwan Danim, Asti Putri Kartiwi

Abstract

Digital financial management systems are increasingly used to strengthen accountability and decision-making in schools. However, limited research has examined how ARKAS-generated financial data are interpreted and used in school financial governance. This study investigates how ARKAS supports financial decision-making practices in a public junior secondary school in Indonesia.This study employed a qualitative instrumental case study design at SMPN 19 Seluma, Indonesia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight participants involved in school financial governance, including the principal, vice principal, treasurer, ARKAS operator, administrative staff, teacher representative, school committee representative, and district-level BOS supervisor. Institutional documents, including RKAS documents, BOS realization reports, accountability reports, ARKAS-generated summaries, and meeting minutes, were also analyzed. Data were examined using reflexive thematic analysis, supported by triangulation, member checking, and reflexive memoing.The findings show that ARKAS structures financial planning, implementation, reporting, verification, and deliberative governance through standardized digital procedures. However, school financial governance does not operate as a fully data-driven process. Financial data function as deliberative resources that are interpreted, negotiated, and verified by school actors. Accountability practices remain hybrid, combining system-generated reports with manual verification of receipts and supporting documents. Unequal technical capacity, dependence on ARKAS operators, unstable connectivity, and organizational adaptation challenges also shape system use.This study proposes a negotiated socio-technical model of ARKAS-based financial governance. The findings suggest that effective digital financial governance requires not only technological integration but also data literacy, technical capacity, infrastructure stability, and organizational coordination.

Keywords

school management information systems; arkas; financial decision-making; data-informed decision making; socio-technical systems

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v18i2.9992