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Purpose – The overall purpose of this study is to investigate whether literacy levels and external user-pressure by the Uganda Revenue Authority affect the perceived quality of accounting information of Ugandan SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach – A postal questionnaire survey of 98 SMEs drawn from Kampala, Uganda was undertaken. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression was used to determine whether literacy levels and external user-pressure affect the quality of accounting information controlling for firm size, accounting qualification and firm age.

Findings – The findings suggest that literacy levels and external user-pressure influence the perceived quality of accounting information. Accounting qualification and firm age were also found to be positively associated with the quality of accounting information. However, there is no significant relationship between firm size and quality of accounting information.

Originality/value – The study provides evidence of the effect of literacy and external user-pressure on the quality of accounting information in a developing country where such evidence does not currently exist.

Implications – Since accounting information is important for economic growth, the Ugandan government needs to spend more resources to improve the literacy especially among the SMEs. The Uganda Revenue Authority also needs to maintain pressure on SMEs to improve the quality of information provided by SMEs since such information is important for assessing tax payable.