Information System Real Time Reporting

Question: Describe about the Information System for Real Time Reporting. Answer: Introduction In the present era, technology has arrived for all manual work in order to make it easy, accurate and less time consuming. Similarly, in the field of accounting, various software have been developed to assist the business organisation in recording and maintain their books of accounts in a better manner. The report is based on details regarding the accounting software used in Australia. The best and known software with their details have been discussed by considering viewpoints of various authors and research scholars. The advantages enjoyed by the leaders of the market have also been discussed by demonstrating practical aspect. Evolution of accounting software in Australia Accounting software Accounting software can be said as application software which processes accounting transactions within functional modules. According to Quinn and Kristandl (2014), it may be purchased of inbuilt in an organisation using it or can be online-based. The advantage of online-based software is that it can be accessed anywhere with the help of internet. It works as an accounting information system (Quinn and Kristandl, 2014). Previously companies were facing problems relating to obsolete, client server, propriety software package and but now no such situation is in existence. The problem was present in days before the days of Microsoft, the consequent change paper form accounts to a spreadsheet on Lotus 123 was a major change as double entry system. According to the study of Bendovschi, (2015) the evolution of accounting software can be split into three major generations: the 90s era, the 00s era, and the ongoing era. The 90s era is characterised by the apparition of the initial accounting software programs under the commonly known Windows age (Bendovschi, 2015). The applications back then were strong but supported only the basic accounting functions. In the 00s era, concepts such as SaaS and integration emerged and brought with them more developed and updated systems which would enable more intricate data processing and accounting functions, together with concurrent access to programs and files. The ongoing era which started from 2010 is known as the Mobile accounting age, characterised by financial dashboards, real time accounting and other mobile apps that support financial reporting and processing. This age was a result of the financial crisis of 2008, where the accountants role in a firm changed from reporting and book-keep ing to being an important part of the managerial decision making. Hence, increasing number of organizations incorporated automated controls for posting journal entries, final reporting, consolidation and processing data (Bendovschi, 2015). Technology proved to be highly responsive to the market demands and hence contemplated the requirement for a more transparent and strong process. It was just a matter of time until the concepts of real time reporting or cloud accounting or cloud computing turned a routine reality among all firms, irrespective of their region, industry and sizes (Bendovschi, 2015). Various accounting software and their significance It was analysed be Silberman that the accounting based on DOS was stable but not developed on a frequent basis but after coming of Microsoft regular up gradation became a norm. It was observed that the accounting software has evolved from an accounting package to a total business management tool. Study of Elliott and Jacobson (2010) shows that the reason behind it was the addition of non-accounting applications similar to CRM, ERP to make it multi-user. The concept of cloud computing emerged with the evolution of software but a drawback was present with it that user will upload the data only when it is safe (Elliott and Jacobson, 2010.). With the continued usage of the computer, now people has expected using mobile instead of a computer. The obstacles regarding it are that it is not necessary that all the application works in a similar manner as in a computer. The problem was solved with the evolution of Quick Books (Rahman and et.al. 2014). As per the analysis and research, the top five Australian accounting software are Intuit QuickBooks, MYOB, Reckon, Saasu, Xero (The Accounting Journal: 60 years of Accounting Software, 2015.). The application used in this software has enhanced the use of the software. Quick books are used to track the business, profit, expenses and income of organisation. Unlimited amount of invoices can be sent across a wide range of desktops and mobile users. It has same security and encryption as in banks. MYOB was designed with aim of more than just functioning accounting software. In this point of sale can be integrated into your entire business. Competitive advantage by accounting software Heber (2015) stated that the fight for supremacy in the accounting software market in Australia has assumed a new vigour with MYOB bringing its IPO. The big players of the Australian accounting software market are competing for dominance in a huge market: each business ought to maintain track of its accounts and these big players are making this task simple. They have eliminated the need of bookkeepers and enable clients to make cash management and invoicing decisions on the run through mobile and desktop applications. Xero Australia already has 262,000 users in the country and is well positioned to continue seizing market share from its arch-rival MYOB (Heber, 2015). According to the GM Finance of Xero, Paul Williams, his company has an evident international online accounting dais that offers considerable first mover advantage. It is the primary challenger to the international incumbent Intuit, MYOB and Intuit. The dearth of operational experience of these incumbents in the online platform implies that they are still to provide a competitive international solution. Xero on the other hand is interrupting the conventional accounting software market in two main domains. Firstly, it is blending both accountant processing software and small business accounting into a single solution. This appears to be a likely progression of cloud software and this poses a significant challenge to the incumbents because they strive to capitalize revenues from their accountant software segments. Secondly, Xero has set up The Modern Practice initiative in collaboration with Microsoft (Williams, 2011). This is a collection of integrated cloud based solutions which enabl es accountants to run all of their operations without having to install servers. Pros and cons of accounting software The advantage of simplified data entry with the speedy process is received with the adoption of accounting software. Automation in report analysis and the task is also enjoyed by the organisation using software. The advantage enjoyed by the above leader in the software market is that they have created goodwill with their efforts of many years. Any change offered by them is easily acceptable by the users as the trust is maintained because they are already known with the base and features of the company (Chapin and et.al, 2012). They dont need much effort to influence the users to use their software. Due to the successful experience, they have information regarding the needed change in accounting software, hence it is easily acceptable by the user and no such advantage is present to other users. Real-time accounting provides myriad benefits as compared to the traditional periodic reporting in accounting. Conventionally, companies need non-financial and financial reporting on the basis of annual or quarterly periods. However, the quick transitions that take place in society and markets result in such periodic reporting to become outdated very quickly (Chapin and et.al, 2012). Intensifying competition among the market players creates demand for updated information to allow the management to quickly grasp opportunities and answer the issues. Real time accounting does answer these needs, however, requires novel technological answers (Trigo, Belfo and Estebanez, 2014). Tomsho (2012) identified several other challenges as well mainly with small business accounting software such as QuickBooks or Simply Accounting. However, there are certain restrictions associated with these software. Study of Scott (2015) shows that, in absence of an integrated model, business data sites in different applications rendering its access challenging (Scott, 2015). Consequently, manual re-entry from on system to other becomes unavoidable causing ineffectiveness and impacting staff productivity. Compliance is imperative for companies that are on the route to expansion and ought to report to an increasing number of stakeholders or satisfy audit requisites. These software do not provide an audit trail through which manipulation is easy and risk of inherent materiality is significantly increased. Nonetheless, several small accounting software does not have accounting controls like SOC or GAAP. On the other hand, tailored software is costly and require appropriate training program. Hence, though accounting applications have made it convenient for businesses to carry out their accounting functions, but they also contain some inherent problems. Conclusion The above study depicts that the accounting software has changed the manner of book-keeping. The transformation from paperwork to spreadsheet has been made possible due to accounting software only. The work has become easier and speedy with the adoption of software. The analysis of the leaders of the market has also been prescribed with the competitive advantage. Research studies of various scholars show similar conclusion that accounting software had led to better and accurate presentation of financial information. This aspect had assisted stakeholders in retrieve information in a viable manner in order to make strategic decisions. Despite various benefits, there are certain limitations associated with it which reduce its efficacy. References Books Journal Bendovschi, C. A., 2015. The evolution of accounting information systems. Practical Application of Science, 3(1). Chapin, N. and et.al. 2012. Types of software evolution and software maintenance. Journal of software maintenance and evolution: Research and Practice, 13(1), Pp.3-30. Elliott, R.K. and Jacobson, P.D., 2010. The evolution of the knowledge professional. Accounting Horizons, 16(1), Pp.69-80. Quinn, M. and Kristandl, G., 2014. Business information systems for accounting students. Pearson Education Ltd. Rahman, M.M. and et.al. 2014. Assessment of Accounting Software Practices in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). A Survey of Barrier and Adoption. International Journal of Management Sciences and Business Research, 3(4). Tomsho, G., 2012. Guide to Networking Essentials. Cengage Learning. Trigo, A., Belfo, F. and Estebanez, P. R., 2014. Accounting Information Systems: The Challenge of the Real-Time Reporting. Procedia Technology, 16, 118-127. Online Heber, A., 2015. The cloud accounting supremacy war in Australia. [Online]. Available through: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/charts-the-battle-for-supremacy-in-australias-cloud-accounting-market-2015-4. 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