Organization That Uses Account Software Packages â€Free Samples

Question: Discuss About The Organization Uses Account Software Packages? Answer: Introduction: The report gives a brief overview of an organization that makes use of account software packages. Here the company chosen is 2020 Global Business Consultants. The report gives a brief overview of the current organizational structure and the operational problems that it faces following such a structure. Then there is discussion about the most likely system acquisition method. The report further describes and presents a flowchart of the sales procedures chosen for the company. Further, there is discussion about the identification of the control problems faced by the minor business enterprises. There is discussion on the development and adoption of the accounting software packages and the current market size. The report also helps in identification of the market leaders and the discussions about their competitive edge. The report also discusses the challenges faced by the users or customers of the software packages. Current Organizational Structure Small and medium sized business enterprises usually make use of accounting software packages. Here the company chosen is 2020 Global Business Consultants. The organizational structure is important for any company as it enables the creation of hierarchy in business for the increase in effectiveness and efficiency of business operations (Coyte, Ricceri and Guthrie 2012). The company chosen here follows a functional organizational structure where the hierarchy of the organization designed based on the employees job role. In this structure, the employees grouped together towards a common goal. This particular structure has more focus on its employees. For instance, in this structure all the marketing employees belong to the same group. Operational Problems Faced by the Organization There are certain operational problems that crops up with the functional organizational structures. Due to the hierarchical nature of this structure, there are certain bottlenecks that the company faces (Brammer, Hoejmose and Marchant 2012). Then there is the problem of holding a particular employee responsible when several employees have made inputs for a task. The scenario becomes crucial when decisions are made or when there is a mistake. In this particular organizational structure, nobody claims responsibility for the task and with the involvement of various specialists; it becomes difficult to pin the blame on any particular individual. This structure of the organization also leads to poor communication across organization thereby decreasing innovation and flexibility. The organization with functional areas also faces challenges in terms of employees who have a tendency to undertake unique viewpoints in case of organizational matters (Verbano and Venturini 2013). Most Likely System Acquisition Method Used Commercial Software, Custom Software, or ERP The most likely system acquisition method is the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). ERP is a real time integrated management of business processes including production planning, manufacturing, marketing, management of materials and management of inventory supported by technology and software (Coyte, Ricceri and Guthrie 2012). Thus, ERP used for category of business management software that an organization uses for collection, storing, interpretation and management of data. With ERP, the organization can get an updated view of its business process by the use of common databases maintained through database management system. The resources of the business along with its status and orders can be also be tracked by ERP (Asl et.al 2013). Moreover, ERP also enables flow of information among all functions of the business and helps in managing connections to stakeholders outside the company. Description and Preparation a system Flowchart Sales The company chosen here is 2020 Global Business Consultants who mainly focus on providing accounting service and audit services (Wei and Wei 2013). The company asks identifies business needs and ensures services in a manner that leads to the improvement of the operations of the organization. The 2020 Global Business Consultants is expert at asking the right questions and efficiently and effectively identifying business needs to add value and improve an organizations operations (Gross 2012). The company offers assurance service, compliance audits, feasibility assessment, external auditing, financial modeling and analysis, probity audits, information system audit, risk assessment, annual preparation of reports, bookkeeping, business mentoring and coaching, business planning and preparation of tender documents (De Simone, Ege and Stomberg 2014). Figure: Cycle of Accounting Source:( De, Ege and Stomberg 2014) Identification of Control Problems in the System There are many challenges or control problems that any service industry faces. These are as follows: Knowing the Customer Type: The company in the service sector like 2020 Global Business Consultants may have to deal with different customers for the same service. However, the customer categorized as the user, the buyer, or the one who provides the fund ( Hatten 2015). The same service can be availed by different people with different benefits and needs. Therefore, it is very challenging the service providers to understand the need of the people, develop relationships with and thereby manage everything effectively. Clearly Identifying the Service: People might have differing views about the services provided by a company. This is because a particular customer may have a single benefit in mind while others might hold very different perspective (Blackburn, Hart and Wainwright 2013). This changes the perception of the service provided by the company amongst people. Thus, there must be clarification of the services provided to the people through proper communication and articulation. Outcome and Experience Management: One of the primary challenges of the service company lies in the fact that they cannot draw a thin line between the how and what of the customer interface (Kerzner 2013). Thus, simultaneous management of the experience and outcome becomes quite a challenging task for service providers. The company providing service must ensure proper management of the customers by ensuring that the service made to serve them individually. Some of the real time service provided by the company does not follow a delay or cancellation procedure. Moreover, real time services do not have a rewind button (Sekaran and Bougie 2016.). Thus, creating an appropriate culture and management of capacity are the key challenges faced. Issues Related to Co-ordination: The small enterprise that focuses on providing service like 2020 Global Business Consultants are not only demanding but looks for integration in people, resource and marketing management. Co-ordination of the various parts of the organization to ensure quality service and meet the customer needs is the utmost priority of such company. Operation Decision and Business Success Relationship: Initiating the right decisions that will lead to the success of the business has been a major challenge for the service company. Business success however refers to entering new markets, making profits, attracting new customers and reduction of cost. Therefore, it is very necessary to understand the correlation between the factors and their impact on the company (Longenecker 2013). Operation Improvement: The small service enterprise continuously faces the challenges for improving and developing the services and thereby ensures that outcome is supportive of the change initiated. The major challenge faced in the area is the enhanced complexity that crops up because of the change. Development and Adoption of Accounting Software Packages Accounting Software refers to a kind of application software that processes and records transactions related to accounting within the modules that are functional that includes accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, trial balance and gender ledger. Thus, it functions as an information system for accounting. There are various companies in Australia that develops such software. These include Myob, Quickbooks online, Reckon and Xero (Hu 2012). Small business enterprises make use of such accounting software. Thus an account management software platform can lead to the transformation of the business through acceptance of payments and other point of sale reports, provide dashboard for business performance, tax reporting and monitor payroll. The software also helps in claiming expense, purchase, and quote orders. The cost of the account management software however depends on the platform that a company chooses. Sometimes, the account management software is subscription based. Howev er, the importance of the Account Management Software packages felt largely by small businesses. In a survey conducted, found that about 81% respondents said that this software was crucial to their business while 87% said that the availability of the software simplified business operations. However, a statistics close to 60% said that accounting software ensured business growth. Current Market Size The introduction of the GST (goods and service tax) have forced many small business to make use of accounting software packages who previously were happy using paper based systems of accounting. Although small businesses still feel that keeping track of things on paper makes a difference however, the introduction of the software packages makes a significant contribution. Moreover, shifting to a computer-based system meant that extraction of numbers also became an easier task. There has been pressure from the government on the small-scale businesses to change into computerized systems. The change made to enable the small business to closely keep a track of the operations and thereby lead to an improvement in the performance. Thus, with time the demand for the accounting software packages is increasing for small businesses. Initially, in Australia there were just two players responsible for accounting software development (Brailsford Gaunt and OBrien 2012). These players were Quickbook s and Myob. Presently, these two players have many competitors. The providers are responsible for services like offline and online bookkeeping for traders. The accounting software packages also enabled preparation of activity statements for small business. Leaders in the Market and Their Competitive Advantage There are three platforms for accounting provided by Xero, Intuit Quickbooks and Myob (Carson et.al 2012) This is the most straightforward accounting software platform with a starting price of about 25 dollar per month. Therefore, the platform allows making five quotes, invoices, bills along with twenty bank transactions and single employee payroll. There are other plans available in the range of 50 and 60 dollars. Free versions of this accounting software are also available and it ranks highest in terms of customer satisfaction. This provides a competitive edge for Xero. They provide one of the cheap plans of accounting software that ranges from $15 per month to $25 dollar per month. Through the accounting software developed by Quickbooks one can not only create customized reports but also invoices and connect it with the mobile application. There are huge discounts provided by the software provider and thus they do pinch the customer pockets. Thus, they create an overall satisfaction among customers that gives them a competitive edge. This accounting software developer has huge number of plans on offer that is good for the business but is a bit confusing for the customers. They have four categories for their small business plans that include essentials, account edge and account right, account right tiers and plans for essentials. There a free application known as on the go that is a part of the Account Right and Essential plan. The features that the software platform offers gives are the reason behind its preference. Challenges Encountered By Users or Customers of Accounting Software Packages There are many challenges faced by the user or consumers of the accounting software packages. These challenges are as follows: Although the accounting software comes in reasonable prices for the small business but the applying the software involves cost that is more than using it. This is because the software requires minimum standards for use of computers in regards to processor, RAM, hard drive memory and speed. Moreover, the space requirement for storing the accounts data may be more than an excel sheet. Thus,, the technical support for the software may lead to the extra cost which the small companies may not be able to afford.: The operation of the software requires some knowledge on it otherwise implementation the accounting terms layouts and designs may be difficult for a first timer. This can become an additional stress along with the stress of the business. Thus, the software recommended for use only when it is necessary and the gains of it much higher than the losses incurred. The accounting software takes much time to process invoices and expenses compared to the one done on spreadsheet. Thus if the computer usage is not a part of the daily routine then the time needed for processing the financial data may negate the benefits of the accounting software. Requires Maintenance: The accounting software requires maintenance that includes upgrading the software package from time to time. There is also the need to upgrade all the equipments necessary for the successful operation of the software. These include upgrading the personal computer or laptop, printer, internet connection, modem, operating system and back drive. This might become quite a challenging task for the small businesses. Conclusion The report concludes by stating the challenges encountered by users or customers of accounting software packages. There is an identification of the market leaders of the Accounting Software in the report and their competitive edge. The report also identifies the control problems minor business face. There is also a representation of the sales flowchart of the chosen company. Further, the report discusses about the system acquisition method. There is also an overview of the current organizational structure and the operational problems faced. References: Asl, M.B., Khalilzadeh, A., Youshanlouei, H.R. and Mood, M.M., 2012. 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