Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
importance of computerized accounting system
importance of computerized accounting system
state the use of computer in the accounting system
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: importance of computerized accounting system
Computerized Systems in the Accounting Cycle Jeanie A. Farris Monroe College Principles of Accounting I Professor M. Mensah Abstract What is the accounting cycle? The accounting cycle is the name given to the collective process of recording and processing the accounting events of a company. The series of steps begin when a transaction occurs and end with its inclusion in the financial statements. The introduction of computerized accounting systems, provide major advantages such as speed and accuracy of operation, and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to see the real-time state of the company’s financial position. In my paper, I have listed and explained all the steps in the accounting cycle and have also stated through research, how computerized accounting can help with the accounting process as a whole. The first step in the accounting cycle is to collect and analyze data from transactions and events. As transactions and events related to financial resources occur, they are analyzed with respect to their effect on the financial position of the company. Every organization establishes a chart …show more content…
It is better in comparison to manual double entry systems where two or three entries are required. When a business transaction is inputted on the computer it is recorded in many different accounting records at the same time. This factors in all the other reasons why it is an advantage to use these computerized systems in the accounting cycle. They include speed, accuracy, up to date information, and efficiency. The systems do everything quicker through built in databases, and this is where the speed comes from. Making an error is nearly impossible since only one entry is used, and this creates accuracy. Up-to-date information because the accounting records are automatically updated and so account balances will always be
Financial statement users around the globe use financial statements to evaluate the performance of companies (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006). In order to locate a company’s reported assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues, statement users rely on four types of financial statements. The four financial statements include: Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Retained Earnings, and Statement of Cash Flows (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p. 6). Each of these reports provides different information to the financial statement user. The Balance Sheet reports at a point in time: a company’s assets (what it owns), liabilities (what it owes) and stockholder’s equity (what is left over for the owners) (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p.7). The Income Statement shows whether a business made a profit (net income) during a specific period of time (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p. 10). The Statement of Retained Earnings illustrates what portions of the company’s earnings was paid to stockholders and retained by the company for future operations (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p.12). Finally, the Statement of Cash Flows reports summarizes how a business’ “operating, investing, and financial activities caused its cash balance to change over a particular range of time” (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p.13).
To counter this problem, computer assisted audit techniques have been developed. These systems are able to provide a more in depth analysis of the utilized billing systems. Computer assisted audit techniques also enable highly efficient assessment of transactions. By utilizing this system, an auditor could gain a clearer picture of the revenue reporting mechanisms that are being utilized by the business office. Once the information is derived, however, its interpretation, while simpler, will still require an individual that is knowledgeable in regard to the revenue cycle
While accountants, who are usually trained to be more conservative in accounting for assets and liabilities, would like to make more reliable recognition (in my opinion, would prefer historical cost method), corporate management and investors may want more relevant information in order to make strategic or investment decision. Due to the conflicts of different parties’ needs, the choice between two accounting models may continue. Still, in addition to the choice of accounting model, the issue of information overload is getting more attention than before. Besides reliability and relevance of financial information, selection of information and the way to present it for users also matters since these factors affect the users’ ability to effectively utilize the
Cash and Accrual Accounting are two elemental accounting methods that are essential to keep records of the expenses and income of a business (Zarandi, et al., 2013).Therefore throughout this essay I will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each method in order to conclude which accounting method is more useful for a business. Cash accounting is more favoured especially for small businesses whereby the income is only counted when the payment is received and the expenses are practically paid whereas the accrual accounting method accounts for revenue when the sale takes place and the expenses are counted when the goods or services are received regardless of whether the receivables are literally received or if the payments are paid (Zarandi, et al., 2013). The accrual accounting method is considered the most favourable for businesses and Zarandi, et al. (2013, p. 245) supports this by summing up their argument that the accrual system is "understandable, reliable, comparable and relevant" and argue that the accrual method has become popular in the UK and the reason is because the information gained from accrual accounting provides a full reflection of the overall impact of 'managerial actions or endeavors on future cash flows than cash flow realizations in any given period.' Hence this clearly shows that the accrual method is more effective as the results from Zarandi, et al. (2013, p. 1) research shows that overall the Accrual method is better for "managing accounting affairs compared to in comparison to the cash accounting method."
This report contains information that is calculated under accrual accounting principle. Because all transactions are recorded at the time when they are made rather than when actual money has been made or received, there is a likelihood that transactions are shown on one accounting period but actual change has not be made it, and it may deliver biased information about the company’s true financial position.
There are different aspects when working with financial statements. There are different financial statements within accounting. The balance sheet provides the overall picture for an organization, the income statement provides the list of revenue and expenses, the retained earnings statement appears on the balance sheet and income statement and the cash flow provides an indication on how much cash enters and leave an organization. The following paper will go further into the depths of accounting to explore the revenue recognition principle and expense recognition principal, along with the different types of revenues and expenses.
Pros and Cons of Computerized Accounting There are many benefits of using a computerised accounting which I am going to list below and talk about in a little more detail. Timesaving Increased speed and accuracy Less staff required Less space needed Timesaving It is fair to say that a computerised accounting system is much quicker than a manual accounting system as all the user has to do is enter the data into the computer and the computer will make the calculations and produce and print out any reports, invoices or credit. notes at the touch of a button. Increased Speed and Accuracy The main benefit of the computerised accounting system is to carry out the processing stage quicker, more consistently and accurately.
Marshall, M.H., McManus, W.W., Viele, V.F. (2003). Accounting: What the Numbers Mean. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Every transaction gets entered twice in financial records. If one day you sold three gold coins ' worth of pepper, you would write that the amount of cash you had went up by three gold coins. You would also write in that the amount of pepper you had went down by three gold coins ' worth. Before double-entry, people just kept diaries and counted their money at the end of the day. This innovation allowed merchants to see every aspect of their business in neat little rows. (Kestenbaum,
An Accounting Information System (AIS) can be defined as software that helps accountants to collect data and process it to create information ((Bagranoff, Simkin and Norman 2010)
Internal Controls must assist the accounting information system in reaching its objectives. It must not hinder the organization in any way. The concepts must be woven into the day-to-day responsibilities of managers and their staff and also into the AIS of the organization.
Accounting is a very important term to our modern society. It is the career for men and women who at the start have their eyes set on top positions in industry, management, government, and general business. Accounting is a basic need of every businessman, from the operator of a filling station to the government of the United States. It's so important to our society. None of the business organization can operate without is. They are there-somewhere-in every business. In small business, people use pen, ink and skill keep the records. In large business, modern accounting machines are used to operate. Men and women are directing these machines in the accounting process. Wise businessmen enter business must have some accounting knowledge.
The following essay aims to analyse in depth a computerised accounting system and its aspects such as its history, what technologies is based on, and how it has developed since its beginning. Other aspects such as the current state of the system and the interactions with other systems and the future of the system will also be covered in this paper.
Computer system have become an essential part of life, having significant impact on modern society. A computer system consists of hardware components that have been carefully chosen so that they work well together and software components or programs that run in the computer. It is a set of integrated devices that input, output, process, and store data and information. There are several types of computer systems which are “Mainframe” computer and “Desktop” computer being the main ones. A mainframe computer is a computer system that consists of powerful processors, lots of backed up storages and large amount of memory. They are designed mainly to process large volumes of data. Desktop computers are the most common kind of PC (Personal Computer) which as a number of different hardware devices. Computers have become an important part of education in schools.
Use of Computers in Accounting Introduction Computers play an important part in the recording of finical information. There care many accounting packages available, and so many businesses are able to use computerised accounting system. One of the most important factors of computerised accounting system is that it provides the same functions as a manual accounting system. Main body Most business use computer systems instead rather then manual systems to record finical information, because it is a lot faster file can be shared more easily and changes can be made easily. Tasks that can be performed using computers are spreadsheets, which are used for a variety of functions: · Producing invoices - working out the costs of products sold, calculating and adding VAT and producing sales total.