Major Topics Covered

Describe about the Strategic Information System for AIS/ ERP Software.

The report shown below mainly helps in highlighting the major aspects related to the AIS/ ERP Software, which is to be installed in the organizations. The organizations are named as the Sun gate and Disk4U. Both the organizations are expanding their business in the appropriate manner, so they personally need the suitable accounting system which can maintain their finance and the ledgers aspects. The available piece of work is mainly helpful in critically managing the accounting software and the major perspective related to it (Internetslang team, 2016). The sections which are mainly covered in the report shown below are the business process, business requirements followed by the software selection, system requirement and at last the vendor selection. The report is concluded by the appropriate conclusion along with some recommendations.

Any report which is prepared is considered as professional and appropriate, if it covers the major sections that are asked in the requirement. The major requirement of the report is the selection of the most suitable ERP/ AIS system for the organization which is helpful in managing the major accounting system in both the organizations (i.e. Disk4U and Sun Gate). The specific case study to mention the scenario is already framed to define the current accounting system.  Apart from this, the brief discussion of the business process and the system process are also defined which are helpful in anticipating the future aspects related to the business.

The unique methodology and the specific processing system are followed by every organization. All these organizations make their personal law and orders which are followed by the legal framework defined by the country too. Similarly, in Australia also two organizations named as the Disk4U and the Sun Gate also define their specific working strategies to generate the suitable output. Now, both the organizations require their specific accounting system, by which the accounts of the organizations can be managed easily.

The Disk4U is considered as the disk selling organization, which is selling a wide range of CD’s, Vinyl records and the wide range of storage products which are helpful in storing the maximum amount of the data in an appropriate manner. The strong financial and the accounting aspects of the organization generates the need of the specific accounting system in the organization. Though the company is small and possesses only 4 outlets, but the production and the selling system of the product is considered as too strong. To manage the history of the product and to manage the ledgers, the appropriate accounting system is required. For this work, the consultants are also hired to go in the right way.

Business Process

Apart from this, the Sun Gate is also considered as the rice producing and wild rice producing organization which has their productivity in Victoria and the nearest areas related to the Victoria. The business process is quite different in this organization in comparison to the Disk4U. The export and the import of the products are highly emphasized in an appropriate manner. The purchasing of the products can be made from the nearest 350 farms and then distributed, processed & managed at the local or the international level in a very well manner. In fact, the organization also holds the capacity to manage the pollution and also control the inappropriate aspects which affect the environment and also the business. To face the situation of managing the account, the organization plans to implement the appropriate accounting system for which the suitable consultants are also hired to make the process smooth and in the right way.

The evaluation of the business requirement and the strategic planning to reach the appropriate target are considered as the most appropriate steps before initiating any new venture in the existing business. There are various specific consequences identified for completing the specific approaches. It is the duty of the executive to select the suitable tools and the steps by which the suitable result can be generated in an appropriate direction. The business requirements can be identified either by following the five steps of the tools or by following the eight steps of the tools. The paragraph shown below is helpful in defining the various steps related to the process.

The identification of the stakeholders is considered at the highest priority. By identifying the primary requirement of the business, the execution or the implementation of the accounting system in the organization can become easier. As the business is related to the CD and the Rice food, so it is essential to manage the aspects related to both the businesses appropriately. The selection of the stakeholders should be done in an appropriate manner, by which the organization can earn maximum profit (Brandenburg, 2016). The identification of the stakeholders can be identified in two specific manners which are on the external and the internal level. After the identification of the stakeholders, the other specific requirements need to be identified. These requirements can be easily fulfilled if the appropriate decision making system will be developed. The appropriate interviews, group discussions and the live conferences can provide the easy option for the changes in the existing system and by the help of this; the great changes can be introduced in the current accounting system. In reference to the DISK4U, the current needs and the requirements from the Stakeholders are being identified and then these requirements are implemented in the stores and the outlets. Similarly, to manage the business related to the Sun gate, the reviews of the stakeholders are essential to collect so that the appropriate changes and the business related aspects can be improved in an appropriate manner (Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 2016).

Business Requirements

The third step is related to the categorization of the stakeholder’s requirement. The requirements are divided into various sections, identifying which the prime support can be provided. Apart from this, the specific expansion of the business can be promoted in the appropriate manner. The appropriate parts are the operational, functional, technical and transitional. The Disk4U and the Sun gate both can able to implement the successful aspects in the organization if they follow these steps in an appropriate manner. Finally, the two steps are taken into considerations which are helpful in performing the impact analysis and the scenario analysis. The last step is the completion of the legal formalities and the process completion. By this, the specific business accounting system can be implemented in the organization as per the requirement of the company. The image gets clear by identifying these steps that if the company can able to implement the new changes and want to introduced the newly developed system in the organization, the business requirements are essential to be followed and managed.

After assuming the business process and the requirement of the business, it is quite clear that before introducing the appropriate system in the organization or bringing the change in the organization, the stable and well organized strategy is required, which is helpful in changing the suitable aspects related to the accounting system. With reference to both the organizations, the guidance should be provided by the consultants, who guide and managed the accounting system as per the requirement of the organization and the stakeholders related to the organization.

The new technology and the innovative approaches for managing the accounting system are considered as the primary choice of the consultants or the planners. The above sections discuss the manual aspects which are defined by the organization, but for bringing the improvement, there is a requirement of the stable software which can easily manage the tedious task of managing the budget and the financial aspects of the organization (Ramazani & Zanjani, 2012).

The area of specialization which is discussed in the following report is related to the finance and the management of the accounts, so the software should also be selected in such a manner which can easily suit to the environment. The software belongs to this genre holds the different functionalities and functioning, which is defined in the paragraph below.

The most suitable feature provided by the software is the online assistance and the remotely accessing facility provided by the software. Through this facility, both the organizations get a suitable benefit, because the online selling and purchasing of the products can increase due to this in the wide manner. In fact, the products may also reach into those areas where the chances of reachability are very low.

System Requirements

The second aspect relates to the cost and the installation aspects. The costing of this software is generally high, which is not affordable by the small or medium sized organization. As the company possesses the limited budget, so it is essential that this software will be installed which have a specific value for the installation and also provide suitable results as per the requirement. Apart from this, the flexibility is also considered as the most appreciable feature, which can make the software more live and viable. By this flexible feature, the software can run on any platform and the core specific assistance is provided to the users. In case of the Disk4U, the suitable assistance is provided to the users by using the software in an appropriate manner and in case of Sun Gate, the customers can easily manage the purchase of the products and the employees can easily manage the accounts and ledgers for the particular products (Haas, 2009).

Apart from these functionalities which are helpful in selecting the suitable software, it is essential to manage all the criteria in an appropriate manner. As the software selection is considered as the most critical or sensitive area so for this, it is essential that the initial step of the process should be well defined. By following these perspectives, it becomes easier to achieve the goals related to the IT investment and the suitable targets related to it are also determined.

Software selection is identified as the most tedious task. The market of accounting software making company is blooming with the rapid rate and the vast variety of the software is available in the market to manage the aspects and the future perspectives related to the accounts in the organization (Shack, 2016).  As both the firms (i.e. Sun gate and Disk4U) are related to Australia, so the selection of the software should also be identified from the country only, so that the legal formalities and the important features of the organization can easily be followed. For creating the positive impact, the most popular packages got selected which are named as the Xero, MYOB, SAP and Saasu and many others, which legally provide the assistance to the accounting aspects. By the accounts software packages, all the basic needs of the software can be fulfilled easily and in a wide manner (AdvisoryHQ Team, 2016).

Xero is considered as the most appreciable and suitable accounting package for both the organizations. This is identified because the functionality and the facilities provided by the Xero are more approachable in comparison to the other softwares. The major functions defined by the XERO are the online assistance to solve the issues preparation of the ledgers and preparation of the balance sheets are also considered as the most appropriate task offered by the software. Xero is considered as the cloud based accounting system. Apart from this, the SAP and the MYOB are also considered as the suitable softwares which are helpful in managing the major aspects related to the organizations (R & G Technologies, 2014). SAP is unique accounting software packages which is helpful in assisting the employees or the customers about the accounting services and also provide the appropriate criteria for the online assistance. The SAP is helpful in identifying the specific needs of the customers in the easiest manner and then executes the suitable processing as per the client requirement and also helps in strengthening the customer relationship with the clients.

Vendor Selection

Apart from this, the MYOB is helpful in providing the assistance for the tax and the share management to the organization. The accounting package mainly works on the current scenario related to the accounting software in the organization. Rather than starting the task from the scratch, the accounting package work on the current situation and helps in providing the most suitable packages to both the organizations and tries to fulfill their accounting based needs. The other features which are highlighted through MYOB are the Payroll management, job management, professional management and the management of the tax which can be done in the easiest and the most appropriate manner. MYOB is also identified for the small and the medium class business.

The most suitable accounting package which is helpful for the improvement of both the organizations is named as the medium type of accounting system like XERO and MYOB (Xero Limited, 2016). Both the organizations have managed their business on the medium level where the management of the products is considered on the highest priority rather than the expansion of the business, so for the medium level of business, the most appropriate accounting software packages are the Xero and MYOB. Apart from this, the another reason for selecting the software is that it may help in providing the speed and fast processing methodology to the system by which the suitable output can be generated in the easiest manner. The medium sized accounting system also provide the facility of managing the ledgers, updating the accounts and management of the stocks are considered as the major perspectives for selecting the medium sized accounting system in the suitable manner.

Now after identifying all the aspects thoroughly, the selection of the vendor is considered at the highest priority. The vendor’s selection is identified as per the requirement of the organization. But before finalizing the vendors, it is essential to identify the ERP requirements related to the organization. By observing the various softwares defined above, it is quite clear that only two softwares are well suited for both the organization to manage the accounting system. The comparative and detailed discussion among the two accounting packages is defined below. By this, the actual selection can be made which can help to state that for which organization, which type of software will be well suited.

In reference to the prices, the XERO is cheap in comparison to the MYOB. The installation and the maintenance charges are higher in MYOB. The accounting charges are comparatively high which may be nearly $29/ month. The most common and highlighted features provided by the Xero are the speed and the accuracy. The same features are provided by the MYOB too, but the different feature possesses the different charges. The MYOB is well suited for the medium sized business. The MYOB provides the basic and simple approach to the processes to be completed and manually manage the inventory, identify the performance of the business and creates the budgets (Graphiq Inc., 2016). While Xero mainly possesses the features related to the social interaction and the management, so for the Disk4U, the most suitable accounting system package is the Xero and for the Sun gate system, the most suitable accounting system is the MYOB (Rigney, 2014).

Both the accounting packages try to provide the most appropriate security system to the organizations. By this, the security of the organization will not compromise on any level. Apart from this, the wide level online platform and the appropriate assistance system is provided to the organizations to manage the accounting and the financial aspects in the organization (State Government of Victoria, 2015).

Conclusion

The accounting packages are helpful in providing the remarkable features and outstanding results to the organizations which are using it. By observing the scenario above, it is also clear that for both the organizations, the selection of the package is done appropriately. But, the main aspect is that the organization has to understand the appropriate usage of the software. It is recommended to both the organizations that to make the maximum use of the software and to make the organization more productive and result oriented, it is essential to manage the accounting software in the strategic manner. For strengthening the aspects of the accounting system, the technological advancement is essential to be followed. By this, the execution of the software can be done easily. Eventually, both the organizations get profit from the accounting package and get the maximum increase in terms of productivity in the wide manner.

References

AdvisoryHQ Team, 2016. 5 Best Small Business Accounting Software in Australia. 5 Best Small Business Accounting Software in Australia.

Brandenburg, L., 2016. The Business Analysis Process: 8 Steps to Being an Effective Business Analyst. The Business Analysis Process: 8 Steps to Being an Effective Business Analyst.

Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 2016. Elements of a Business Plan. Elements of a Business Plan.

Graphiq Inc., 2016. Xero vs MYOB AccountRight Basics. [Online]
Available at: https://accounting.softwareinsider.com/compare/64-68/Xero-vs-MYOB-AccountRight-Basics

Haas, A. F., 2009. Windows-based small business accounting software.. The CPA Journal Online, Available at: https://archives.cpajournal.com/old/16458928.htm

Internetslang team, 2016. What does AIS mean?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.internetslang.com/AIS-meaning-definition.asp

R & G Technologies, 2014. Cloud Accounting Software Tools Compared: Xero vs MYOB vs Quickbooks. Cloud Accounting Software Tools Compared: Xero vs MYOB vs Quickbooks, 04 December.

Ramazani, M. & Zanjani, F., 2012. Accounting Software Expectation Gap Based on Features of Accounting Information Systems (AISs). Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences , November, 3(11), pp. 1-6.

Rigney, N., 2014. MYOB or Xero – online advantages and disadvantages of the latest accounting software. MYOB or Xero – online advantages and disadvantages of the latest accounting software, 02 June.

Shack, J., 2016. Review of Xero, Saasu, QuickBooks Online and MYOB. Review of Xero, Saasu, QuickBooks Online and MYOB, Available at: https://www.growthpath.com.au/Business-IT/review-of-myob-liveaccounts-and-xero-accounting-in-the-cloud.html

State Government of Victoria, 2015. Infographic: Cash flow and keeping the money coming in. Infographic: Cash flow and keeping the money coming in, 23 March.

Xero Limited, 2016. Xero is online accounting software for your small business. [Online]
Available at: https://www.xero.com/