INFS5023 Information Systems for Business Report Sample

INFS5023 Information Systems for Business Report

TASK DESCRIPTION

Topic:

In today's technologically advanced world, the fields of IT (Information Technology), Information Systems, and Accounting have become increasingly interdependent, driving significant changes and innovations across various industries. Explore and analyse the pivotal roles these professions play in modern society, their interconnectedness, and how they collectively contribute to enhancing organisational efficiency, decision-making, and overall business success. Discover how the emerging technologies are bringing significant impact both positively and negatively to the accounting field.

Follow the steps below:

• Choose an accounting professional from your network.

• Explore the possibility of interviewing that person for about 20-25 minutes. Then, fix an appointment for the interview and video record the Interview via zoom or any similar tool.

• Please assure them that this is only for assignment purposes and will not be published publicly anywhere.

• Include the interviewee's -LinkedIn profile/email address for authenticity in the report.

• Prepare the interview questions to elicit information for the topic mentioned above. Design your questions carefully to get enough information and avoid yes/no answer questions. Frame your questions with phrases like 'Please explain/describe..etc.

• Use any software/ platform that allows doing the audio and video recording.

• Save the recording.

• Upload to youtube and include the link at the end of the report.

• When you upload, there are three privacy settings-Public,Unlisted and Private. Please choose the Unlisted option.

• Analyse the findings of the Interview and write a report.

STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT

Title

• A meaningful Title

Executive summary

• In less than 200 words ... what was the problem, how was it investigated, what did you find out, and what do your findings mean?

Table of Contents

• A list of the major and minor sections of your Report.

Introduction

• Set the scene; provide some background information about the topic. State the aim/purpose of the investigation. Outline the body sections.

Main Body

• Organise the sections logically: what you investigated, what you found, what interpretations and what judgements you made. Use short informative headings and subheadings.

Conclusion

• What has been achieved, and the significance of your findings and your discussion? Have your aims been successful or not?
Recommendations

• What do you recommend as a course of action following your conclusion?

Solution

Introduction

Background

Technology has been associated with playing a significant role in modern accounting practices and is directly associated with revolutionizing the way of collection, processing and analysis of financial data. With the growth and implementation of new technologies, practices and processes associated with accounting have become more efficient, accurate, and secure, which further supports professionals associated with accounting activities making better decisions and improving financial reporting.

Problem

In the present scenario, traditional accounting systems are isolated from operations due to the potential to cause a diverse number of problems. In the traditional and manual accounting process, accounting information is never up-to-date except for the instant that someone manually closes a period. Along with this, in the traditional accounting system in order to successfully complete accounting-related tasks a lot of time was required and the process was highly labour-intensive (Battiston, Dafermos and Monasterolo, 2021). In order to reduce the chances of such consequences the dependency of different types of technology to successfully do accounting-related tasks has been increasing.

Purpose of the investigation

Considering the problems associated with the traditional accounting process, this project is associated with understanding and evaluating the way the implementation of technologies has to smoothen the procedure of accounting practices. Along with this, the problems faced by professionals in handling technology-intensive accounting practices also will be evaluated in this project.

Discussion

New trends and technologies related to accounting practices

Continuous growth and development of different types of technology have led to a significant number of advancements in accounting practices by encouraging several prominent trends that shaped the industry. The adaptation of the newest automation and AI technologies is increasing day by day in the accounting processes in order to computerize repetitive tasks. These AI-powered tools are highly capable of providing advanced analytics and predictive capability. As a result of this, it has become easy to get better financial forecasting and significantly improved decision-making. On the other hand, cloud-based accounting is significantly associated with gaining momentum in 2023 (Kihombo et al., 2021). The primary rationale behind this is, that it supports financial specialists and accountants to easily access data and software apps from anywhere. The rate of dependency on strong data security and privacy has become one of the top priorities for business. In 2023, it has been identified that accounting technologies are primarily associated with the implementation of advanced encryption methods, along with multi-factor authentication. The primary rationale behind this is to secure cloud storage successfully protect sensitive financial data from any sort of hacking and reduce the chances of further online crimes as well. Apart from this, blockchain technologies have increased its popularity among accounting firms, the primary rationale behind this is to enhance the transparency and security of all types of financial transactions and reduce the chances of fraud (Moll and Yigitbasioglu, 2019).

Challenges took place in the pathway of implementation of technology in the accounting profession

The lack of an appropriate digital transformation strategy has been recognised as the number one factor that creates a significant number of challenges towards the pathway of taking a digital transformation initiative. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that simply being associated with making investments in artificial intelligence or advanced analytics is not at all enough. In this context, it has been identified that the incorporation of an effective and end-to-end plan (Fuster et al., 2019). Incorporating the aspects related to KPIs, training, implementation and maintenance may reduce the chances of further potential consequences. In addition to this, the absence of a buy-in team may lead to a significant number of challenges for the accounting and management teams. In the context of accounting teams, it is highly crucial to run the top candidates for new technology past the team. At the same time, the management team would be required to apply appropriate strategies for supporting the experience of employees can further ensure the continuous development of each employee. At the same time, the management team must be associated with estimating the way the digital transformation project further affects the bottom line. On the other hand, it has been identified that not all the employees associated with the financial accounting process, would not understand the new digital channel and may be reluctant to change manual processes (Saud, Chen and Haseeb, 2020). Application of different strategies related to designing training programs with incentives, along with providing opportunities for bonuses or paid time off. As a result of this, it would become easy to reduce resistance to the new process. Incorporation of different technologies with a dynamic and accessible support team can help team members associated with the accounting process to feel taken care of if troubles arise for MBA assignment expert.

Way technology improves the effectiveness of accounting practices

Accounting technology is the transformation of previously paper-driven processes and systems into streamlined accounting workflow solutions that can be easily accessible 24/7 with the help of cloud-based software. In the not-so-distant past, it was seen that accountants are significantly associated with spending a good portion of their day entering trial balance data into engagement software or formatting financial statements. In the case of accounting firms, accounting technology is significantly associated with providing a foundation to gain a significant level of success in the current ever-changing tax landscape (Zhao, Shahbaz, Dong and Dong, 2021). With the help of the incorporation of the right accounting technology in place, accountants have significantly improved their activities by automating all the manual tasks and activities, and easily saving their precious time and money would become easy as well. Along with this, it also improves the accuracy of all associated activities, and by enabling appropriate collaboration between each of the team members the chances of reducing the concerns related to miscommunication and misunderstanding would become easy. Moreover, as all the tasks are completed quickly without any sort of delays professionals related to accounting practices would become significantly capable of maintaining a work-life balance, which boosts their engagement rate within the organisational activities. In addition to this, the incorporation of accounting technology supports accountants in improving their ability to share data and documents easily with their clients and staff in real-time. Moreover, I get the opportunity to work remotely via online collaboration and communication platforms (Jahanger et al., 2022). It can become easy to save time, and communication platforms also establish direct communication with clients, which further improves clients’ experience and boosts staff engagement rate as well. Hence, it can be stated that, with the help of the incorporation of different types of accounting technologies, accountants have successfully shifted their focus from tedium tasks to more value-added work as well.

Challenges associated with technology in the field of accounting

The application of computerized and technology-based accounting systems is significantly associated with streamlining the accounting process, while efficiently storing the financial information of a company. However, despite the benefits, technology in accounting is also associated with several limitations and downfalls that can negatively impact business. One of the major concerns associated with this particular automatic accounting process is the limitation to the quality of the program itself and the company’s security system (Fields, 2022). A poorly protected program along with a database leaves an opening for hackers or authorized personnel to access all essential and financial information of the accounting firm. As a result of this, along with information related to the organisation, the personal data related to employees also may leaked, which further leads to several number of consequences. In order to avoid such problems associated with security develop an effective security system that further protects essential financial information and data. Along with this, these automatic technologies also have the capability of automatically spending payments or invoices. Such automatic transfer of those numbers could further lead to errors down the line in various reports and other items generated by the system. The presence of bugs in the software is also associated with incorrect information or calculations. As a result of this making appropriate decisions related to financial accounting would become easy. Along with this, as one of the characteristics of technology is rapid and continuous change and improvements, computerized accounting systems may become outdated over time. The functionality of an older system is limited compared to updated software (Javaid et al., 2022). This means professionals associated with financial accounting must continue operating on the system with fewer functions or they would be required to spend a large amount of capital to upgrade to a different version or system for further improvement, which also increases the cost of operations as well.

Conclusion

After the discussion it has been concluded that the use of technology has led to a paradigm shift away from traditional manual practises and towards simplified, secure, and efficient procedures, which have significantly changed the accounting environment. A new age characterised by automation, data analytics, and improved decision-making skills has replaced the formerly hard and time-consuming responsibilities of accounting systems. Improved financial reporting, real-time data access, and more accuracy in accounting have been made possible by technological breakthroughs, especially in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and blockchain. Through automation technologies and AI-driven analytics, professionals are no longer burdened with repetitive and monotonous duties and can instead concentrate on value-added tasks like in-depth analysis and strategic planning. Remote cooperation and increased efficiency are made possible by cloud-based accounting systems, which have democratised data access. It is not without difficulties, nevertheless, to make the transition to a technology-driven accounting framework. This transformational process involves barriers to implementation, security issues, and ongoing training and adaption requirements. Choosing the right technology and taking care of it everything, from training to upkeep, need careful planning in order to implement digital transformation successfully. Technology is clearly a key driver of beneficial change in accounting practises, notwithstanding these obstacles.

Recommendations

Strategic Digital Roadmap: Businesses should create all-encompassing plans for digital transformation that complement their goals. This means determining which particular technologies best meet their requirements while taking flexibility, security, and scalability into account.

Training Expense: Sufficient training programmes are essential for providing accounting professionals with the necessary abilities to use new technology efficiently. It is vital to provide frequent training sessions to guarantee that staff members has the necessary skills to operate the products and remain abreast of any new advancements.

Privacy and Security Measures: It is essential to have strong cybersecurity safeguards in place due to the increasing dependence on cloud-based services and sensitive financial data. Multi-factor authentication, frequent security audits, and the use of modern encryption methods should be given top priority by organisations.

Strategies for Change Management: Workers used to using conventional techniques often object to the incorporation of technology. It is recommended that organisations apply change management tactics that effectively tackle employee apprehensions, provide inducements to facilitate adoption, and unambiguously convey the advantages of technology progress.

Platforms for Cooperation and Communication: Organisations should implement collaborative platforms that provide smooth interactions between team members and customers in order to maximise remote work and communication. This improves customer experiences, encourages real-time data exchange, and increases employee engagement.

Ongoing Observation and Updates: Evaluate the performance of deployed technology on a regular basis and take quick action to fix any issues. In order to keep the accounting systems current and in line with market trends, keep yourself updated on new technological developments.

References

Kihombo, S., Ahmed, Z., Chen, S., Adebayo, T.S. and Kirikkaleli, D., 2021. Linking financial development, economic growth, and ecological footprint: what is the role of technological innovation?. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(43), pp.61235-61245. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-021-14993-1

Moll, J. and Yigitbasioglu, O., 2019. The role of internet-related technologies in shaping the work of accountants: New directions for accounting research. The British accounting review, 51(6), p.100833. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838919300459

Fuster, A., Plosser, M., Schnabl, P. and Vickery, J., 2019. The role of technology in mortgage lending. The Review of Financial Studies, 32(5), pp.1854-1899. https://academic.oup.com/rfs/article-abstract/32/5/1854/5427780

Saud, S., Chen, S. and Haseeb, A., 2020. The role of financial development and globalization in the environment: accounting ecological footprint indicators for selected one-belt-one-road initiative countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 250, p.119518. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652619343884

Zhao, J., Shahbaz, M., Dong, X. and Dong, K., 2021. How does financial risk affect global CO2 emissions? The role of technological innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 168, p.120751. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162521001839

Jahanger, A., Usman, M., Murshed, M., Mahmood, H. and Balsalobre-Lorente, D., 2022. The linkages between natural resources, human capital, globalization, economic growth, financial development, and ecological footprint: The moderating role of technological innovations. Resources Policy, 76, p.102569. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420722000204

Fields, D., 2022. Automated landlord: Digital technologies and post-crisis financial accumulation. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 54(1), pp.160-181. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0308518X19846514

Javaid, M., Haleem, A., Singh, R.P., Suman, R. and Khan, S., 2022. A review of Blockchain Technology applications for financial services. BenchCouncil Transactions on Benchmarks, Standards and Evaluations, p.100073. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772485922000606

Battiston, S., Dafermos, Y. and Monasterolo, I., 2021. Climate risks and financial stability. Journal of Financial Stability, 54, p.100867. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1572308921000267