INFO SYSTEMS FOR ACCOUNTING

Key Definition of an ERP system

ERP (enterprise resource planning) is an industry term for the broad set of activities that helps a business manage the important parts of its business. The information made available through an ERP system provides visibility for key performance indicators (KPIs) required for meeting corporate objectives.

ERP software applications can be used to manage product planning, parts purchasing, inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service, and tracking orders. ERP can also include application modules for the finance and human resources aspects of a business.

Typically, an ERP system uses or is integrated with a relational database system.
The deployment of an ERP system can involve considerable business process analysis, employee retraining, and new work procedures.

Customer Relationship Management(Call centre support) Human Resources(Training, Time and attendance) Order to Cash(Sales order entry, Shipping) Payment to Pay(Purchasing, Receipts and inspection of INV) Project Management(Performance units, Activity Management) System Tools(Tools for establishing master file data, Specifying flow of information) Manufacturing (Production scheduling, Cost management, Quality Control) Financial(Cash Management, Budget)

ERP (ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS)

TWO TYPES :-

SINGLE VENDOR 'PACKAGED'

PREWRITTEN MODULES PURCHASED FROM THE VENDOR SAP, ORACLE, PEOPLESOFT

BESPOKE

WRITTEN SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ORGANISATION 'ONE OFF', CUSTOM MADE MOST OFTEN HEAR ABOUT GOVERNMENT PROJECTS

CLOSE TO 'REAL TIME' REPORTING

PROVIDES A SINGLE ENTERPRISE WIDE VIEW OF EVENTS AND STATE OF THE ENTITY

ADVANTAGES

Management gains greater visibility into every area – greater monitoring capabilities Automation of manufacturing processes leads to increased productivity Single database breaks down barriers between departments and streamlines the flow of information Keyed once

DISADVANTAGES

Cost -$50 - $500 m for a Fortune 500 company $50 - $100 m for upgrades

$10 - $20 m for Mid sized Company

Time -It can take years to select and fully implement an ERP system

Complexity -This comes from integrating many different business activities and systems, each having different processes, business rules, data semantics, authorisation hierarchies and decision centres

IMPLICATION IS THAT ENTITY SHOULD ADAPT TO THE SYSTEM NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

USUALLY INFLEXIBLE AFTER IMPLEMENTATION

MANY DECISIONS TO BE MADE ABOUT HOW PROCESSES ARE GOING TO BE SET UP WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE SOFTWARE

CONCENTRE'

AMEND ONE PART OF THE PROCESS

CAP

Weinbereger's Three 'Orders of Order'

First Order-We arrange things themselves, we put silverware into drawers, books into shelves, photos into albums Second Order -A prototypical example of the second order (is) a card catalog The catalog separates information about the first order objects from the objects themselves The catalog card points to the physical place where the first order (Object) is stored

Third Order-Content is digitized into bits, and the information about that content consists of bits as well The digital order ignores the paper order's requirement that labels are smaller than the things they're labelling Its to our advantage to hang information from as many branches (categories) as possible – Its makes information more findable

Everything is metadata and everything can be a label

In the miscellaneous order, the only distinction between metadata and data is that metadata is what you already know and data is what you are trying to find out

Build a