Accounting Information System-Cognos, Research Paper Example

Accounting Information System-COGNOS Business Case Application Presentation

Problem Background

H&E is a small Pizza Franchise that people in Albuquerque just love. This franchise-business started way back in 1999 when the first small shop was established across one of the busiest schools in town. Given that it started in the late 1990’s, H&E administrator Lu Ferrer, a Latino immigrant thought that there are other big names in the industry and his small business would never push through to be as big as that. Not dreaming so high, Mr. Ferrer relied on a simple hand-written accounting system to keep his inventory and sales reports. At first, there was only one branch of H&E Pizza shop that Mr. Ferrer needed to manage. After three months though, he was encouraged by his wife to open another branch in front of another school. With these two branches operating fully, it has become necessary that Mr. Ferrer find a better process of recording his inventories. At the end of the year 2011, there are already 15 franchise branches operating under the administration of Mr. Ferrer. At this point, the need for centralized inventories becomes vital. This is the reason why an Accounting Information System is being suggested to be put up for the organization. This AIS operation is supposed to create a centralized direction of information making every branch of the business immediately report to the main administration office.

Business Issue Concerned

Since the organization is already operating in 15 branches, it could be analyzed how the system of business condition becomes harder to keep track of especially if the administrator would have to do it every day on foot. This is the reason why the IT-dependent inventory system is being suggested to be utilized by the organization. The said system would enhance the capacity of the administrator to keep track of the overall operation of the business from branch to branch in a real-time setup. Relatively, this will increase the control that the administrator has on each of the said branches. Real time reports would also allow the staff members of the business to become more acquainted to the overall system of operation of the organization therefore creating a culture of oneness.

IT or Information Technology systems allow the processing of information faster as well as the sharing of data become more accurate. This especially involves the capacity of an organization to make a specific stand towards embracing extensive development that would allow for a larger door to improvement that the business could still be involved in especially in the near future. Not to focus on going global or anything that big, but focusing on the possibility of better realigning the condition of development that the business could undergo at present in line with the situation that it is already undergoing. Considerably though, the information that is to be recorded in the data base that is to be created for the organization is necessary to be connected to an outside network that would involve being present in the internet which makes the system rather vulnerable to possible intruders.

Description of the current system

As mentioned earlier, Mr. Ferrer still chooses to do his entire inventory recording system through a hand-written approach. He believes that being hands on with everything in the business would allow him to see directly on what needs to be done or developed for a specific branch. However, with fifteen separate branches operating under his care, he is able to recognize the need for a better system that would allow him to see what needs to be done without having the need to personally visit the branches regularly.

What even makes the current system rather weak is the fact that written-record often become mistaken due to human error. There are instances when Mr. Ferrer himself would have certain issues when it comes to recording the right data in the right columnar book. True, when it comes to human intervention, hand-written inventory records are not far from incurring specific mistakes that could affect the entire operation of the business not only at present but also in the future as the current information becomes a vital reference for development. On the other hand, the implication of an accounting information system provides a more simplified process of recording and interpreting inventory information in the current times and even in the future as well. The efficiency of an AIS operation application would depend on its applicability on the current system of business operation that the organization is embracing. The culture of excellence is of course a part of the process of that AIS wants to impose, nevertheless, it could be analyzed that with IT-defined systems, excellence is not the only aspect being improved but the essence of information accuracy that the organization becomes dependent upon. With the addition of the principles of Cognos into the current operation of AIS that is being suggested, it is expected that the realignment of the staff’s operational culture would also be enhanced fully.

Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of current systems

As referred by Mr. Ferrer himself, hand-written reports allow him to personally see what goes on in a specific branch of the business. On the other end, it also allows him to have direct control of the information and specifically define the condition of each branch depending on whether or not they are ready to accomplish particular developments that the administrator himself wants to impose. His desire to make direct contact not only with the branch operators but with the staffs as well makes him think that an impersonal form of information sharing would only weaken the culture of being “known” to the staff. Hence, this situation puts the entire business in jeopardy since the people working on each branch would care less of whether or not they are able to attain the standards required from them. He thinks that somehow, not seeing the people directly could put the line of communication to an end hence affecting the connection he has with the staff.

The personal belief of Mr. Ferrer on how the need to operate along with the staff is a common understanding that business owners depend upon. Relatively though, it could be noted that somehow, such belief has not been fully realized in relation to how IT operations can actually improve the situation. The system of operation that AIS-Cognos imposes is dependent on the desire of creating a specific environment that would be easier for the administrator to operate with as well as for him to create a better connection with his staff members.

Supporting information

AIS is specifically defined to effectively evaluate the financial operation of an organization through recorded information passed on from one particular branch to another. Relatively, the capacity of the system to provide a more responsive condition of business-environment that is able to establish a good source of competence for the entire organization. The data that is kept for recording for the current time and as a source of reference for the future is expected to have a great impact on how the organization operates fully.

Cognos on the other hand is dedicated to give attention to the assessment of the staff members and how they are to be trained to accept the situation in relation to the adjustments that they have to acquire. This is especially important when it comes to utilizing the new IT-defined systems that the business shall be subjected to from the point of applying the AIS operation. Given that the database shall be submitted to the internet for direct connection between franchise branches, the personnel should be able to make a distinctive course of carefully handling the recorded information and protecting the system from possible intruders.

Recommended Plan of Action

Establishment of the System

The first step involves the establishment of the AIS operation to implicated in the organization. It provides the administrator a vision on what needs to be included in the system and the programmers a possible source of understanding on how to create the platform of the program that is specifically customized for the needs of the organization and the demands of the administrator.

Connecting the System to the Internet

Once the program has been established, it is expected that the local network shall be connected to the internet with necessary firewalled system so as to make sure that the data source is properly protected from possible intruders.

Protecting the Database

Firewalling is important in this case. The Cognos principle shall make the data system more responsive to hierarchical arrangement of individuals who are given the chance to access the information system. With this approach, only those who are authorized and are given secret passwords and usernames are going to be able to see and utilize information that has been kept in the database.

Beta Testing of the First Model of AIS-Cognos operation

Before the actual launching of the program for actual use, beta-testing it for the first time is important. This approach shall make it possible for the administrator to approve or still add in particular demands on the current system that could still be improved before it is actually used for branch operations.

Final Implementation of the Operation

The final implementation shall launch the new culture of information recording that the business shall be dependent upon. Notably, this shall subject the entire organization to the actual adjustments that they should be able to accomplish.

Once the application of the steps above has been accomplished, the AIS program to be applied is expected to completely accomplish the system of operation for the business shown in this illustration. Relatively, this introduces the organization to a whole new world of possibilities of extending their business and improving the ways by which they serve their clients without the need of being overly concerned about the adjustments that their inventory system shall undergo in the future.

Benefit Analysis                                                                                                      

Including the AIS-Cognos system into the actual business operation of H&E Pizza Franchises under the administration of Mr. Ferrer does involve a sense of releasing a accountable amount of money to be able to fund the new computers or POS machines that shall be used to establish the network between branches. Nevertheless, although there is a relative amount imposed along with this condition, the released fund to support the advancement could be accepted as a sense of investment that could bring in better conditions of operation for the entire organization in the future. Notably, the organization would then benefit fully from the said changes and adjustments not only in the current years of its operation but also in the future as it expands further in the industry.

References

Romney, Marshall B., and Paul John. Steinbart. Accounting Information Systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.

Accounting Information Systems. http://www.accountinginformationsystems.org/home/attachment/accounting-information-systems/. (Retrieved on September 30, 2012).

Roger Voyer; Patti Ryan (1 January 1994). The new innovators: how Canadians are shaping the knowledge-based economy. James Lorimer & Company. p. 151.

Estes, Andrea (March 10, 2008). “Software contract called improper“. The Boston Globe.