Question

Option #1: Governmental Accounting

You are an accounting department employee of the State of Wisconsin with a love of all things technology. Because the head of your department knows you are the most technologically oriented person in the group, he has asked you to team up with the purchasing and IT departments to evaluate options for a more efficient accounting software system. The accounting system currently in use by Wisconsin is dated, and the system does not have the capability to perform data analytics. It would also be beneficial to be able to incorporate “machine learning” functionality to streamline the more routine tasks of the accounting function. And even though you didn’t need another reason to evaluate a new system, the software provider called to tell your supervisor that the technical support for your current product is being discontinued at the end of the year! This means you only have a few months to work with the cross-functional team to evaluate and price options.

Overwhelmed with the size of the task, you come up with a suggested plan of attack to present to the team at today’s meeting. The purchasing process requires that your team solicit bids via a Request for Proposal (RFP). There’s a template on the purchasing intranet site which you’ll review in a bit. The biggest challenge in front of the team, it seems, is to narrow down the list of vendors that you will submit the invitation to bid via the RFP. An internet search of vendors quickly informs you that there appear to be endless options in governmental accounting computer software applications. Every option you look at seems to be able to handle the basic accounting functionality, but from your discussion with the accounting department head, there needs to be significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness for the new software to justify the cost of implementation. While you aren’t sure exactly what he has in mind, you know it will probably require some discussions with your teammates to develop a list of “must haves” and “nice to haves” if budget allows. In addition, you’ll need to find out from the IT group what the technical requirements are in terms of system capacity and data security. Purchasing can tell you about the RFP process as well as if there are any preferred/blacklisted vendors with whom the company has worked in the past.

With all this in mind, you head off to your meeting with the purchasing and IT guys. At the meeting, you are tasked with leading the RFP process with the support of purchasing and IT!

And the race has begun….

1. Locate a short RFP template either within Word or on a governmental entity website (note when you are looking on a government agency website, you are writing the actual RFP, not the entity bidding on the RFP). You are to prepare the RFP document to send to potential vendors.
2. Come up with 2 to 3 vendors that can provide what the department says they need in terms of capability (assume for this exercise that price is not a consideration).
3. Come up with a list of 4 “must have” and 2 “nice to have” features for the package based on feedback from your team (which should be able to be done by looking at the governmental accounting software options from different software providers on the Internet).
4. Create/research the technical specifications and number of users with the IT group’s assistance (again, these can probably be found on the software providers’ websites). Can you please help with this assignment! Thanks

Answer 1

Request for Proposal ( RFP) at the time of purchasing Accounting software – While selecting accounting software solution and planning  RFP for the same , need to consider following points :

1. Prevent fatal omissions
2. Ensure Accurate Accounting Software Evaluation
3. Avoid mistake and save valuable time
4. Select best accounting software

While placing RFP to purchase accounting software – need to cover following points:

Foundation

Accounting period definition , Chart of accounts ( COA) maintenance , COA segmentation, COA grouping , Account roll up, Account types , System Interface , Subsidiary accounts ,General ledger processing , General Journal functioning , Period closing function , Journal Entries , general ledger enquiry + reporting , Edit list, Trial balance , Income statement , balance Sheet , comparative analysis , Source of fund , expense report , Fixed asset report , Asset management and acquisition , Asset life cycle management , Financial reporting as per GAAP , FASB , Payroll processing

Also Asked following question at RFP level :

General information includes :

Does the proposed system provides the ability to provide Real Time inquiry and reporting ?

Does the proposed system provide the ability to modify standard report easily through a drag and drop down window?

Please indicate if the system provides the ability to report for any selected time period such as :

1. Monthly
2. Quarterly
3. Multi Year
4. Prior year

Budgeting :

Does the proposed system provide facility to support the entire budget process , including budget preparation , approval ,amendment , monitoring etc

Does the proposed system budget module have the ability to recognised account group wise ?

Does the proposed system support multiple budget revisions?

Work flow processing :

Does the proposed workflow product require an application server ?

Cash management

Does the proposed system provide On Screen reconciliation summary as follows :

Adjusted Bank Balance

Adjusted Book Balance

Difference

Number of cleared payments

Account Payable :

Does the proposed system / software support multiple checking accounts?

Does the vendor master contain default values for payment terms , YTD purchase and payment totals , report controls and other frequently used system parameter ?

Does the proposed system handle partial payment ?

Does the proposed system account for taxes paid and accrued at the divisional level

Come up with a list of 4 “must have” and 2 “nice to have” features for the package based on feedback from your team

   

  While selecting perfect accounting software , need to have following must important features :

1. Cloud accounting software – Now a days most important factor to keep high volume of data , noting to install , just sign up and start entering transactions Cloud accounting software providers take care of back up and maintenance which is cost savings for any company
2. Data Security – Most important factor – Company thinking forward and considering an online accounting application , then data security is the most important aspect to check .

HTTP protocol ensures that the data transferred from computer to software company server in encrypted and can not viewed by hackers

3. Features – Most important feature while choosing and selecting accounting software – must have :

1. Create Invoice – Track expenses according to category, manage Inventory, perform Bank reconciliation , create PO ( purchase order ) , record Inventory purchase, create and manage taxes , manage list of customer , vendor , view account payable and receivable ,

4. Scalability – Select an accounting software which can scale with present business needs. Go for the software that offers an entry level version as a features rich version which might not now but will definitely need in future

Good to have feature include – support for multi currency transaction , option to manage employees and process payroll , access control for every team member

Good to have – use interface and complexity – software must have simple user interface and is not overcrowded with unnecessary features . clean interfaces makes it easy to focus on the important tasks and can reduce the learning curve

  Post Sale Support – most important part while selecting software .After installation of software , need subsequent support and if no body to talk when some one stuck then entire investment go to vain

Hidden cost – While buying software package , need to check pricing page of the software provider’s website , if