Question

Describe how organizations can use accounting systems to increase efficiency and effectiveness. How can this lead to a competitive advantage in the long-term?

Answer 1

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Accounting software is a class of computer programs that enable you to manage your business's financial transactions. Such programs can vary widely in scope, with some programs designed for little more than simple bookkeeping and some designed to manage the entire financial comings and goings of large businesses. Using accounting software helps companies to use the resources in their accounting departments efficiently, and can reduce costly bookkeeping mistakes.

To evaluate the performance of business: A good accounting system gives a thorough overview of the financial performance of your business. If you don’t have an accounting record, how will you know if your business is growing or shrinking? So, your account records help you know if your business is growing, stagnant or slowing down.

It helps you manage cash flow and meet deadlines: Cash flow management means knowing what you do with the cash that comes into the organization. Your accounting system helps you know areas that need cash. For instance, cash may be needed to finance your debts, or make major renovations or order for new stocks, and it is your accounting system that will help you know this. In short, no business will growth further without a good cash management system. Also, your accounting books help you know when bills like your rent needs to be paid.

It’s needed for business goal setting: Your accounting system will help when setting new business goals for the week, month or year, as seeing the business performance for the last financial year will help you project and set goals for the New Year and plan ahead for the business.

Reports: Accounting software helps businesses to supply the necessary members of staff with timely and accurate financial information. For example, suppose that a company's finance director needs a report of Cashflow to take to a meeting in two hours. Many accounting software systems have built-in reporting modules that enable users to create this type of report by simply filling in a form or clicking a button. However, creating such a report manually would be a time-consuming process

Speed: Using accounting software allows businesses to process their accounts with greater speed than manual processing. Part of this speed increase comes from the use of computers, which are able to process figures far faster than the human brain. In addition, accounting software allows organizations to increase efficiency by introducing automation. Say, for example, that a business needs to record sales tax on all of its transactions. Accounting software could be configured to do that for each entry automatically, rather than having a staff member work out the tax longhand.