Reorganisation of an Accounting Service – Replacement of Accounting Software

The need for improvement of accounting service provision is very significant, as demonstrated by various research studies. The majority of employees in the accounting service have secondary school education, which is certainly insufficient in a period of constant legislative and other changes. Through this, the company acquired new accounting clients, higher quality provision of accounting services and facilitation of work (fewer overtime hours, less manual bookkeeping, automatic preparation of tax calculations). Through the analysis she conducted based on a comparison between the old and new information system, she reached the conclusions that the accounting service gained faster, higher quality and easier data processing, greater accuracy and transfer of data between the client and the accounting service via electronic mail. The number of accounting clients increased, as did the number of employees.

Problem

The need for improvement of accounting service provision is very significant, as demonstrated by various research studies. The majority of employees in the accounting service have secondary school education, which is certainly insufficient in a period of constant legislative and other changes. For numerous accounting services, investment in upgrading software and hardware represents a significant financial burden.

A problem arises, namely how to achieve a 100 per cent accounting rate. Accounting is an industry, a field of constant changes, which requires substantial funds, and in the long term continuous investment of money and knowledge. The company transitioned to a new information system, which brought about reorganisation of job positions, changes to the organisational structure of employees in accounting, the need for training, increased volume of clients and their changed structure.

In two years, that is from the beginning of the replacement of accounting software until today, the employees in the accounting service have recognised the advantages and disadvantages brought by the new information system.

Solution and Method

Through this, the company acquired new accounting clients, higher quality provision of accounting services and facilitation of work (fewer overtime hours, less manual bookkeeping, automatic preparation of tax calculations). The essence of introducing the use of modern technology in a company means offering opportunities to individuals within the company, that is to employees, to achieve the company's goals and simultaneously their own goals through its use. By using more modern technology, they conduct business in an easier, faster and more efficient manner.

Progress in the field of software has not only influenced the field of the computer industry, but has also left consequences in the economy. The purpose of the diploma thesis is to demonstrate the replacement of the information system, which brought a new method of providing accounting services and a new organisational chart of employees. In the company where she is employed, they encountered the problem of outdated information technology.

The employees in the accounting service were unable to cope with the volume of work. The old information system did not enable up-to-date and quality work of the accounting service, and new employment was not financially feasible. Therefore, the management decided to introduce a new accounting information system.

Results

Through the analysis she conducted based on a comparison between the old and new information system, she reached the conclusions that the accounting service gained faster, higher quality and easier data processing, greater accuracy and transfer of data between the client and the accounting service via electronic mail. The number of accounting clients increased, as did the number of employees. Through images, she demonstrated the workflow before the replacement of the accounting information system and after it, and consequently also the changes in the method of maintaining bookkeeping records.

Through tables and graphs, she demonstrated the structures of accounting clients before the replacement and after it, as well as the increased number of accounting clients. We can see what the educational structure of employees was before the reorganisation and what it is after it. In tables and graphs, she illustrated the education of employees in the company before the replacement of the information system, when secondary school education predominated.

However, because the need for better education and greater knowledge was evident due to the ever-increasing complexity of work, the management decided to send the employees for training. After their completed studies, the structure of employee education and the systematisation of job positions will change. The employees in the accounting service have, in two years, recognised the scope and advantage of the new accounting software.

The software suppliers take very good care of training; almost every month they organise seminars connected with changed legislation, whilst simultaneously conducting workshops related to the accounting software. If a problem arises during work, they are available to us by telephone. Through modern technology, they have enabled faster and better data transfer.

With the new software, the time lag of work in bookkeeping has been shortened. More modern technology and more modern software enable us more modern, routine and faster monitoring of business events. A great gain for the company is the increased volume of accounting clients.

After completing their studies, the employees who will acquire new knowledge will also achieve and fulfil their goal and the company's goal. Now that they have established a new information system, it would be necessary to address the payment indiscipline of accounting clients or to terminate contracts with them. At the beginning of the diploma thesis, she highlighted three objectives; firstly, to highlight the advantages and disadvantages brought by the new accounting system.

We can assert that more advantages than disadvantages have emerged. The advantages are: higher quality provision of accounting services, easier and faster preparation of necessary accounting reports, which we transfer directly from the information system into tax or statistical programmes. The second objective was to determine whether the information system has facilitated the work of employees.

We can also confirm this, as overtime work has decreased. And finally, she intended to prove that the information system has enabled an increased number of accounting clients. We can prove that the number of accounting clients with the legal form of limited liability company has increased, which also requires greater knowledge of employees.

On the basis of the information obtained, I present conclusions to the hypotheses set: Hypothesis 1: we can confirm that the transition from the old accounting software has changed the maintenance of bookkeeping records. Thus, manually prepared primary documents and various accounting reports have been replaced by computer-generated records and accounting reports. Hypothesis 2: the company has acquired new and more extensive clients.

The assertion can be confirmed, as the share of accounting clients with the legal form of limited liability company has increased by almost ten per cent. Hypothesis 3: the new information system enables higher quality provision of accounting services; this confirmation is given to us by the accounting clients, as they are satisfied with the accounting services provided. Despite the fact that the company now has a well-supported information system, in such a small collective as company 'X', d. o. o., the absence of one employee (sick leave, maternity leave...) is felt.

They would need one more employee who would, in such cases as they also have in their company, cover various absences. For the employees, this would mean much less stress, as they are constantly bound by deadlines prescribed by the state, which must be observed, and the work of the absent worker must not fall behind. We hope that the company management will heed this proposal, although it is financially difficult to implement.