Information Systems in Accounting

Gone are the days when accounting was performed using a calculator, pencil and general ledger. Today many of the accounting operations are performed utilizing computer programs. Most programs are set up with databases containing a plethora of data and information related to the accounting processes. In most cases the databases are accessible to data warehouses which house information used by the financial managers of the company to make important decisions. The information housed in the data warehouses are used for internal and external reporting.

PeopleSoft is a very popular program used to do accounts payable, payroll and many other accounting functions. AS400 is another program that can be used for these functions. My company currently uses both of these systems to process and maintain the integrity of the accounting process. We have several other programs we utilize to process billing and track our account receivables; however, these systems are homegrown. We have adapted the billing and accounts receivable systems to filter into PeopleSoft to integrate the data necessary to run reports. We are currently working on a data warehouse to pool all of the information into one location in order to build customer reports, management reports, and ProForma's for use in marketing.

Since the age of technology has increased; many of our customers expect up to the minute reporting of their revenue. This is also true of our internal managers. Unfortunately, until the data warehouse is completed we are unable to turn reports around quickly. We are normally reporting 7-10 days behind; any manager knows this is not the most efficient way to manage a business.

The most recent thing that is changing how our business is being run is legislation enacted due to Sarbanes-Oxley. Many software companies are now updating their software to be compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and PeopleSoft is one of them.

We have gone through many changes due to Sarbanes-Oxley as well as HIPAA. We are a healthcare company and we are required to also follow all HIPAA guidelines; this is also requiring a lot of changes within our accounting department. All of the social security numbers had to be replaced with employee ID numbers and we are now required to send all confidential information in encrypted form.

In recent months our accounting department has been through many audits to check their compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and through this process we have determined we did not always have the proper segregation of duties. We have worked through many of the processes and have since passed all of the internal audits; however, with the number of items my company deals with, I feel we will be going through many more audits pertaining to Sarbanes-Oxley.