ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN THE PROCESSING OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION

1.1 Introduction

Accounting Software is a type of application software that records and processes accounting transactions within functional modules such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and trial balance. Accounting information aids in profit making, budgeting and cost control. In a company, it is the duty of the management accountant to see that his company keeps good records and prepare proper financial regulations. Management accountants also need to keep up with the latest development in the use of computers and in the computer system design. Accountants provide many special reports for management, decision making. This function requires the gathering of both historical and projected data.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of the Study

Accounting is the art of recording, classifying and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character, and interpreting the results thereof. Accounting can also be referred to as an information system that measures, processes and communicates financial information about an economic entity. Advancements in information technology have dramatically improved accounting systems and transformed economic life. Computers and other digital technologies have increased office productivity facilitating the rapid exchange of documents, research, collaboration with far-flung partners and the collection and analysis of data. Information technology gave all sorts of individual economic actors the new valuable tools for identifying and pursuing economic and business opportunities.

Information Technology (IT) deals with the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data. This may also be described as anything that renders data, information, or perceived knowledge in any visual format through any multimedia distribution mechanism.

Applying in the context of business, it is designed to help management in their stewardship function, support management in their day-to-day operations and decision making. In 1880, machines where invented to help in the accounting system. As year years passed by, advancements on information technology also transformed accounting systems and its processes. There were many developments in the Accounting Information System (AIS). This is designed to help in the management and control of activities related to the firms’ economic and financial area. Accounting system is essential for majority of the business entities. The advancements of technology have lead in the creation a computerized accounting system which is commonly adopted by business entities at present. This has created a competitive market. Thus, entities need to improve their systems in order to match their information needs for better decision making.

An information system is a set of interrelated subsystems that work together to collect, process, and store, transform, and distribute information for planning, decisions making and control. The use of computer in information systems can improve the efficiency of information collection, processing, storing, transformation and distribution. Accounting information system (AIS) is a tool which was incorporated in the field of Information and Technology systems. It is very important for business entities. This is the one responsible in generating reliable financial information needed for decision making. There are many varying designs of the system for they must consider factors that influence the way in which information is gathered and reported. It will still depend on the anticipated users of the information and the types of decisions they are expected to make. The design of the system may also depend on the size of the firm, volume of transaction data, nature of operations, organizational structure and business form.

Accounting evolved from everyday activities of an organization to produce relevant information for decision making. Information on financial activities is thus vital to organization’s existence, survival and growth. Proper and accurate record of these activities is therefore an effective means of generating the required accounting information. Every corporate organization, private or public, require records of its financial activities be kept for performance evaluation. However, the method of transmitting financial information has been greatly influenced by rapid changes in Information Technology and introduction of computers. The first computing machine created was used for accounting which marked the new beginning in the history of the profession as it is being increasingly embraced by organizations to simplify accounting records. The introduction of computers and innovations in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has changed the manner accounting and Accounting functions are performed. Computerization of financial accounting system has posed challenges to the accounting profession as accountants now face a number of problems especially when doing accounting and Accounting of companies in the electronic environment. It has however increased the fraternity (scientific exposure) of accountants to improve the service levels and variety of services rendered to clients. Traditionally, auditors’ schedule included discrete phases of planning but in today’s continuously evolving technology-driven world of financial statement, auditors might have to revise the traditional audit schedule due to changes in technology and perform tests on a continuous basis.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Investigation revealed that accounting in e-environment is highly challenging due to the fact majority of documents are kept electronically. Some of the challenges include lack of source documents which evidenced a transaction, lack of audit trail, inadequate knowledge of computerized process of accounting data and electronic initiation and approval of transactions.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to assess the Impact of Accounting Software in the Processing of Accounting Information. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were set out as follows:

1. To assess the relationship between accounting software and accounting information.
2. To identify the influence of accounting software in the gathering of accounting information.
3. To know the significant impact of accounting software in the processing of accounting information of an organization.
4. To identify the set-backs of accounting software and to proffer suggestible solutions.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What is the relationship between accounting software and accounting information?
• What is the influence of accounting software in the gathering of accounting information?
• What is the significant impact of accounting software in the processing of accounting information of an organization?
• Are there set-backs in accounting software and what are the possible solutions to the set-backs if any?

1.6 Research Hypotheses

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no significant impact of accounting software in the processing of accounting information of an organization.
• H1: There is significant impact of accounting software in the processing of accounting information of an organization

1.7 Significance of the Study

In today’s business environment, most financial accounting systems have been computerized and automated with little or no paper documentation. Technologies have greatly changed the nature of audits which have so long relied on paper documents. Auditors performing attest services for clients that process financial transactions electronically therefore need to go extra miles to be professionally and technically competent in order to perform an acceptable audit.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

1.8 Scope of the study

The scope of the research is focused on assessing the impact of accounting software in the processing of accounting information.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

1.10 Definition of Terms

Accounting Software: describes a type of application software that records and processes accounting transactions within functional modules such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and trial balance.

Accounting Information System: is a structure that a business uses to collect, store, manage, process, retrieve and report its financial data so that it can be used by accountants, consultants, business analysts, managers, chief financial officers (CFOs), auditors and regulatory and tax agencies.

Trial Balance: is a list of closing balances of ledger accounts on a certain date and is the first step towards the preparation of financial statements