Accounting Software used in Australia

Question: Discuss about the Accounting Software used in Australia. Answer: Introduction The accounting software concept is considered under Accounting Information System and is defined as computer software that is employed in order to record and process all the accounting transactions in the attainable modules such as accounts receivables modules, trial balance modules, payroll modules, accounts payable modules and general-purpose module for preparing financial report. Boulianne (2014) stated that accounting software can be generated in-house by the companies or can be purchased by the third-party software developer. These researchers also revealed that accounting packages or software is different relied on cost and difficulty. In the recent business world, packaged accounting software is not just restricted to processing and developing important financial data but also offers functional models those can be employed for the process of managerial decision that can result in the company gaining a competitive advantage. Contractor et al. (2015) indicated that the accounting software in Australia has accepted a considerable transformation over several years because of significant technological advancement. The current literature review intends to review the current accounting software literature along with packages in Australia that is relied on their historical advancement, challenges, use along with adaptability by means of using the examples of several business accounting conducts from reviewing reliable scholarly journals, books, articles and conferences (im?nek et al. 2016). Moreover, literature review intends to investigate the recent market size, leaders along with competitive advantages because of implementation of efficient accounting software or packages within Australia. The recent challenges and gaps revealed within the present search might be employed for developing significant recommendations for future advancements in the accenting packages and software. Concept of Accounting Software/ Packages According to Kaefer et al. (2015) origin of accounting, software facilitated all its users for storing and access certain structured information from certain identical databases from computers. The organizations initiated to invest more in the advancement of proprietary accounting systems developed for particular requirements for the jobs were accomplished in batches. As computers developed its capability, ideas to advance common generalized accounting systems along with flexible functionalities turned out to be feasible with the emergence of SAP RF. This dealt with a huge range of business operations for prompt financial decision-making processes with fewer intermediaries (Boulianne 2014). Kyng et al. (2013) revealed that Peachtree accounting system was introduced to simplify data stores with the objective of facilitating users to gain excessive value. For instance, it was gathered that Peachtree introduced its initial and highly integrated office suite with the word processor and spreadsheet. Moreover, Olasolo et al. (2016) revealed that Intuit presented Quicken product in the year 1983 that presented a fresh dimension of accounting applications along with suitable user interface. In addition, Teleware introduced an efficient accounting package that attained attention of the most efficient software. In the next few years, an Australian publisher of Teleware product acquired by the organization, Teleware transformed its name to MYOB Limited (im?nek et al. 2016). Evidence of Research According to Palmer (2013) implementation of accounting, software in Australia is taking place at a rapid rate. These researchers also stated that Xero, a New Zealand Accounting software organization, carried out a research that encompassed 1,622 small businesses that revealed that Australian small companies always remains ahead in implementation of accounting software systems in comparison to other nations. im?nek et al. (2016) indicated that many Australian businesses are considering implementation of accounting software systems for decreasing hectic paperwork that is generally characterized by errors of commission and omission, expensive and time consuming. In contrast, Tickle et al. (2014) stated that accounting processes initiates with numerous ledgers, purchase ledger, sales ledger, petty cash ledger and cashbook along with the trail balance and adjusting entries and finally the financial reports. Manual accounting encompasses huge paperwork and bookkeepers. The accounting soft ware system is deemed as quick and easy to use as it needs just inputs in order to specific reports and accounts those are automatically generated. The efficiency and effectiveness of the Australian accounting software serves as important factors those results in their implementation by increasing number of Australian businesses. Yelland et al. (2015) revealed that competition is becoming fierce in Australian accounting software market. Huge number of consumers for accounting software in Australia is medium as well as small Australian businesses. The largest players in the market of Australian accounting software encompass Xero, MYOB and Intuit. Such companies have considered the accounting software within cloud computing. Xero has attained largest share of accounting software market within Australia that totally focuses on employing cloud accounting software. Australian companies offer superior accounting software for medium and small size businesses. im?nek et al. (2016) identified that the software companies in Australia has discovered gaps in users of computer accounting software. Australian small and medium companies were facing challenges, as their departments are not some autonomous units. Accounting departments are known for gathering, maintaining and processing accounting books from several departmen ts because of duplication and incompatible formats. According to Palmer (2013), for such reasons several companies in Australia considers utilization of cloud accounting software for its integrative capabilities. In contrast, Contractor et al. (2015) stated that Xero accounting software employs software as service model (SaaS) that offers free API for the third party vendors along with consumers for integrating several applications on a particular unified ledger within the cloud. SaaS is known to have the capacity to offer users with applications that operates on a cloud structure and operated by means of thin user interface namely simple web browser. Olasolo et al. (2016) identified that cloud computing has changed the structure of IT through revealing highly effective cost effectiveness, innovation, efficient time-to-market along with scale to demand. Moreover, lack of the security serves as a major concern for its users within cloud computing software. Along with several security measures like the firewalls, users do not tend to feel secured of the un-authorized access by the foreign parties. The reason for such concern is that cloud comparing remains devoid of security standards along with cloud providers those employ their own proprietary security standards along with technologies. Contractor et al. (2015) stated that there are increased risks of cyber crimes for the information assets linked with cloud computing. In dealing with such challenges of cloud accounting software, an Identify Management Measures (IDM) for conducting services, and users authentication relied on credentials and characteristics. Information-based security serves as an extended approach for controlling security and data within cloud computing. Such data requires being describing in the computing surrounding. By means of trusted computing structure, information-based security is attainable. In contrast, Olasolo et al. (2016) explained that along with such security measures, future software of cloud accounting might serve as most versatile system for attaining competitive edge, information security , and efficiency along with cost effectiveness. Research Gap Previous research has failed to explain that accounting software has attained a remarkable development history after the computer language invention that ranges from simple programs to difficult computing systems (im?nek et al. 2016). The recent research will bridge a gap through explaining that Australia has three largest accounting software providers that competes within the market supported by highly growing small and medium size organizations. The research will also explain that Xero, Intuit and MYOB have attained a strong hold over Australian accounting software market through integrating account software within cloud as a manner to solve issues associated with accounting software in the desktop. Moreover, there are several security threat issues associated with cloud computing (Hyvnen 2013). Certain strategies to deal with security threat facing cloud computing encompass information-based security, predicate cryptography and authentication measures. Conclusion The recent paper offered a literature review on the use of the accounting software and packages in Australian companies. In the recent business world, packaged accounting software is not just restricted to processing and developing important financial data but also offers functional models. These can be employed for the process of managerial decision that can result in the company gaining a competitive advantage. As computers developed its capability, ideas to advance common generalized accounting systems along with flexible functionalities turned out to be feasible with the emergence of SAP RF. This dealt with a huge range of business operations for prompt financial decision-making processes with fewer intermediaries. Software companies in Australia have discovered gaps in users of computer accounting software. Australian small and medium companies were facing challenges, as their departments are not some autonomous units. Accounting departments are known for gathering, maintaining and processing accounting books from several departments because of duplication and incompatible formats. The current literature review intends to review the current accounting software literature along with packages in Australia that is relied on their historical advancement, challenges, use along with adaptability by means of using the examples of several business accounting conducts from reviewing reliable scholarly journals, books, articles and conferences. References Boulianne, E., 2014. Impact of accounting software utilization on students' knowledge acquisition: An important change in accounting education.Journal of Accounting Organizational Change,10(1), pp.22-48. Contractor, S., Alexander, L.V., Donat, M.G. and Herold, N., 2015. How Well Do Gridded Datasets of Observed Daily Precipitation Compare over Australia?.Advances in Meteorology,2015. Hyvnen, T., 2013. ICT systems and cost management.The Routledge Companion to Cost Management, p.56. Kaefer, F., Roper, J. and Sinha, P., 2015, May. A software-assisted qualitative content analysis of news articles: Example and reflections. InForum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research(Vol. 16, No. 2). Kyng, T., Tickle, L. and Wood, L., 2013. Academics perceptions of the use and relevance of software in quantitative and financial disciplines.International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology,44(2), pp.214-231. Olasolo, P., Jurez, M.C., Olasolo, J., Morales, M.P. and Valdani, D., 2016. Economic analysis of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). A review of software packages for estimating and simulating costs.Applied Thermal Engineering,104, pp.647-658. Palmer, P.D., 2013. Exploring attitudes to financial reporting in the Australian not?for?profit sector.Accounting Finance,53(1), pp.217-241. im?nek, J., van Genuchten, M.T. and ejna, M., 2016. Recent developments and applications of the HYDRUS computer software packages.Vadose Zone Journal,15(7). Tickle, L., Kyng, T. and Wood, L.N., 2014. The role of universities in preparing graduates to use software in the financial services workplace.International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology,45(2), pp.200-213. Yelland, L.N., Sullivan, T.R. and Makrides, M., 2015. Accounting for multiple births in randomised trials: a systematic review.Archives of Disease in Childhood-Fetal and Neonatal Edition,100(2), pp.F116-F120. Accounting Software used in Australia Question: Discuss about theAccounting Software used in Australia. Answer: Introduction The accounting software systems are used in a wide range of business process and it facilitates in easy handling of the files and invoice of the organization. There are different accounting softwares available in the Australian market the literature review is done on the Intuit QuickBooks accounting softwares (QuickBooks and Premiere 2013). There are different issues faced by the business organization in implementing the accounting software package in their business. The enterprise may face problem regarding the management and running the accounting software system, they might need skilled employees to handle the software and put information in it (Horne 2013). A literature review is done on the chosen accounting software system i.e. Intuit QuickBooks used in Australia. The QuickBooks software is mainly targeted for the small and the medium sized business and it is marketed by Intuit and thus it is called Intuit QuickBooks. It has gained a major part of the Australian market and is discussed in the literature review. The external consultant of the small scale business organizations play an important role for the managing the QuickBooks accounting software system. History In the year 1983 Scott Cook and Tom Proulx founded the Intuit in USA, California (QuickBooks and Premiere 2013). The Quicken software was built under this company and it had a great success for managing the small business finance (Campbell 2012). The quicken software has limited functionality like it does not support double entry and it could run only on DOS platform. It required not much training and a user with little knowledge in computer can use the software efficiently (Lambert and Bee 2015). But the software did not meet the expectation of the professional accountant and it had poor security. In the end of the year 2000 Intuit developed the software and resolved all the problems of the previous version (Long 2013). From then onwards it has been updated several times and the functionality of the software and the usability has increased. Development and Adoption Intuit QuickBooks offers various services like remote accessibility, online banking, mapping with the integration of Google map, email functionality etc. It was developed keeping in mind the requirement of the business organization. The Quickbook was developed with the integration of several applications into the accounting framework such that it can cover a wide range of business activities (Biafore 2013). The developer team worked on the development of the system implementing the capabilities of managing the payroll system, outsourcing, implementing e-payment for easy transaction in the business and tracking the income of the business. Implementing Google map in the system the functionality of QuickBooks increased the business organization can track the supplier and the employees in the organization (Zhang et al. 2016). The software was made portable such that it can work on different platforms. The development team added some features like importing data from excel and help option s that increased the usability of the software. It was created such that the users can access the system from any remote location (Hossack 2015). The users can login into the system via the web browser and it allows third-party applications to build a custom system for managing their business. The users can also use their phones to login into the system. The QuickBooks was accepted in the Australian market in the year 2014, it had 624,000 online subscribers using the Online QuickBooks (Curtis and Averis 2014). There are many competitors of QuickBooks like Xero, MYOB, etc. The online version of the QuickBooks is different with limited functionality from the static desktop version. The QuickBooks can be adopted by the system to track the expense, income and profits of the business. It can also send invoices and quotation from any remote locations. The bank transactions can be tracked and other online data can be accessed (Wilson 2013). It can also manage the payment of the employee and bills of the suppliers and it can also add authentication on the user accessibility and restrict the number of users accessing it. Quick Books have 1020 million users worldwide and it is the appropriate software for managing a small scale business process (Biafore 2013). Identification of the Leaders in Accounting Software Market The accounting software used in different Australian business sector is being disseminated in three bookkeeping programming bundles such as, MYOB, XERO and Intuit QuickBooks. Among the three accounting software packages the XERO application can be used in all industries irrespective of its volume (Ashby et al. 2014). XERO is the most noticeably utilized programming bundle utilized as a part of Australian subcontinent with 63% of the aggregate business sector scope. Then again, MYOB and Intuit QuickBooks spread 15% and 22 % separately. These information change for medium scale business venture as 25% business sector scope by Intuit QuickBooks and 43% by MYOB (QuickBooks and Premiere 2013). In substantial scale business sector CA, VAR and SAP are used for the development. Figure 1: Different accounting softwares in Australia (Source: QuickBooks and Premiere 2013) Competitive Advantage of Intuit QuickBooks over Accounting Software The Intuit QuickBooks is the best application for managing the small scale business. It has a simplified user interface that does not require much knowledge of the users. The Inuit QuickBooks is designed to automatically track the business inventory and automate the business process (Altman et al. 2013). Moreover remote accessibility is provided to the user where the users can work from multiple locations. These elements of Intuit QuickBooks have helped it to increase upper hand over it contenders. The majority of the bookkeeping programming does not give office of cloud administration. The user interface of the Intuit QuickBooks programming is basic and simple to utilize programming arrangement. Its simple setup procedure and upkeep of client access has made the product application get an edge over the other accounting softwares (Zhang et al. 2016). They shape granular access for supplying and addressing the requirements of clients. The user interface has been given numerous easy routes and more prominent precision for managing the accounts of the organization. The Intuit QuickBooks helps in lessening the operational and money related costs of the organization (Wilson 2013). Thus the majority of the associations and organizations use Intuit QuickBooks for managing the financial statement and other accounts of the organization. Identifying the Gaps and Challenges of the Intuit Application The real difficulties confronted by Intuit QuickBooks are security and rivalry from the adversary organizations. The security of the Intuit QuickBooks is of well engineering and outlined with numerous efforts to establish safety. In any case, the greater part of the association does not use the security gave by Intuit QuickBooks, as it is excessive (Curtis and Averis 2014). Aside from cost calculate, the security of the Intuit QuickBooks is not easy to understand for learner clients. It requires prepared and propel level of comprehension of the application. The Intuit QuickBooks likewise confronts challenges from its adversary organizations. The bookkeeping programming of Xero and MYOB go about as a danger for addition of business sector by Intuit QuickBooks (Hossack 2015). These adversary organizations cause impact on the successful clients of Intuit QuickBooks by giving them their administrations. Recommendations There are some problems associated with the Intuit QuickBooks and the developers must resolve the problems in order to have a competitive advantage over the other companies providing the same accounting software package. The accompanying is a few proposals that clients of Intuit QuickBooks can use for enhancing their budgetary and bookkeeping operations. Improvement of the Security: There is an inbuilt security system in the Intuit QuickBooks software the developer team must work for analysing the risk associated with the security. The data of the customer must be secured against any unauthorised access. Improvement of online services: Intuit QuickBooks has an objective of accomplishing 2 million clients that can be accomplished if Intuit QuickBooks would enhance their online administrations. Different components for facilitating the online administrations must be added to the product application. Analysing other leading companies: The business process of the other competitors is needed to be analysed and a report should be made on the analysed company. The factors affecting the company to take a lead should be noted and analysed that if QuickBooks can deploy such techniques to take the lead. Conclusion Intuit QuickBooks comprises of numerous capacities and components that has assisted the bookkeeping programming with gaining name and popularity in the business sector. It has offered incredible open doors for little and medium scale business associations to build up their bookkeeping framework. Intuit QuickBooks has additionally given the component of advancement charging and online administrations. Notwithstanding, Intuit QuickBooks has extended its operations with giving remote access to the information base utilizing the cloud framework and expanding the exactness of the framework. The time taken for working the application is additionally less when contrasted with other programming utilization of same level. The Intuit QuickBooks can accomplish its objective of business sector catch by expanding the online administrations of the application. References Altman, E.J., Nagle, F. and Tushman, M., 2013.Technology and Innovation Management. 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