Talking technology – spoilt for choice

Effective financial management is essential to the success of any enterprise, and appropriate software is essential to effective financial management

In an ideal world, finding the right financial management software solution would be simple and straightforward, but it isn’t. The selection process is as individual as each enterprise, and it is coloured by a number of factors. These can range from the financial complexity of the business, through the financial literacy of its owners or employees, to the amount of time and money the business is prepared (or able) to spend on a system – and can also include the preferences of their financial advisers.  

So, during your career as an accountant, you will encounter numerous different approaches to bookkeeping, accountancy, and financial management, and almost as many different software set-ups. At the very top end of the market you will find the all-singing, all-dancing applications called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. These try to use a single system to integrate all of the data and processes of an organisation – no matter how complex it is. But they tend to be the preserve of the very large, and despite the high profile of international suppliers such as Oracle and SAP, they are used by proportionally few of the millions of organisations in the world.

Unless you specialise in this area, the enterprises you work with, or for, will probably use something significantly less sophisticated. Many start managing their finances with the Excel spreadsheet that came with their PC, or by working with spreadsheet templates created by their accountant or downloaded from the Internet. A simple search will quickly reveal spreadsheet models and templates for cash flow forecasting, business plans, and more.

The next step up is usually a specialist bookkeeping or accounting package. There are lots to choose from, and the most popular packages vary from country to country. In India, for example, Tally is the leading supplier with its Business Accounting application; in North America, it’s Intuit with QuickBooks; and in the UK, it’s Sage with Sage Line 50. At the moment, in most scenarios, these applications are installed in the traditional manner; money changes hands and the acquired software is physically located on the end user’s PC, but this is gradually changing. In some parts of the world, free Open Source applications are gaining popularity. In South Africa, for example, the country’s oldest software publisher, Pink Software, has been making its TurboCASH system available free since 2003.

As affordable broadband Internet access spreads, software is also being provided as a service, in a set-up where anyone with a PC and an Internet connection can use their browser to access applications online and store their data files at a remote location, making software simpler and cheaper to use. So, although choosing the right bookkeeping and accounting software is never simple, it is getting simpler.

"During your career as an accountant, you will encounter numerous different approaches to bookkeeping, accountancy, and financial management, and almost as many different software setups"