The company has experienced success since its inception and has the desire to continue its growth. To obtain further growth Judder has shown interest in effectively integrating technology into its business operation. Detailed within are explanations of how computer systems may be more effectively integrated to meet and Improve Kidder's accounting operations. Judders key business and accounting Information needs will be Identified, and strength and weaknesses of Judder;s current computer system and technology use will be analyzed.In addition, an explanation of available opportunities and recommendations for Judder will be provided and an evaluation of threats possibly encountered by Kidder's current yester will be shown along with suggestions. Key Business and Accounting Information Needs As a growing grocery retail chain Kidder's has key business and accounting information needs for forecasts.
Future growth, Inventory, seasonal projections, and a great deal more.Judder has basic business and accounting information needs for daily and annual business decisions, such as the company's profits or loss, debt owed, or income to be received, payroll, expenses, inventory counts, and trends. Judder requires data on how much inventory is available or sold, seasonal trends in researchers, balances due to vendors, and store purchases to name a few.To begin meeting many of Kidder's business and accounting Information needs Judder recently selected a consulting firm to assist In the selection and Installation of a comprehensive Retail Enterprise Management System (REAMS) that was recently installed (Virtual Organizational Portal, 2007).
The REAMS meets many of Kidder's business and accounting needs with five modules: general ledger module, accounts payable module, Point-of-sale (POS) module, bank reconciliation module, and security.The general ledger module requires very little manual data entry, generates budgets, and reports budgets at store level, transaction detail, chart of accounts, financial reporting, and non-financial accounts. The accounts payable module provides check printing, tax and freight allocations, receives vendor modules directly, and has vendor codes and master files.The POS module has become an incredibly important tool to meet business and accounting needs because It captures and reports all retail sales In detail by Item code, cost, price, time, station, clerk, quantity, NY pertinent data to other corresponding modules, and handles all credit, debit, and cash transactions. The bank reconciliation module reconciles checks, account balances, deposits, and assists in the analysis of cash flow.
The REAMS aides with security through its current embedded security features, such as dollar limit, passwords, and limited access features (Virtual Organizational Portal, 2007).Although assets are not currently maintained in a module spreadsheet software is used to control and amortize the assets (Virtual Organizational Portal, 2007) . Current Computer System and Technology Strengths and Weaknesses In this section the strengths and weaknesses of Kidder's current computer system and technology uses are analyzed. The recently implemented REAMS is a highly valued strength for Judder. The different modules are capable of sending and receiving important data to each other daily resulting in updated records and reports important for business decisions.
The system requires minimal to no data entry reducing the possibility of human error and records data on a highly detailed level. Judder has a TO dedicated line connected to all three San Diego locations providing Geiger quality and connection speeds for Internet and Intranet needs. Reeves (2013) explains that "T-3 lines support up to 45 Militates Per Second (Mbps) and consist of 672 individual channels, each processing 64 Kilobytes Per Second (Kbps)" (Para. 2). Judder exceeds many of the recommended requirements for business professionals' microcomputers.For example, O'Brien and Marks (2008) suggest a business professional to have 512 Megabyte (MBA) Random Access Memory (RAM), an 80 Gigabyte (B) hard drive, an 18-inch display, and a two-three gigahertz (GHz) processor (p.
81). Kidder's exceeds these recommendations with microcomputers that possess four KGB of RAM, a 500 KGB hard drive, 22-inch screen, and a 3. 3 GHz processor. In addition, each store location has its own server and backup capabilities of up to 10 Terabytes (TAB) using Network Attached Storage (NAS).
Although Judder has many strengths regarding current computer system and technology use there are some noticeable weaknesses. Judder does not currently have written policies for security for the finance and accounting systems placing the company in a vulnerable position to attacks that could affect client accounts, identity heft, and viruses that could corrupt the system. No system is currently in place to record small cash purchases when using an impress fund. Records are entered manually only when the purchase is considered large.This lack of record can distort monetary fugues, such as expenses.
Judder does have a server for each store location but does not have a server that combines all of the data from all three stores in a separate location resulting in the possibility of damaged or lost data. Inventory for each store is kept separate and purchasing functions must combine sales data from ACH store versus receiving already combined data. If the inventory is kept separate for each store it causes a potential problem of asset mismanagement.Opportunities, Threats, and Suggestions for Improvement Recommendations for Judder would be to create written policies pertaining to security and ensure that they have an appropriate security system that goes beyond password protection to protect clients, vendors, and Kidder's from any attacks upon the system. For extra security it would also be recommended for Judder to have an maintained by a separate company.
This is an important internal control not only for secure reasons, such as limited access but also in cases of unpredictable issues, such as a fire.Combining the servers would also entail combining each store's inventory. This can limit the amount of individuals to have contact with the inventory itself or records, limit duplications and mistakes, provide a simpler process for purchases, and possibly make better use of the inventory available by reducing issues, such as losses with perishable foods. Judder has the opportunity to improve tracking cash used for small purchases.
Currently, limiting cash purchase recordings of only large purchases places Judder at risk for fraudulent activity and theft.In addition, if purchases are not tracked these expenses cannot be used for tax purposes and could distort the company's financial statements providing inaccurate expense totals. A recommendation would be to use a simple software system to track the small cash purchases or to integrate them into the current REAMS using the help of the consulting firm to maximize these opportunities in all areas addressed. In summary, Judder has implemented many strong computer systems and cosmologies to address business and accounting needs.Implementing the REAMS provided a way to track many of the daily business activities not only for purposes, such as financial statements and bank deposits but also on a detailed level using the POS module allowing users to examine products purchased, date, time, quantity, and store. This system is valuable because it provides organized data that can interact with different modules providing the most updated and accurate picture for the company that is imperative for decision makers.
Judder has also surpassed commendations on microcomputer recommendations providing highly professional systems that will properly accommodate the sophistication and size of the company and provide room for growth to meet Kidder's accounting and business needs. However, as noted above there is still room for improvement in areas, such as recording of cash purchases, consolidation of inventory, security systems and policies to protect sensitive information, and strengthening internal controls by having an offside server that accommodates all the data from all three stores.
