Ease The Confusion With Computer Maintenance Management Software

Posted on 19th March 2011 in Maintenance Management Software
Maintenance Management Software
by Chris Devers

Ease The Confusion With Computer Maintenance Management Software

Does your maintenance department have a hard time trying to keep track of all of the necessary repairs and preventative maintenance procedures that must be performed in order to keep your business running as smoothly as possible?  If so, then you need to check out incorporating computer maintenance management software into their daily routine.

This software is designed to help the maintenance department keep track of all the vital information that they need in order to decrease the down time of machines that break down and the possibility of having to wait on parts.  This software will let them know that scheduled maintenance for a particular machine is just around the corner, it will let them know what parts they will need for the maintenance procedure, when it should be performed in order to be the most beneficial for the company as a whole.

Scheduled downtime versus unplanned downtime means that the required maintenance can be performed quickly, efficiently, and without decreasing production or your bottom line.  Computer maintenance management software has the ability to help make this a reality in your business.  Schedule downtime around the least busy shift to where it doesn’t affect the company negatively.  Doesn’t that sound great?

There are many more benefits to incorporating computer maintenance management software into your maintenance department.  To learn more about this software, make sure that you contact a customer service representative of a company that specializes in this type of software to answer any of the questions that you may have and to learn just how this amazing software can affect your business and help you to increase your profits.  Plus, do not forget about the fact that it will help to make the daily routine of your maintenance workers easier while helping them to stay more organized in every aspect.

Ashcom Technologies provides knowledge-based business solutions to clients through a multitude of strategies and tools. In the process, clients receive a sustainable competitive advantage through the implementation of proactive strategies and technologies. Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) plays a large role in this process. Contact us today! 3917 Research Park Drive, Suite B4 Ann Arbor, MI 48108 Phone: 1-800-366-0793 www.ashcomtech.com


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Email Management Helps Tame Email Overload

Posted on 18th March 2011 in Email Management
Email Management
by mr.smashy

Email Management Helps Tame Email Overload

You’re in good company if, like other firms with no email management strategy, your employees are complaining they’re being overwhelmed by email. The convenience of email is quickly being lost in the time spent reading, responding to and managing it.

There are three important reasons to get your company’s email overload under control. Let’s examine how compliance, employee efficiency and electronic discovery are compromised by an unruly email management system. 

Compromised Compliance

If your employees regularly receive email with legal documents attached having a structured electronic content management (ECM) system is crucial. This would ensure that your emails related to documenting commitments and obligations are recorded, complete and easily retrievable.

Ask yourself these questions: “Do my employees always document receipt of business-critical documents by email?” and “What kind of legal documentation is received that isn’t being stored in a way that allows access by others?”

If you’re unsure of the answers to those questions, your company’s compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements could be at risk. Contracts received but not documented, changes made to legal documents but not tracked or saved in a centralized document management system are just two of the problems that arise when email remains unmanaged.

Compromised Employee Efficiency

Recent studies show that workers at major companies are spending at least one hour, and many of them up to three hours, every day reading, responding to and trying to manually manage email. Overflowing in-boxes keep employees chained to their in-box and away from their primary job duties.

Capturing, sorting, storing and retrieving email messages and attachments manually and not having  an automated record retention and email destruction schedule are some of the ways efficiency is compromised .

To get a picture of what email handling is costing you in terms of employee efficiency, multiply your total number of employees who receive email by one hour. That’s the minimum number of man hours per day you’re probably losing to inefficient email management.

Compromised Electronic Discovery

Electronic legal discovery is often necessary when litigation is filed by or against your company. It’s the process of retrieving and examining electronic records for information relevant to legal action or compliance reviews.

Being able to retrieve electronic documents and messages quickly is vital to a strong legal defense or compliance strategy, and mandated by law. Surprisingly, many companies still do not have a formal system for archiving employee email in a way that makes that retrieval straightforward.

Even worse, many companies have no written policies about when employee email can be deleted. You may find yourself forced to explain that critical messages were deleted by employees because no email retention policy was in place.

Additional Security

Security is always enhanced when email automation is implemented. Automated encryption and other critical security measures are built into the data capture and storage process. Centralized email storage, as opposed to local machine storage, reduces the possibility of a security breach. Automating the retention and destruction schedules for email throughout your organization removes the human factor and insures uniform compliance with your firm’s email policies.

An Affordable Solution

One or more of these roadblocks to efficient operation may already be affecting your company if it has no formal email management system in place. You may, however, have delayed implementing electronic content management due to concerns about cost, digital storage space and IT staffing requirements.

Fortunately, today’s sophisticated email management systems are within reach of most organizations. Because this type of system can be part of a full-featured document management system, it requires no additional IT staffing or hardware outlay. It is also easy to use and economical to implement.

You can actually realize significant savings through increased employee efficiency brought about by automated management and fast retrieval of documents and emails.  Having the ability to access this information off-site via a secure web–based document management repository further improves efficiency and minimizes costs.

A well-designed ECM system enhances security, increases employee efficiency and allows timely compliance with regulations and electronic discovery requests. If your employees are buried by email overload, it’s time to introduce centralized email management as part of a document management strategy at your firm. The efficiencies you’ll realize will have you wondering why you waited so long.

Mitch is the principal founder of Digiscribe, which he formed in 2002 to provide companies of all sizes with cost-effective paperless office solutions.

With over 20 years of experience in the information services industry, Mitch brings a wealth of expertise and insight to the company. He is a CompTIA Certified Document Imaging Architect (CDIA+); a certification that proves expertise in the technologies and best practices used to plan, design, and specify a document imaging, management system.

Mitch served as Chairman and Committee Member of the Association of Information and Image Management (AIIM) Document Management Service Bureau Executive Forum. He speaks at various industry seminars and trade shows.

In 1988, Mitch founded International Data Services (IDS) of New York. Under his leadership, IDS grew to become a leading data management company, providing data entry, data processing, coding and indexing services to corporations and service bureaus nationwide, as well as litigation support and database building services to leading law firms.

In 1997, Mitch merged IDS into ImageMax, a nationwide information management services company. While at ImageMax, he served as the National Sales and Marketing Manager and held a seat on the Board of Directors for three years.

Certifications
• Certified Document Imaging Architect (CDIA+)
• Digitech Systems Certified Reseller
• FileBound Certified Professional
• AnyDoc Certified Referral Reseller
Education
• MBA, Hofstra University
• Bachelor Degree, Hofstra University

Community Involvement
• Founding Member, Briarcliff Manor Education Foundation
• Midnight Run Coordinator (provides food and clothing to the homeless in metropolitan NYC).


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Debt management services – don’t ignore them

Posted on 27th February 2011 in Debt Management
Debt management
by judge_mental

Debt management services – don’t ignore them

Have you found yourself in a bit of a financial black hole, wondering where the money goes? Are you in a position where every month you are struggling to make ends meet, shifting funds around in an attempt to keep your creditors at bay? It’s not an uncommon story the length and breadth of the UK. There are plenty of people in the same leaking debt boat, frantically bailing and trying to work out ways to deal with their financial problems. At least those with the realisation that there is an issue that needs to be addressed are facing up to the less than convenient truth they have money problems and are seeking debt management services to assess the lay of the land and implement a viable debt management solution. They are the fortunate ones.

The poor souls in the worst of trouble are the ones in denial. Those who simply refuse to acknowledge their financial woes and try to avoid tackling them head on with informed and impartial debt advice. The problem (as we all known deep down inside) is that these things just won’t go away of their own accord. And rather than retaining an element of control over events and being in a position to act out of choice, the debt advice deniers soon find themselves hostages to fortune and forced to take drastic measures to sort the situation out.

Which side of the reality line are you on? Do you deal with this through a proper debt management services to craft a viable debt management solution side? Or the head in the sand debt advice avoider, the person who crosses the road to avoid debt management plans for fear that the cold light of day would be too much to take?

As the effects of the recession drag on and increasing numbers of people begin to feel the squeeze on income and savings, so the number of people having to choose between facing up to financial problems or just wishing them away will rise. Now is the time to realise that there is plenty of help at hand if you want it. Experienced, impartial and best of all… free. Debt management services that can quickly and expertly help you turn your financial problems around, saving you both money and sleepless nights in the process.

The Debt Advice Trust has been created to help people in serious debt get good, honest, impartial advice. It is an organisation having debt management specialist providing debt help and bankruptcy advice.


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6 Easy Steps For Smart Managing Equipment Maintenance Management Software

Posted on 23rd February 2011 in Maintenance Management Software
Maintenance Management Software
by Chris Devers

6 Easy Steps For Smart Managing Equipment Maintenance Management Software

We all know that having an equipment maintenance management software is a must inside our company for reducing costs, saving,for availability of assets and even for the cars we own. You will learn how to apply effectively maintenance with or without the power of an equipment maintenance management software. You will need Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. To begin create a folder in your pc for storing the files we suggest in this tutorial.Name it “My Company Maintenance”

Step1: Organize your environment

One of the most important steps before using an equipment maintenance management software and getting the most from your company is to know your goals about maintenance. So what are your main goals: is it availability, or reduce repairing?

Write down you goal, and lets begin!


Step 2: List and group the assets

You need to group those assets by different or specifics needs for example: all the cars, all the truck of specific year, make,etc. this is in order to define the maintenance tasks and common maintenance routines recommended by the supplier for each group.

One of the benefits that an equipment maintenance management software should give you is grouping your equipment for easy managing and scheduling.

Open Excel and create a note book inside the folder and name it “Assets List.xls”. Add one row per asset.Include the columns: Asset Id, Description, Group, Location

Step 3: Define the tasks

Create a note book inside the folder and name it “Task List.xls”.Add one row per task.For this book include the columns: Task id, Description, Frequency, File name.

Step 4: Define the task content

Open Microsoft Word and create a new document for each task, for each document write a title task, task number, time needed, men needed,tools needed, materials needed, task steps and the special and security considerations. You can name this document “Task Number.doc”

Now in the workbook “Task List.xls” make a link from each row to the corresponding task content file(in the cell just right click and select “Hyperlink…” from the menu)

Step 5: Scheduling

Now you have your asset group list and maintenance tasks written down.
Scheduling maintenance is where an equipment maintenance management software will be most useful. Before setting the scheduling you need to answer some questions:

-Annual budget for maintenance.
-Which assets or equipment you will need available and when?
-Which ones will be working while the others are stopped by maintenance.
-Where will be applied the maintenance, a contractor or internal employee.
-How much time will be needed for this maintenance?

After that, create a new excel book and name it “Scheduling.xls”.It should contain at least the columns:  asset id, asset name, task assigned, task name, scheduled value.
Select the provider manual to help you begin to write down the scheduling values.

Step 6: Typing the data  into an equipment maintenance management software

Finally open your equipment maintenance management software and look where you can add assets, add task, schedule task for typing in the data already recollected by you.

If you want to  try an easy to use equipment maintenance management software and how to control scheduling faster than ever, just click in the link below

Ramon Elias Rodriguez is an expert in scheduling and maintenance assets, he
is the owner of readyAsset at http://www.readyasset.com, visit us to download
a free trial


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Impact of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) on Roles of Management Accountant in Organizations

Posted on 20th February 2011 in Accountants London
Accountants London
by bill barber

Impact of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) on Roles of Management Accountant in Organizations

1. Introduction

Enterprise Resource Planning is the latest high end solution, information technology has lent to business application. These days we are living in a globalized world, where competition is not absent. This is why it is essential for managers of the enterprise to develop different strategies to satisfy client needs, many of which have become hard to see. They are trying to anticipate what clients will want or need, and in that way they work to offer customized products. Companies are looking for software that can be capable of administrating every aspect of their business integrally. Many of them have been seeking new technological tools that can optimize their internal procedures and make them more efficient.The ERP solutions seek to streamline and integrate operation processes and information flows in the company to synergise the resources of an organization namely men, material, money and machine through information. The emergence of ERP systems offer businesses a set of integrated application modules which span most business functions (Scapens and Jazayeri, 2003).  Today many companies in India have gone in for implementation of ERP and it is expected in the near future that 60% of the companies will be implementing one or the other ERP packages since this will become a must for gaining competitive advantage. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the impact of ERP implementation as a new system on management accounting practices. The management accounting and ERP system will be introduced and clarify how are they working together. This paper will view a definition of an ERP system implementation, defining the management accounting, the dimensions of management accounting such as the roles and attributes of management accounting, finally implications of impact ERP implementation on management accounting.

2. ERP system implementation

ERP (enterprise resource planning) is an industry term for the broad set of activities supported by multi-module application software that help a manufactures  or other business manage the important parts of its business, including  product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service, and tracking orders [  Olson 2004].

Implementing an ERP package has to be done on a phased manner. Step by step method of implementing will yield a better result than big-bang introduction.The normal steps involved in implementation of an ERP are as below:

Project Planning, Business & Operational analysis including Gap analysis, Business Process Reengineering, Installation and configuration, Project team training, Post implementation.

The above steps are grouped and sub-divided into four major phases namely 1) detailed discussions, 2) Design & Customization, 3) Implementation and 4) Production. The phases of implementation vis-à-vis their tasks and respective deliverables are as below:

Detailed Discussion Phase: Task: – Project initialization, Evaluation of current processes, business practices, Set-up project organization 
Deliverables:- Accepted norms and Conditions, Project Organization chart, Identity work teams.

Design and customization Phase: Task :- Map organization, Map business process, Define functions and processes, ERP software configuration and Build ERP system modifications. 
Deliverables :- Organization structure, Design specification, Process Flow Diagrams, Function Model, Configuration recording and system modification.

Implementation Phase: Task :- Create go-live plan and documentation, Integrate applications, Test the ERP customization, Train users 
Deliverables :- Testing environment report, Customization Test Report and Implementation report

Production Phase: Task:- Run Trial Production, Maintain Systems 
Deliverables:- Reconciliation reports, Conversion Plan Execution

3. The main role for management accounting in the organization

“Management accounting is a system of  measuring and providing operational and financial information that guides managerial action, motivates behaviors, and supports  and creates the cultural values necessary to achieve  an organization’s strategic objectives”[ Jan, Shahid, Homas and Arol 1999].

Management accounting is often defined as a system that provides useful information for managers in terms of decision making, planning, control and performance evaluation (Drury, 2004, p. 20). A definition by Atkinson et al.1 (2001) describes management accounting as:

“A value adding continuous improvement process of planning,  designing, measuring and operating a nonfinancial and financial information system that guides management action, motivates behavior, and supports and creates the cultural values necessary to achieve an organization’s strategic, tactical and operating objectives”. Management accounting measures and reports financial and non-financial information that helps managers make decisions to fulfill the goals of an organization.Managers use management accounting information to choose, communicate and implement strategy, coordinate product design, production and marketing decisions, Management accounting focuses on internal reporting, and Management accounting is future oriented.

4. Attributes of a good management-accounting system

The management accounting can be success if contains some attributes which enhance its process such as the following attributes: [Jan, Shahid, Homas and Arol 1999].

The management accounting can be success if contains some attributes which enhance its process such as the following attributes: [Jan, Shahid, Homas and Arol 1999].

Good management accounting information has three attributes:

■Technical—it enhances the understanding of the phenomena measured and provides relevant    information for strategic decisions.

■Behavioral—it encourages actions that are consistent with an organization’s strategic objectives.

■Cultural—it supports and/or creates a set of shared cultural values, beliefs, and mindsets in an organization and society.

5. The impact of ERP implantation on management accounting system

The involvement of management accountants is seen as another important success factor for ERP implementations. Management accountants play a critical role in providing data and information to manage the business, their participation is critical to ensure that the needed data are available and so that the management accountants will know how the data are obtained and reported. Literature review has shown that involvement of the management accountants results in better outcomes in the ERP implementation. – In a number of organizations, the management accountants played a critical role in the implementation and success of the ERP system.  The more active the role played by the management accountants, the higher the level of perceived success for the ERP implementation.  This was consistent across all organizations visited.  If the management accountants were actively involved in the ERP implementation from the beginning, and acted as a change agent, the system was a success.

6. The impact of ERP systems on the role of management accountants

ERP is a broad term for any software application that integrates all business processes and data into a single system (Waxer, 2006). ERP facilitates company-wide Integrated Information System covering all functional areas.ERP provides for complete integration of Systems not only across the departments in a company but also across the companies under the same management. ERP not only addresses the current requirements of the company but also provides the opportunity of continually improving and refining business processes.

ERP provides business intelligence tools like Decision Support Systems (DSS), Executive Information System (EIS), Reporting, Data Mining and Early Warning Systems (Robots) for enabling people to make better decisions and thus improve their business processes. As these ERP systems are integrated, all data are available to all personnel throughout the organization at any time (Aidan O’ Mahony, John Doran 2008)These software packages can be customized to cater for the specific needs of an organization (Esteves and Pastor, 2001; Granlund and Malmi, 2002). ERP systems have become the system of choice for the majority of companies. These systems have changed the way accounting information is processed, evaluated and reported throughout the business. ERP systems are comprehensive systems as they operate throughout the entire company maintaining large amounts of data. They are also modular systems which are based on a client/server technology. Data are stored in a single database, whicheliminates the need to update data in several different subsystems (Davenport, 1998; Rosemann, 1999). By providing universal, real-time access to operating and financial data, the systems allow companies to streamline their management structures, creating flatter, more flexible, and more democratic organizations (Davenport, 1998; Ross, 2000; Jackling and Spraakman, 2006).

The Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA, Australia) describes the management accountant as someone who applies his or her professional knowledge and skill in the preparation and presentation of financial and other decision oriented information in such a way as to assist management in the formulation of policies and in the planning and control of the operation.  The changes which are affecting the core role of the management accountant are in large part due to the popularity of ERP systems such as SAP and Baan, particularly in large companies (Foote, 2006; Jackling and Spraakman, 2006; Bae et al. 2004; Booth et al.  2000; Burns et al., 1999; Davenport 1998).

In this new environment the management accountant must acquire a broad knowledge of the business, and add value to the organization by bringing financial expertise to the management process and participating as team players. The management accountant must now move into the spotlight and become an integral part of the management team by using a broader range of skills, utilizing both financial and non-financial indicators; taking decision-making roles in cross functional teams; and integrating operational and strategic control. The management accountant must broaden the nature of their role and become a strategic manager (Collins, 2000; Murphy, 2004; Parker, 2002; Pierce, 2001).

 

7. Benefits of ERP

The main benefits of using ERP systems identified could be summarized as follows

The benefits accruing to any business enterprise on account of implementing are unlimited. According to the companies like NIKE, DHL, Tektronix, Fujitsu, Millipore, Sun Microsystems, following are some of the benefits they achieved by implementing ERP packages:

Gives Accounts Payable personnel increased control of invoicing and payment processing and thereby boosting their productivity and eliminating their reliance on computer personnel for these operations. Reduce paper documents by providing on-line formats for quickly entering and retrieving information. Improves timeliness of information by permitting, posting daily instead of monthly. Greater accuracy of information with detailed content, better presentation, fully satisfactory for the Auditors. Improved Cost Control. Faster response and follow up on customers. More efficient cash collection, say, material reduction in delay in payments by customers. Better monitoring and quicker resolution of queries. Enables quick response to change in business operations and market conditions. Helps to achieve competitive advantage by improving its business process. Improves supply-demand linkage with remote locations and branches in different countries.

Provides a unified customer database usable by all applications. Improves International operations by supporting a variety of tax structures, invoicing schemes, multiple currencies, multiple period accounting and languages. Improves information access and management throughout the enterprise.

Provides solution for problems like Y2K and Single Monitory Unit (SMU) or Euro Currency.

 

8. Change in the Role of the Management Accountant

The suggestions in the literature that the role of the management accountant has changed and that one of the main reasons is the implementation of ERP systems is supported by the interviewees (Aidan O’ Mahony, John Doran 2008). This is in line with similar literature where research shows that ERP systems have only a limited impact on management accounting practices (Fahy and Lynch, 1999; Granlund and Malmi, 2002; Scapens and Jazayeri, 2003). However there are conflicting views as some literature state that the adoption of an ERP system can bring around a redefinition in the tasks and responsibilities of the management accountant (Brazil and Li, 2005; Carruth, 2004;

Gabriels, 2002). It is clear that ERP is influencing the management accountant and is a valuable tool which assists the management accountant in fulfilling their core activities. However the core responsibilities remain and there is still a high priority to provide the financials on a monthly basis. The extent to which the new system has had an impact on the role of management accountants was assessed by several.

Changes in time spent on data collection – All firms agreed that the management accountants spent

significantly less time on data collection following the implementation of the ERP system irrespective of whether the implementation was a success or not. There was also an indication that the type of data collected had changed.  For example, company E indicated that the manual accruals had decreased considerably since implementation of the ERP system.

Changes in time spent on data analysis – Most companies agreed that management accountants are spending a lot more time on data analysis. This was particularly the case for the more successful implementations. Management accountants: a profession dramatically changed by ERP systems.

Changes in involvement in business decision-making – All companies agreed that management accountants were more involved in business decision-making following the implementation of the ERP system. This also varied with the relative success of the ERP implementation, with the changed involvement in business decision-making being scored highly for the most successful implementations. Case studies in literature review showed that the extent to which the new system has had an impact on the role of management accountants was assessed by several criteria:

Changes in focus on internal reporting – The focus of the management accountants on internal reporting (for example performance measures and control issues) increased most companies.

Changes in focus on external environment – The focus of the management accountants on the external environment (for example benchmarking) had increased where it was applicable to the company. This change in focus was not related to the success or otherwise of the ERP system implementation.

Changes in focus from historic to forward looking analysis – In all the organizations that had a successful implementation, the management accountants are involved in significantly more forward looking analyses.  This is most likely a result of the capability of the ERP systems to generate virtually any desired historical-based report. As such, there is limited need for the management accountants to perform this type of task. The management accountants are spending much more time and effort on business planning.

Changes in focus from domain specific to cross-functional analysis – The implementation of ERP systems is viewed as a prerequisite for cross- functional analysis for most of these organizations.  In virtually every instance, prior to the implementation of the ERP system, the data wasn’t available to undertake cross-functional analysis.  Now that the data is available, the management accountants are able to be involved in cross-functional analysis.

Changes in use of time resulting from elimination of routine report generation – Since routine report generation was previously the responsibility of the management accountants, they now have more time available to complete other tasks.  In most organizations, this time has resulted in a change in how the management accountants approach their job, and in how the management accountants are perceived by others in the organization.  In some settings, the management accountant is becoming more of a business partner to senior management.

Changes required in the management accountant’s communication skills – Management accountants need to be technically competent, and must be able to communicate those technicalities.  While communication was always important, the study found that the need for improved communication skills has expanded because of the way management accountants are now involved in discussions with the business management team.  In order to be business partners, management accountants must provide insight and present the information at the time that the manager needs that information.   Changes in the formal and informal communication structure resulting from the ERP system – No link was found between the implementation of the ERP system and the changes in the formal and informal communication structure.  The ERP system, by its very nature, results in significant centralization of data.  This is often associated with a more formal communication structure.  The existing organizational structure and culture seems to have a greater impact on the communication structure than does the ERP system.

Changes in the management accountant’s satisfaction resulting from the ERP system – The ERP systems implementation generally resulted in increased job satisfaction for the management accountants.  Job satisfaction needs to be examined over a period of time, rather than at a specific point in time.  If asked immediately after the ERP system was implemented, most management accountants would be very frustrated with the software, the hours, the task, and many other aspects.

The management accountants’ contribution to the ERP system success – In a number of organizations, the management accountants played a critical role in the implementation and success of the ERP system.  The more active the role played by the management accountants, the higher the level of perceived success for the ERP implementation.  This was consistent across all organizations visited.  If the management accountants were actively involved in the ERP implementation from the beginning, and acted as a change agent, the system was a success.

 

3. Recommendations for management accountants in an ERP environment

The participants in this research were very consistent with their perception of the skills needed by management accountants in ERP environments.  All of the interviewees started from the perspective that the management accountant has both appropriate and adequate accounting training.  Some believed that a formal accounting qualification was very desirable as a way to signal that a management accountant possesses the requisite skills.  Almost every participant identified the need for good communication and interpersonal skills.  Analytical skills and the ability to focus on objectives and prioritise work (work management) were also deemed important.

The increased importance in understanding the business was also emphasized, as was the need to have ‘entrepreneurial salesman skills.’  That is, the management accountants need to be able to communicate with the management team and synthesize and explain the results (the impact of the financial data) in a way that can be easily understood.  Management accountants need to take on a partnership role with the managers.  This will sometimes result in the management accountants supporting major decisions by influencing managers onto the right area through a thoughtful and reasoned explanation of what the information means.  Along with these skills, other non-traditional skills were identified.  These included being an educator as the management accountants must be able to explain how the numbers were obtained and what they mean, and they might also be asked to explain how the system generates those numbers.  Patience was also identified as needed since the ERP packages are very difficult to use when they are first implemented.

 

10. Findings

. The findings of this study indicate that when management accountants are involved in the implementation of an ERP system there is an increased likelihood of success. The task is not easy and there was much frustration in the implementation process. However, in the successful implementations, data quality increases, there is more timely access to information, and decision-making is improved. Furthermore, a successful ERP implementation results in significant changes in the tasks of the management accountants. The management accountants become more closely involved in business decision-making and perform other value adding tasks rather than the mundane reporting tasks that are now performed automatically using the ERP.

 

11. Conclusion

In conclusion the findings suggest that the ERP system has had a positive effect on the role of the management accountant, however the rise of these ERP systems has not changed the ultimate responsibility of accountants which is the end of month figures. The ERP integrates operation processes and information flows in the company to synergize the resources of an organization namely men, material, money and machine through information.  ERP effortlessly communicates information across various departments and improves efficiency, performance and productivity levels.

12. Limitations

There were also a number of limitations of the ERP systems currently used. These include not getting the full capability of the ERP system and the manipulation of information that is needed to generate a final set of accounts. One of the most interesting findings highlighted in the study relates to the problems that can arise where an ERP system becomes too customized towards a company’s needs. This is partly due to the fact that an ERP vendor may not support an over-customized system. It is well documented that there has been a shift in the role of the management accountant. ERP is one of the major contributors to the change in the role of the management accountant. Accounting personnel feel that ERP allows them to expand their roles and instead of producing figures allows time for further analysis and value adding activities in areas such as cost control. An interesting finding in this study is in relation to the idea of non-management accountants becoming accountants. Prior to the introduction of ERP systems accounting was exclusively completed by personnel in the finance area. The introduction of ERP systems has allowed tasks such as reporting and journal bookings to be completed by non management accountants. But despite this, core accounting activities related to finalizing accountants are still completed by the finance personnel. From these findings the authors would argue that ERP is having a positive effect on management accountants. Although there are negatives the overall view is that the positives of ERP far outweigh the negatives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

A. A. Atkinson, R. D. Banker, R. S. Kaplan and S. M. Young (2001): Management

Accounting, 3rd edition, Prentice- Hall Inc, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

 

A. Caglio (2003): Enterprise Resource Planning systems and accountants: towards

hybridization? European Accounting Review, Vol. 12, Issue 1, pp. 123–153.

 

 

A. A. Atkinson, R. Balakrishnan, P. Booth, J. M. Cote, T. Groot, T. Malmi, H. Roberts,

E. Uliana and A. Wu (1997): New Directions in Management Accounting Research,

Journal of Management Accounting Research, Vol.  9, pp. 79-108.

 

Abdinnour-Helm, S., Lengnick-Hall, M.L., and Lengnick-Hall, C.A., “Pre-implementation attitudes and organizational readiness for implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning system”, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol 146 (2), 2003, 258-273.

 

B. Light, C. P. Holland, K. Wills (2001): ERP and best of breed: a comparative analysis,

Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 216-224.

 

B. Pierce and T. O’Dea (2003): Management accounting information and the needs of

managers Perceptions of managers and accountants compared, The British Accounting

Review, Vol. 35, pp. 257-290.

 

Booth, P., Matolcsy, Z., and. Wieder, B. (2000). Integrated Information Systems  (ERP-systems) and Accounting Practise – the Australian Experience.   Paper presented at the Third European Conference on Accounting Information Systems, Munich, Germany, pp. 27-28.

 

Brazel, J. F. and Dang, Li (2005). The Effect of ERP System Implementations on the Usefulness of Accounting Information.  Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 20, No. 6. pp. 619 – 631.

 

Burns , J., Ezzamel M. and Scapens R. (1999). Management Accounting Change in the UK.   Management Accounting, London, Vol.77 No.3, pp. 28-30.

 

 

Carruth, B. (2004). Management Accounting-What’s new?’ Chartered Accountants Journal. Sept. 2004 pp. 29-30.

 

 

C. Ma, D. C. Chou and D. C. Yen (2000): Data warehousing, technology assessment and management, Industrial Management and Data Systems, Vol. 100, Issue 3, pp. 125-

135.

 

G. K. H. Li and E. Jordan (1999): The Information Systems (IS) Role of Accountants: A

Case Study of an On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP) Implementation, paper presented at American Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 1999), 13-15

August, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the United States.

 

G. K. H. Li and E. Jordan (1999): The Information Systems (IS) Role of Accountants: A

Case Study of an On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP) Implementation, paper presented at American Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 1999), 13-15

August, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the United States.

 

Jacobs, F.R. and Whybark, D.C., Why ERP ? A primer on SAP implementation Irwin McGraw Hill, 2001.

 

 

J. Burns and G. Baldvinsdottir (2005): An Institutional Perspective of Accountants’

New Roles – The Interplay of Contradictions and Praxis, European Accounting Review,

Vol. 14, Issue 4, pp. 725-757.

 

K. Lukka and M. Granlund (1996): Cost accounting in Finland: current practice and rends of development, European Accounting Review, Vol. 5, Issue 1, pp. 1-28.

 

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profession of management accounting, The British Accounting Review, Vol. 21, Issue 2,

pp. 127-140

 

P. Booth, Z. Matolcsy and B. Wieder (2000): Integrated Information Systems (ERPSystems) and Accounting Practice – The Australian Experience, paper presented at the third European Conference on Accounting Information Systems (ECAIS’2000), March 27-28, 2000, Munich, Germany

 

R.R.K. Sharma “ERP implementation and its effect on a few variables of organization structure and manager’s job”. Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics. FindArticles.com. 12 Dec, 2010.

 

 

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Zainab Mehmood , Aakifa Nudrat

Department of Commerce,

MSc Accounting & Finance,

Islamia University Bahawalpur, Pakistan.


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Debt Management and why it matters

Posted on 7th February 2011 in Debt Management
Debt management
by Donnaphoto

Debt Management and why it matters

Debt management isn’t just a fancy way of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul or taking out an even larger loan to settle money owed. Debt management and debt management programs play a vital role in helping individuals and companies get to grips with the state of their finances and cope with their financial obligations. It’s a way of cutting through the fear and concern surrounding debt and getting to the very heart of how best to organise it so that it can be repaid as cost effectively and as efficiently as possible.

It’s worth remembering too that when it comes to debt it isn’t just the creditors who suffer through not being paid what they are due. Debt management services are there as much to help alleviate the stress and the pain of a situation from the debtor’s perspective. Problems that if left unmanaged and allowed to continue to run their natural course might easily spiral out of control and make the situation worse for all parties. If you owe money that you are finding difficult to repay or have been in that situation in the past then you will know how unpleasant it can be. It’s in no-one’s interests for debt to remain unpaid and unmanaged.

One more thing to bear in mind is that if you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to seek debt management, UK agencies that are impartial and independent are on hand to help you avoid the less scrupulous organisations that thrive on people’s financial weakness. These less scrupulous organisations may, if you are not careful, leave you in a significantly worse state than the one you started in. In other words, if you are in the difficult position of owing money that you are struggling to repay and find yourself with limited options, then you are potentially vulnerable to exploitation. Going to debt management services that have no vested interest in partisan support for one side or the other can help you avoid that situation.

Fortunately when it comes to debt management. UK consumers are lucky enough to have a wide range of free, independent and experienced debt management programs offering experienced and helpful debt management advice and guidance to help you turn your situation around.

The Debt Advice Trust has been created to help people in serious debt get good, honest, impartial advice. It is an organisation having debt management specialist providing debt help and bankruptcy advice.


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Help Desk Management Software – Find Answers To Their Queries?

Posted on 15th January 2011 in Help Desk Management Software

Help Desk Management Software – Find Answers To Their Queries?

The customer support that Net marketers offer usually boils down to answering client calls and diagnosing and bother-shooting client issues over email. Typically the emails from customers, though written in different words and vogue, address the identical issue repeatedly. Even providing a answer may appear less of a challenge when it comes to understanding or diagnosing the problem, maybe once a few rounds of emails, faced by the customer. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that help desk management software is popularly being deployed by all varieties of businesses within the IT industry.

This software is a vital part of the help desk for most companies. The other part might be constituted of the technical employees, facilitate desk personnel and the entire telecommunication and IT infrastructure. Little businesses will fore go the latter half as a result of they neither want nor will afford it. But, the helpdesk software is each cheap and a should-have for businesses who frequently come back in touch with customers. The customers who log in to this software will quickly notice answers to their queries and you will notice a gradual decline in the number of email you receive.

After putting in the help desk management software, you may would like to make up your database with answers to frequently-asked questions, solutions to issues that customers may face, suggestions for customizing or improving the performance of your service or product, various other tips, promotional material and thus on. You will structure the database as per your desires using the software. Once you’ve got set up the database and interface, let the software do its job on autopilot mode whereas you specialise in the additional creative and revenue generating tasks of running a web site.

If you’re still not convinced and wish to continue together with your single-handed approach to customer support, take note that all your sincere efforts could literally go down the spam drain. This suggests your painstaking and custom replies will be spam blocked and might never reach its meant recipients. Inevitably, your supposed lack of response will generate adverse reviews and you will be left wondering where you went wrong. The loss caused by spam blockers does not end here. Even at your server facet, spam filters might be actively preventing valid client concerns from reaching you.

The solution to the current problem lies within the effective spam filters that the majority of facilitate desk management software support. These filters distinguish between spam and valid emails from customers. These filters guarantee that you do not spend unnecessary time unearthing client emails from the spam bulk. With of these edges, you would possibly be shocked to understand that there are various free facilitate desk software solutions available within the market. A number of the most well-known solutions are economically priced and permit free trial.

James Brunner been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in spam blocker ,you can also check out his latest website about: All Glass Aquariums Which reviews and lists the best Glass Aquariums


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Staff Management, Trusts, Pensions Used By John Lewis And Marks And Spencer

Posted on 1st December 2010 in IT Staff
IT staff
by Bill Dayton

Staff Management, Trusts, Pensions Used By John Lewis And Marks And Spencer

Introduction

Marks and Spencer (M& S) is a company based in Britain. It is one of the most successful retailers in the United Kingdom with about seven hundred and sixty stores all over the world. It was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer and has Sir Stuart Rose as its Chief Executive. Some of the countries in which the retail sores are found include Japan, Switzerland, Kuwait, India, Poland, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Jersey among others. Most of the stores are found in the UK i.e. they are five hundred and twenty in number. The company deals in the sale of clothing items and also in the food sector. Other items that the company sells include household items, furniture, electronics and other technological devices, it also engages in the sale of coffee. The company has been relatively successful in the industry and even recorded a profit of one billion pounds about nine years ago. It was however faced with a crisis in the year 1998, but it has since recovered from this crisis and is no on a stead rise again. (Faragher, 2007)

The company has been well known for some of the policies it offers to its consumers. One of the policies was that items can be refunded back to customers as long as they had receipts even if the products had been purchased a long time ago. The Company recorded a profit of slightly over half a billion pounds in the year 2006. M& S also boasts of having a large employee base-it has close to seventy one thousand staff members under its wing.

John Lewis was a company is also another retail chain of stores that is slightly smaller than the former mentioned Company. John Lewis (JL) has one hundred and twelve super markets and twenty six stores under its name. There are sixty eight thousand employees working for the Company. JL is well known for the way it shares profits, partnership with emeployees and equity.

Marks and Spencer

Staff management at Mark and Spencer

Marks and Spencer is well k own for the kind of management system that it adopts. This is one of the major contributors towards its corporate identity. Corporate identity is a crucial part of any business because it is what customers recognise about the Company. M& S prides itself in the fact that it has a very strong corporate culture. This simply means that the Company has been having a strong sense of culture and management skills. This has even led to some emulation from certain companies with reference to M&S. However, this does not men that staff management at the Company has not had some flaws. This was especially visible when the Company was forced to close down stores in parts of France. This occurred due to the fact that there were inadequacies about the benefits and job protection offered by Marks and Spencer yet the same incentives were what the Company had become identified with. The Company also failed in communicating adequately to staff members prior to closure. This meant that the Company had found itself in bridge of the law and had therefore revealed weaknesses in its management system. (Dale, 2001)

Trainee Management Schemes in Staff management

This kind of scheme has earned the Marks and Spencer Company an award from the Times. This was ion recognition of the fact that the Company employs a high number of graduates to work for them. It was given position seventeen in this category for this role.

This kind of scheme normally involves provision of training for graduates who may be new to the company or those who may have worked for the company before but are interested in developing themselves within the organisation. This training lasts for a period of twelve months. But before one becomes an accepted trainee within the company, they pass through rigorous training and selection before gaining access into the Company.

First of all, applications are done openly and transparently through the internet. This method is quite appropriate because it ensures that all people who are interested gain access to the process without segregation. All applicants do this through a Communication Centre belonging to Marks and Spencer.  After sending their applications to the Centre, applicants are required to do a psychometric test. Those who pass the test will be deemed capable of performing managerial tasks.

The tests come in two categories. The first is numerical while the other is verbal. The purpose of providing two types of tests is to give a fair chance to differing personalities. This is a very crucial aspect of any fair recruitment process. Reason being that some people are bubbly and talkative and may seem quite impressive during the verbal tests yet such people may be very poor at performing tasks. The numerical tests are also important in analysing other types of personalities. Some people may be shy and withheld during verbal interviews. Others may panic suddenly and consequently loose composure. This other types of tests allow M& S management to zero in on the most suitable candidates and overcome initial barriers in selection. (Berry, 2007)

Applicants are then subjected to an Occupational Personality Test. This type of test aims at investigating what type of personality the applicant possesses. This is because managerial positions can only be done by certain types of personalities. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of position. People who take up managerial positions must be leaders. This means that they must be influential and must be able to affect the actions of other members of staff towards achievement of the goal. This is the reason why the test is done as the last thing during the application.

Finally, members who get accepted into the Company undergo rigorous training for a period of one month. The reason why the duration is slightly long is because the Company would like trainees to be well equipped for the challenges that lay ahead in the managerial positions which they will hold. This Company has the advantage of having young members of society working for it thus encouraging injection of new ideas and brainstorms. A company that is characterised by young people working for it is quite progressive and always incorporates new and creative ideas of doing things. The Company also has unconventional ways of management because of recruiting young staff members to work for it.

Customer service training in staff management

The Company uses a method called Mary Gober to train its staff members. This helps members of staff to be on top of their game when it comes to treatment of customers. This implies that staff members become very well versed in treatment of customers and service delivery is improved. What the training normally provides members of staff is that they are able to treat customers in a friendly way; they are also able to give courtesy to customers and to show them that they are interested in serving them. In addition, members of staff are also equipped with the knowledge to serve customers in the best possible way. This means that they are able to answer any questions asked by clients and their abilities are maximised. (Thomson, 2003)

Members of staff are required to attend seminars where they are informed on how to deal with consumers. These kinds of seminars are common in most of the stores that are affiliated to the chain stores. Consumers and other parties have it easy when they require details about certain issues in the Company because they are able to identify members that have undergone training because they normally wear a brooch on items of clothing.

Charity Awards for volunteer employees – staff management

Marks and Spencer has a programme that has been put in place called Mark and Start. This programme aims at involving most members of staff in volunteer efforts especially towards the disadvantaged in society. In so doing, employees identify with the Company and it creates a strong sense of loyalty and commitment to Mark and Spencer.

The Company gives awards to those who have performed well in charity work. This can be regardless of the fact that the volunteer work was done outside of work time. Awards are also given to those who support a Breast Cancer Campaign or to those who work with local issues that may need assistance. Normally what the Company does, is that it receives applications from is employees. These employees are the ones who feel that they have participated well in Charity events. In the year 2006, there were about three hundred and fifty applicants interested in receiving awards. The Company then follows set criteria to determine who is most suitable for an award and in which category will that person fall under. This process is done with the assistance of experts in that area, one such example is the Charity Aid Foundation. This latter mentioned group also examines applications and gives its recommendations to M&S management concerning judgements. (Staff writer, 2007)

Such awards are a conscious effort in use by the M& S Company to ensure that its employees feel appreciated as any awards given to them are an indication that the Company recognises their efforts ad is willing to boot these efforts through awards. Employees will reciprocate this sign of care through more output in the Company.

Payroll giving Schemes – staff management

The M&S has receives awards from the charity Aid Foundation (CAF) for having payroll giving scheme in place. These awards are given to employers who engage in causes that are geared towards employee motivation and support. For an employer to qualify for an award, they need to be offering a payroll giving scheme. The first thing given to such Companies is a logo to indicate that it has implemented such a scheme. Then the company is given an award depending on the degree which it rewards its employees. This can be ranging from bronze awards. These are awards that are given to employers who pay relatively few employees using this scheme, then there are the silver and gold awards given to employers who engage slightly more than the bronze category and also for those who engage the highest percentage respectively. M& S fell in the gold category and has shown commitment towards staff management and motivation.

IT systems that protect pension scheme details

On 5th May, this year, the Company lost a laptop that had a lot of information regarding staff member’s pension scheme details, names, addresses and other personal details. This potentially put all the people who were enlisted in the laptop at risk of identity theft if a person with a hidden agenda accessed the information in the laptops. But the Mark and Spencer Company had come up with a strategy in Information Technology to protect their employees. The Company had installed passwords to protect the laptop and this meant that information could not be easily accessed without having a go ahead from relevant authorities. This simple yet effective method of protecting personal information ensured that no one faced identity theft and that they were secure. Such kind of protection by the Company contributes towards a feeling of security among employees and consequently leading to motivation.

Personal loans and other types of loans

The Company offers a number of loans for its employees towards the system. The Company offers a low interest rate on such loans for its employees. This is 8.9 % for loans that range between ten thousand and twenty thousand pounds. The firm does not charge any extra charges for the loan regardless of time. This is a relatively fair deal for its employees because most people complain of spending most of their time and resources towards servicing the loan rather than clearing the whole debt. M& S recognises this inadequacy in loaning systems and solves it by providing affordable cover. (Berry, 2007)

The Company has also instituted a number of buying plans for employees who are need of purchasing certain items. One such example is the Car buying plan. The loan is replayed at a very low rate. This is probably because these payments can be deferred. M& S allows up to sixty percent of the loan to be differed.

There are several other types of loan schemes offered by M and S that are all designed towards ensuring that employees can plan for their future or they can implement important projects in their lives. This kind of commitment by the Company gives members of staff the feeling that they have strong back up and that the Company is committed towards their progress. Some other schemes that available in the Company include Holiday Home Safe, Fixed Rate Savings, Save and invest, Travel Money and other types of buying plans.

Provision of good pension schemes and bonuses to employees

The Company rewards its employees through bonuses after the Company has recorded a rise in profits. This was witnessed this year when the Company recorded approximately one billion in profits. The profits were an indication of the sales recorded this year and they were around eight point eight billion pounds. These profits need to be enjoyed by the members who contributed the most to its delivery, these are the employees. Mark and Spencer took a large portion of this amount and gave back to staff members. It gave them eighty million pounds in bonuses.

The bonuses will be enjoyed by all members of staff in the country. There are about seventy thousand of them. However, the Company will give different amounts to different members of staff depending on the weight of their job. For example the Chief executive is due to receive about 1.23 million pounds more that his personal salary which is close to a million pounds. What the Company is doing is not an isolated incident as it offered similar bonuses in the year 2006. Last year it gave seventy three million pounds in bonuses to its employees. (Staff writer, 2007)

M& S do not mind such generous contributions to go to their members of staff in terms of bonuses because the team has predicted increases in he profits they receive. Besides, the company’s shares have almost doubled in the Stock exchange indicating that it is in steady rise and can afford to give mouth watering schemes and bonuses to employees.

The Company has a problem when it comes to pension schemes. This is due to the fact that the Company recorded a deficit of about seven hundred and four million in 2007. This means that there must be strategies to solve the problem. The Company has put in place a scheme that allows it to deal with all the one hundred and twenty three members’ expecting pension payments from it. Members of staff normally receive a specific fraction of their salary for every year that they have worked for M & S. (Sparrow, 1994)

The company has done this through collaboration with the M & S pension scheme fund. Here, M& S gives out property to the pension scheme fund then this same property is leased back to the retailer as the company pays back the pension deficit for a period of fifteen years. This scheme will enable the pension fund to be self sufficient because if the retailer is unable to make payments, then the property is redirected to the fund. This is the breakdown of payments made by the Company with regards to pension schemes for the past two years

2006- forty million pounds in the first quarter

2007- five hundred million

Another plan which the company has implemented towards the pension scheme is through direct or indirect contribution from emeployees’ salaries. The Company has issued out three alternatives to members of the pension scheme; members could decide not to contribute any amount at all to the pension scheme and could consequently receive very low rates on their pensions, or members could give about seven percent of their salary in the next three years and lastly, members could also choose to neglect payments but they must put a limit on the level which their pensioned salaries will reach. This method of solving the pension deficit problem puts the choice in the employee’s hands. If they choose to contribute from their salaries, then they will earn more pensions in the end and if they decide not to, then the amount received will be very low.

John Lewis

Staff management at John Lewis through cooperation with staff

John Lewis most outstanding feature when it comes to employees is the fact that the Company is a worker-coop. This means that members of staff are part owners of the Company. There are set rules and principles on operation o the Company by the employee trust. There are several benefits that have resulted from such an arrangement, the first one being that employees perform to their maximum potential. This is because they will not look at consumers and buyers as a means towards an end, but they will consider them as an income source. They give them utmost attention because they realise that there are direct benefits that come from increased sales. (Guerby, 2006)

The motivating factor behind this kind of treatment is the fact that employees realise that success of the business means success for them. Other types of emeployees simply do not care because they know that whether sales are low or high, they will still get their salaries. Productivity of members in John Lewis staff is quite high because of the reasons mentioned above. This model was adapted after it had been discovered that most professional businesses that were successful were partly owned by workers, these included accounting firms, law firms, medical practitioners and others. Other benefits of co ownership include;

Standards have been raised in the retail industry because of co ownership and competition
Retailers are able to have professional autonomy
Retail workers can come together and exchange ideas on best retail practises
It places a lot of emphasis on human capital as the most vital asset thus showing that property rights theories in economics are true.

John Lewis has served as a role model in this regard for companies who plan on adopting this kind of partnership. One such example of a company is the cosmetics company and chain store Lush which is preparing to follow the JL direction. (Armitage, 2007) Most people may be misguided by the term co ownership and may mistake this to mean that decision making is slow and more emphasis is placed on sustaining the relationship of the company members rather than getting any work done. On the contrary, decision making is not delayed in the Company because the company does not have any stakeholders externally. This means that it can focus on long term decisions instead of making choices that suite the short term. (Guerby, 2006)

Pension scheme arrangements

John Lewis has some challenges in the administration of pension schemes. This is because in the year 2002, the Company had a deficit of about two hundred million. Yet at that same time the company’s assets in the pension scheme fund were about one billion yet liabilities were 0.18 billion more. The Company was however optimistic that those differences were caused by changes in market forces. (Cope, 2002)

Some of the workers in the company began registering complaints that John Lewis was focusing mostly on pension schemes as the amount that was going into the fund was rapidly increasing. However, this was not the case with bonuses. So they were requesting for more funds into the bonus schemes rather than pension. The Company decided to examine the issue and change payments because members whose ages were far from retirement preferred receiving more bonuses and fewer pensions than vice versa. The Company had close to sixty thousand emeployees under its wing. All the emeployees are considered as co owners in the Company. (Cope, 2002)

Salaries and payments to workers

JL has put in place a policy that allows employees to receive a level of performance salary plus the commercial rate that is prevalent at that time. In the year 1998, workers received a bonus of approximately two thousand pounds more than their salaries. This was a considerably good level of pay because most workers in retail worked for very long hours and earned little. This meant that the government had to chip in to be able to cover this difference in payment through income support payments. But this was not the case for JL employees who are catered to adequately. Shown below is a summary of earnings in that year

Total employees 41,100

Full-time employees 24,800

Part-time employees 16,300

Total employees, weighted for part-timers 31,000

Partnership bonus GBP 57.0 mill

Pay (before bonus) GBP 371.3 mill

In the year 2007, the Company had one fifty five million in bonuses for all its employees. This was about eighteen percent of what partners receive in their salary. This was a record increase of twenty nine percent of what partners got in the year 2006.

The Company has also instituted a mechanism for distributing profits as follows; JL removes a percent of the profits earned, this is fifteen percent of the amount earned in profit. The rest is then invested back in the business and used for operation costs or expansion processes. However, there are also net assets that are left behind and these are the one that should be allocated to shareholders.

Acceptance of critism from employees at JL

The Company has instituted a system that attempts to control how managers perform. This is done through anonymous letters that are published internally in a magazine belonging to the Company. Employees can be able to register any problems or complaints that they may have and can therefore bring about change in the Company. (Maund, 2001)

Managers themselves are required to respond to these anonymous letters in a manner that is truthful. They are also supposed to treat each member with respect regardless of their status in the Company. Such an attitude contributes towards employee satisfaction and ensures that all staff members feel like they are part of the team in spite of the amount they earn or skills they posses.

This level of transparency could be the treason why the JL partnership is quite a success at this moment. Managers who accept public scrutiny and critism ensure that they are at their best behaviour to minimise these critisms and to make a good name for themselves. Consequently, critisms raise the standard because managers know that they are subject to correction.

Consultation with staff management

John Lewis is well known for giving its staff the ability to influence decisions and actions in the company through creation of democratic bodies. One such body is the Partnership Council that is made up of all the members of staff. This body has a board and together, members have been granted the power to change management they feel unhappy with after intense consultation. This is especially due to the fact that the Partnership Council even has the mandate to vote out a Chairman. This type of management style ensures that there is accountability as managers are kept on their toes. Some administrators like Personnel director Tracey Killen have even pointed out that they have to rigorously adjust to such a method because every move they make is subject to scrutiny.

In line with this kind of attitude, John Lewis gives its line managers relative autonomy to go about its business. Most of the decisions are independent and it is only when the matter is very serious when the line managers involve the Human Resource Department. This also means that the company is not trying to create an image as being a good employer to the rest of the world or to other competitors; instead it focuses its energies on internal practices.

Other benefits offered by the Company

John Lewis caters for its partners through introduction of certain schemes designed to boost employee’s plans and ensure that they can achieve some of the goals that they have set. The first benefit is the ‘Bonus Save’ scheme. Here employees are allowed to invest some or their entire bonus as shares to the respective contributor. The maximum allowable investment is about four thousand five hundred pounds. (Faragher, 2007)

The ‘golden Jubilee trust’ is another benefit that comes with the Company. Here employees are allowed to work for any charity vent for long durations and may still be paid for the duration when they were away. The company also gives awards for participation in charity events and therefore shows care and concern towards its emeployees that establishing a sense of loyalty amongst them. ‘Once in a lifetime’- This is a trip that can be undertaken by members in the partnership who have formed a group or clubs and societies. Members who apply for funds can go to a destination of choice which they have never visited all their lives.

Incentives to retired members of the Company are also given. Here, members are given benefits even after retirement. Some incentives include access to financial loans, a monthly magazine and also a reunion lunch. Lastly, the Company allows all members of staff to ask for flexible workers hours regardless of marital or family commitments. This means that even if one does not have children or other commitments, they can be granted flexible working hours. (Faragher, 2007)

Conclusion

The two companies examined above have played their parts in providing pension benefits to their employees, engaging them in trusts and also in management styles. John Lewis is identified with a flexible management style and coop ownership. Mark and Spencer is identified with provision of good benefits to its emeployees and allowances. (Maund, 2001)

Reference:

Cope, N (2002): John Lewis weighs final salary pensions revamp; the Independent (29th April)

Guerby, L. (2006): John Lewis and school reform; Retrieved from http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/ accessed on 1st January 2008

Armitage, J. (2007): Lush to adopt John Lewis set up; retrieved from http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/ accessed on 1st January 2008

Faragher, J. (2007):  John Lewis Partnership; working in partnership; Personnel Today Magazine (17th April)

Staff writer (2007): Marks and Spencer: neat pension fund arrangement; Insurance Business Review

Berry, M. (2007): Mark and Spencer to revamp final pension scheme; retrieved from http://www2.marksandspencer.com/thecompany/mediacentre/pressreleases/2007/fin2007-01-23-00.shtml accessed on 1st January 2008

Dale, M. (2001): The Art of HRD: Developing Management Skills        , Vol. 3, Crest Publishing House, New Delhi

Sparrow, P. and Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management; Melbourne Press

Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human to Human Resource Management: Theory

And Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave

Maundy, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave

Thomson, C. and Rampton, L. (2003): Human Resource Management. Melbourne press, New York

Sparrow, P. and Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management in

Transition: Prentice Hall, New York

Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory And Practice: Palgrave, Macmillan,

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Plan for recovery with debt management services

Posted on 26th November 2010 in Debt Management
Debt management
by Renegade98

Plan for recovery with debt management services

As Winston Churchill said during World War II, “he who fails to plan, is planning to fail.” He was absolutely 100% correct, especially when it comes to managing debt and navigating tricky or hazardous financial waters. Without clear, informed, impartial and experienced debt advice and debt management plans, carefully considered and put together by a debt management company who knows what they’re doing, you could be in trouble. Anyone in the unfortunate position of being in debt could easily end up finding themselves in more unnecessary bother if they ‘fail to plan’.

Of course even to get to the stage of seeking debt management services needs the realisation that there is a problem that needs solving. All too often people or organisations who are running at a loss and sinking ever deeper into the red are reluctant to face up to the realities of their situation. It’s all too common to simply ignore the signs, however clear they are and just wish things better. To trust that there will be an upturn. Unfortunately though, things rarely sort themselves out. Extracting yourself from the financial mire needs a lot of hard work, clear planning, the support of your creditors and more often than not the guidance and debt advice of a suitably skilled debt management company to pull it all together.

Debt management services come in many shapes and sizes. You don’t have to look too hard to find a whole host of different organisations peddling their wares. A quick Google search on anything from debt management or debt management services will quickly turn up hundreds of different options all likely proclaiming to be the easiest and the best.

Perhaps the smartest advice when seeking help is to make sure that you identify a company that offers free, impartial and experienced professional advice. Look for a partner who won’t charge you for their input and has no bias when it comes to making recommendations. That way you can be confident that you really are getting a solution that suits you and your specific requirements, not their quotas or other hidden agenda.

Plan to recover from your debt dilemma by working with a company you can trust

The Debt Advice Trust has been created to help people in serious debt get good, honest, impartial advice. It is an organisation having debt management specialist providing debt help and bankruptcy advice.


Article from articlesbase.com

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Get To Know the Difference between Management Accounting and Financial Accounting

Posted on 27th October 2010 in Financial Accounting
Financial Accounting
by alancleaver_2000

Get To Know the Difference between Management Accounting and Financial Accounting

Financial accountancy is a domain of accountancy concerned with the preparation of financial statements for decision makers, such as stockholders, suppliers, banks, employees, government agencies, owners, and other stakeholders. Financial accountants are required to measure and monitor agents’ performance and reporting the results to decision makers.

Financial Accountants prepare accounting information for people outside the organization or not involved in the day to day running of the company; whereas, management accounting provides accounting information to help managers decide how to manage the business.

Financial Accounting can be defined as a process of summarizing financial data taken from an organization’s accounting records and publishing in the form of annual reports for the benefit of people outside the organization. This stream of accountancy is governed by both local and international accounting standards.

Management accounting and financial accounting are the two main branches of accounting in general. Any data related to events, transactions and activities within an organization form the common and principal source of information for management and financial accounting.

Some of the differences between Financial Accounting and Management accounting are:

Financial Accounting presents the financial position of an organization and provides information related to revenue generation or profits to stakeholders. The focus is mainly on external information users such as primarily regulators, government and owners. On the other hand, Management accounting focuses on internal financial information, with reports prepared for internal managers, who use it to aid and facilitate planning, decision-making and control.

 

Management accounting is used by an organization’s managers. External stakeholders do not even view management accounts. The reason being, there is no legal requirement for any organization to prepare management accounts.

Financial reports are for external users so financial reports must adhere to International Financial Reporting Standards and International Accounting Standards. So, the financial reports are standardized while management accounting formats and systems vary among and within organizations.

Management accounting has narrower focus than financial accounting.  The focus is much more specific, as it deals with particular activities, sections or departments. Moreover, financial reports usually deals only with financial information whereas management accounts incorporate both monetary and non-monetary measures, i.e. financial and non-financial information.

These are some of the differences between financial accounting and management accounting.

For more information regarding: financial accountants, financial accountancy and find an accountant. Please visit: http://www.accountant-search.com

Financial Accounting ACG2021 SFCC Spring 2008 Chapter 1 Crosson

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