Implications For Performance Management （一）

ACCA P5考试：Implications For Performance Management （一）

1 Instant Access

1.1 Background

Before IT systems, management information was provided almost exclusively by management accountants. There would often be a delay of several days between the end of an accounting period and the availability of such information.

With modern IT systems, such as ERP systems, managers can access the information they need, often on a real-time basis, from the system.

Managers often prepare their own reports using reporting packages that integrate the databases in which the company-wide data is stored.

1.2 Impact on Business Performance

< Management can respond more quickly to customers' needs, since they will have more up-to-date information. This should lead to greater customer satisfaction and ultimately higher sales.

< Comparison of actual performance against budget can take place much more frequently, and control action taken to react to any deviations.

< Management can control inventory levels more effectively since they have up-to-date information about these. This leads to cost savings.

2 Remote Input of Data

Traditionally, management accountants would have sole responsibility for the management accounting system. This would include performing routine tasks such as inputting the raw data into the system.

Modern company-wide IT systems mean that much of the management accounting data input can be performed automatically by operations staff or even customers. Consider, for example, buying an air ticket on the Internet. The customers book their own ticket, which automatically places a reservation in the reservation system, and records a sale in the accounting system. All of this takes place without any members of staff becoming involved.

Other examples of remote data input include:

Sales staff entering sales orders into the system remotely, using laptop computers.

The use of EPOS (Electronic point-of-sales systems) in stores to enter sales automatically using bar codes.

Perpetual inventory systems in which inventory movements are entered into the system in the warehouse when the goods arrive or leave.*

This means that management accountants do not have to spend time doing such routing tasks, and can focus on more value added activities such as appropriate analysis of the data to provide meaningful information to management.