Accounting Software For Telstra Corporation: Features And Benefits

Introduction to Accounting Software and its Benefits

Accounting Software refers to different types of accounting applications that can help the companies in recording analysing and processing their accounting data. They include various accounting modules like accounts payable, accounts receivable, journals, payroll, trial balance etc. They help in reducing the time and effort that is required in manual work and helps in making the work easy and fast. There are various ways in which the companies can get them customized as per their own needs and as per their own requirements. They need to have experts who can properly use this software and hence the cost of training also increases (Alexander, 2016). There are various types of different accounting software available in the market and that varies from different formats to prices. Companies can choose whichever they feasible based on what kind of data they had. Multinational companies that are having large volumes of data often goes for software like QuickBooks that can help them in handling large amount of data separately and singlehandedly. Companies that are small and mid-sized often goes for software that are medium sized like MYOB and XERO and thus that reflects that cost in these cases are less. Companies can also get one accounting software for a single function like only for inventory and accounts receivable and thus the company has that also. In this assignment we will discuss about an Australian Company and the kind of accounting software that would be useful for them as per their own needs (Bromwich & Scapens, 2016).

The company that has been selected for this assignment is Telstra Corporation. Telstra is one of the biggest telecommunication companies in Australia. The company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and the overall revenue of the company runs into millions. The company started its operations in Australia in 1975 and builds and operates telecommunication lines that includes market voices, internet access, pay television etc. The company also deals in retail business providing mobile phones, electronic gadgets and other consumer electrical objects. It was started as a government company but now the company is getting fully privatized and focusing more on the customers (Choy, 2018). In the recent years the company has expanded a lot and is now focusing on going the digital ways as more and more people are getting attracted to that. Telstra Digital was farmed in 2011, after there was a boom of the internet in those times. The major factor that affects the company and their operations in case of digitalization is the kind of software that the company is using for managing its operations.

The business model of Telstra is such that it carters to both consumers and other business. So, there is a multilevel business operation that moves from business to consumers and business to business. So, in this case the main aim is to make sure that there is a balance between these operations and the company is level of operate both at retail consumer level and other business level. In case of retail consumer level, the business will provide products and services like mobile phones, tablets, mobile broadbands, smart home, telecommunication and DTH connections. In case of small business services, the company provide services like website ecommerce services, tablets, broadband etc (DeZoort & Harrison, 2016). And in case of large business the company provide services like cloud computing, collaborations, Network connections, customer contact etc. So, we see that different levels the company is providing different kind of services and hence they need different kind of software that can help them in managing these business operations. For larger companies like Telstra the main aim of the companies are to manage their data and keep a record for that, given the fact that they have variety of information and the level of data is also huge, hence it becomes difficult to manage it at a manual level (Farmer, 2018). This is a point of concern for the companies as there are chances of errors if they are done on a manual level and it also takes a lot of time. But with change in technologies, these business operations have become easy as there are variety of software that can help in data management and data processing and that would also be in turn useful for the companies. Thus, the major business requirements would be –

• To manage the overall inventory related data with respect to the electronic products like mobile phones, telecommunication channels etc.
• To manage the accounts receivable and accounts payable and their overall accounting.
• The company has taken loans from various sources to support their areas of expansion and hence that is also a big point of concern for the company to account for.
• To manage the flow of date to date data and operations and maintaining a trail that is clearly available as and when the organization would need.

Overview of Telstra Corporation

The key outcomes that would be achieved from these processes by the client would be inclusive of many things like-

• Reduction in the total time for manual management of data and that would in term help in reducing the overall cost of the company.
• Better and more transparent accountability of operations of the company from all its sources.
• Better management on part of the company as better data analysis can be done and that would help in keeping a trail on part of the management and provide them with daily analysis of data and daily flow of operations can be studied(Goldmann, 2016).

There are variety of IT software that are available in the market and they are providing variety of data services to the clients as per their needs. Given the variety available in the market the company needs to analyse what are the specific features that they would require in their IT software and how will that carter to the needs of their business (Heminway, 2017). In case of Telstra since there are a dual model business, the kind of features that the software would require will include the following-

• Reporting and Analysis – Information in today’s world are challenging business environment. It is important that companies must have reporting and analysis capabilities. It is important that users should be able to get insight into the crucial aspects of the business. Reporting and analysis also helps in getting compliant with the regulatory needs of the management.
• Graphics – Accounting is based on numbers. Hence it is extremely important that there should be a robust interface in the form of trends and charts that would help in better data analysis. It is important that these interfaces should be updated as per the needs of the company and management. This is also an extremely important feature.
• Automation – In case of large organizations having basic financial analytics features is not enough. Thus, what is important is that there should be more advanced features of technological updating that would help in automatic updating in term of employee expenses, time sheets, payrolls etc. It is also important that this software should be automatically updated, the companies should not be using out-of-date software(Kangarluie & Aalizadeh, 2017).
• Interoperability- It is one of the most crucial features that the company need to have, the data entered accounting software can be used by various departments like HR, sales, marketing etc. Not just between the departments they should be interoperable between the other software that the company is using. This helps in making multiple users accessible to the software that is used by the company.
• Security – This is the most important feature that any accounting software should have, it is very important that companies should be able to keep the data safe that the companies are entering into the system. It is the crucial data for the company must be kept secure and there are many ways in which the companies can hack these data and thus it is important that information should be kept secure(Knechel & Salterio, 2016).

There are various types of software that are available in the market. Companies can choose from variety of software as they have variety of features and variety of functions that they provide the organizations. It is very important that companies should analyse what are the features that they require in their accounting software and that would carter to their services.   A brief description of three of those software has been provided below:

SAP – SAP is an enterprise resource planning software and helps in managing the key business operations of an organization. It is a system application that helps in data processing for the company. It is one of the largest accounting software that can be used for variety of services and helps in providing end to end solutions for the company in terms of financials, manufacturing, logistics and distribution (Linden & Freeman, 2017). All the modules in the SAP are integrated with other modules. They are mostly preferred by large organization as they have large amount of data to manage and report for. The software is mostly very expensive and companies find it difficult to afford and customize the same as per their own needs.

MYOB – It is an integrated business software that is mostly used for inventory management for the company. It is also used for other features like payroll, GST, cashflow etc. They help in data management for the companies and mostly SMEs.  They are available on monthly subscription basis and companies can take care of that, instead of investing their finances in many expensive accounting software for the companies. Thus, it is mostly suited for small companies. Cost wise the software is mediumly priced and can be used for decent data management for the companies on all pretext (Saeidi, 2012).

XERO – Xero offers accounting services for small and medium sized companies. It is a clod based computing software for the companies and helps them in integrating basic accounting services with one another. It has been originated by a New Zealand company and is used mostly for inventory management or like that single functions for the company. It helps in managing the number seamlessly for the companies and is flexible and easy to use. It cannot be used by large organization as the accounting software does not include services like interoperability and accessibility and that affects large organization. Cost wise Xero is cheap in cost and highly affordable.

Business Model of Telstra Corporation and its Software Requirements

Based on these features that this software is having, the aim of the company should be to choose the best one and they should analyse the same before investing in that. Companies can also take help from experts who can provide them with the necessary data and information that they require and help them in choosing the software as per their budget and needs. Telstra as a company is a large sized company and there are various requirements of the company that is important that the software should suffice to and for that it was important to analyse all this software separately and take decision accordingly (Sithole, et al., 2017).

The best kind of software that would be suitable to the company would include features like end to end services, interoperability, management of large amount of data for the company. It should be suitable enough to manage large amount of data and should be able to satisfy the needs of the company and reduce the manual efforts that the company must put in. Thus, given all that conditions it is important that Telstra should choose high end accounting software, there will be one-time investment but the overall benefits that the company would get would be worth for the company. Small and medium end software will not be able to meet the needs of the company and will not be able to suffice the company with better opportunities.

Difference between the various accounting software that has been stated above:

Among all the accounting software that the company can choose from and that has been analysed above, the best software would be SAP. SAP has unique features that would be useful for a large corporation like Telstra in every way. It provides end to end services to the company in terms of data management and that is not what all other software can provide. The initial investment on part of the company might be high but the overall results would be beneficial. Telstra as a company is having a dual business structure and thus they need such software that suffice both to the retailers and normal businesses. Being a public listed company, it is important that the accounts of the company are properly maintained and there should be no errors. Going the automation way would help Telstra in many ways. SAP can easily be updated automatically, so if there is one change in the system that would be reflected automatically and the company would not have to make changes again and again separately. From the view point of the user of the financial statements and the accountants who are working with the company, this software helps in data management and data analysis (Trieu, 2017). It provides timely analysis in form of charts and graphs and management can see through and analyse what are the areas in which they need to make any changes. The company need to provide adequate training to the staff so that they can use this software and the security should be check as that is also a very important feature for the company. Other software like XERO, MYOB did not carters to the overall needs of the company, they can be purchased for some specific functions but in that case the investment would be more and the management might also lose on to the trail of information that they need to maintain. They cannot buy different software for different departments. Hence having one enterprise resource software with the requisite features of data management and data analytics is best suited for the company from the investment point of view. And hence Telstra should invest in SAP for their overall functions and needs.

Conclusion

Based on the overall analysis of the accounting software it can be said that there are variety of them in the market but companies should always think about their needs before making any investment. A company does not change software every year hence since it is a crucial part of the functioning of the company care should be taken to ensure that there are no loopholes in its selection. It helps in reducing the manual work, saves time and effort and provide proper trail of all the activities that the company do with regards to data management. Data is the most important asset of the company and thus proper analysis should be there. Companies can always take help from experts as and when needed and they would always suggest the best investment that the company should make based on their knowledge. Accounting software helps in making the work of the accountants easy and thus they should also be provided with necessary trainings. Timely software updates should be there so that the software does not become redundant and non-useable.  Telstra should see all these requirements and based on that SAP is the best software for the firm and that has been stated above.

References

Alexander, F., 2016. The Changing Face of Accountability. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(4), pp. 411-431.

Bromwich, M. & Scapens, R., 2016. Management Accounting Research: 25 years on. Management Accounting Research, Volume 31, pp. 1-9.

Choy, Y. K., 2018. Cost-benefit Analysis, Values, Wellbeing and Ethics: An Indigenous Worldview Analysis. Ecological Economics, p. 145.

DeZoort, F. & Harrison, P., 2016. Understanding Auditors sense of Responsibility for detecting fraud within organization. Journal of Business Ethics, pp. 1-18.

Farmer, Y., 2018. Ethical Decision Making and Reputation Management in Public Relations. Journal of Media Ethics, 33(1), pp. 1-12.

Goldmann, K., 2016. Financial Liquidity and Profitability Management in Practice of Polish Business. Financial Environment and Business Development, Volume 4, pp. 103-112.

Heminway, J., 2017. Shareholder Wealth Maximization as a Function of Statutes, Decisional Law, and Organic Documents. SSRN, pp. 1-35.

Kangarluie, S. & Aalizadeh, A., 2017. ‘The expectation gap in auditing. Accounting, 3(1), pp. 19-22.

Knechel, W. & Salterio, S., 2016. Auditing:Assurance and Risk. fourth ed. New York: Routledge.

Linden, B. & Freeman, R., 2017. Profit and Other Values: Thick Evaluation in Decision Making. Business Ethics Quarterly, 27(3), pp. 353-379.

Saeidi, F., 2012. Audit expectations gap and corporate fraud: Empirical evidence from Iran. African Journal of Business Management, 6(23), pp. 7031-41.

Sithole, S., Chandler, P., Abeysekera, I. & Paas, F., 2017. Benefits of guided self-management of attention on learning accounting. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(2), p. 220.

Sonu, C., Ahn, H. & Choi, A., 2017. Audit fee pressure and audit risk: evidence from the financial crisis of 2008. Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics , 24(1-2), pp. 127-144.

Trieu, V., 2017. Getting value from Business Intelligence systems: A review and research agenda. Decision Support Systems, 93(1), pp. 111-124.

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