One of the roles a company's accountant plays is that of chief
financial organizer and reporter. The duties performed by the
accountant are multi-faceted. They and other system users play a
significant role in the data processing cycle. In their interactions with
system analysts, they are relied upon to answer questions such as:
what data should be entered and stored by the company, who should
have access to such data, how should the data be organized, updated,
stored, accessed and retrieved (Romney et al, 2021).
Managerial accounting is the practice of identifying, measuring,
analyzing, interpreting and communicating financial information to
managers to be used in decision-making with the objective of
achieving organizational goals (Ross Sean, 2021). Managerial reports
are made up of collections of data, used by the company's accountant
to create detailed information regarding the company's operations
(Wikiaccounting, 2022). This information is used internally by
company management in the decision-making process.
Advantage and Disadvantage to argument
Just as how the accountant's duties are multi-faceted, so is the
accounting discipline. Therefore, a company may be at a disadvantage
should it decide to follow the argument that accountants should
focus on producing financial statements and leave this responsibility
to the information system specialist. Designing and producing
managerial reports are within the job responsibility of the accountant,
specifically those of the managerial accountant. The information
system specialist though necessary, possesses skills in the designing
and developing of databases for the storing of large quantities of
data, designing and developing of computer networks, hardware &
software components to meet a company's specific needs
(Climbtheladder, 2022). Although the accountant and system
specialist work together they, however, have distinct responsibilities
and perform different duties. Based on what managerial reporting
entails and the area of expertise involved in the design and
production of these reports, it is difficult to identify advantages that
would result from the accountant not being involved in the process.
The accountant is after all the expert that drives the process that
produces these reports.
Extent of the Accountant's involvement in the process
Accountants should not only focus on producing financial
information, which objective is for external purposes by informing
external users such as investors, creditors, shareholders and
regulators on the company's performance and compliance. They
should also focus on designing and producing managerial reports
which are used internally in assisting management in its decision-
making process and essential to the company's organizational
strategy (Wikiaccounting, 2022). Designing and producing reports to
support the company's routine operations is the responsibility of the
company's accountant, especially the managerial accountant.
Although managerial report is not similar to financial reports, it
contains some financial information which is used in the preparation
of the company's financial reports (Wikiaccounting, 2022). This
further supports why the accountant should focus on managerial
reporting as well as on financial reporting.
Reference
Career Insights, 2021, What does an information Specialist Do? -
Information Systems Specialist Job Description: Salary, Duties, &
More - CLIMB (climbtheladder.com)
Romney B.M, Steinbart J.P, Summers L.S, Wood A.D, (2021),
Accounting Information Systems - 15th Edition
Ross Sean, (2021), How Financial Accounting Differs from Managerial
Accounting - Financial Accounting vs. Managerial Accounting
(investopedia.com)
Wikiaccounting, (2022), What is managerial Reporting - What is a
Managerial Report? Definition, Purpose, and Key Points to include -
Wikiaccounting
