Learning the very basics of accounting in my very first accounting class. a
There, I learned the main "branches" of accounting; financial, cost,
government, audit and managerial. a I also seem to recall that even though the
main branches may have many distinguishable differences, they work
collaboratively as well. a While managerial accounting mainly tailors reporting
to internal requestors, financial reporting has more strict protocols for
preparation as these are used largely for external requestors (stockholders,
government reporting, etc.). a
In my opinion, an advantage of allowing an accountant to have input in the
design and production of managerial reports would be because they know
what the outcome of the reports should be. a Simply put, information systems
specialists may know how to write programming codes to tell the numbers and
things where to go in the computer, but they more than likely don't know how
the reports will be used by their intended readers, and that's where accountants
come in. a Now, a disadvantage would be that the time an accountant spends
aiding the information systems specialists is less time they have to spend on
the compliance side; the financial reporting that accountants are typically
known for. a However, the time expenditure should be a one time thing, or
maybe even an every two-five year thing. a It shouldn't be a monthly, quarterly,
or even yearly thing because typically the design of the report isn't changing
that frequently. a I think the extent to which accountants should be involved in
producing reports that include more than just financial measures of
performance differs based upon the knowledge of each the accountant and the
information systems specialist about the other "side of the coin". For example,
if the systems specialist also has some accounting knowledge or has worked
closely with other accountants in the past, then they may not require as much
assistance. a Or if it's a brand new report or an especially detailed report, then
more input from the accountants may be warranted.
I am seeing this play out first hand in my current position. a My department
handles all of the fixed assets for Tyson Foods. a We are only a 7 person team
too! All buildings, land, vehicles, machinery and equipment, aircraft, land
improvements, etc. a We have certain protocols for requesting capital
investments and there are various approval thresholds. a We also handle
disposals, accidents such as fires/tornadoes/insurance replacements, etc. a Also,
any mergers or acquisitions; if they come with assets, we have to get those into
our system. a I specifically handle the reporting for tax purposes on fixed assets;
essentially depreciation (current and projected), gains and losses from any
sales or disposals, etc. a Anyway, the director of my department has been
involved with a systems specialist firm for weeks (hours and hours worth of
meetings per week) to help design and communicate our reporting needs
because we are about to roll out a new capital investment request program and
a fixed asset reporting program. a So, from my vantage point, this is first hand
example of an advantage in allowing an accountant to have a 'seat at the table'
in designing what they'll ultimately be using. The time my boss has spent
working on this project hasn't alleviated his typical job duties either. a Tyson
just completed their fiscal year end and there are lots of reporting requirements
from our group to close the fixed asset books and also tax reporting. a It's been a
stressful couple of months for my boss, but once the design and rollout phase
are done, the demand on his time will return to normal. a So again, from my
vantage point, this is a disadvantage of allowing an accountant to help in the
design phase. a From my opinion, and my boss' opinion, the end will justify the
means and the extra hours put in during this phase will pay off exponentially
once complete. He's also hoping for a smoother transition between systems
and an easier preparation time for all since it was essentially tailored to our
needs. a
References
Romney, Marshall, B. et al. Accounting Information Systems. Available from:
MBS Direct, (15th Edition). Pearson Education (US), 2020.
