1.0 Title
The working title of this research is initially drafted as – An Investigation on the Efficacy of Financial and Accounting Software Tools: Technical Analysis Software, Straight Thought Processing and Microsoft Office Accounting
2.0 Background of the Study
Recent changes proved that technology played a greater role in doing financial and accounting commerce. The application of software tools encompasses treasury functions such as cash management, investment and debt management and financial risk management; the financial supply chain including management of financial functions across the enterprise for cash management and cost reductions; and the general controlling of accounting processes such as consolidation, planning and budgeting and report generation. The primary advantage of these web-based tools is the access to real-time information which aids decision-making.
The challenge for the continuously expanding finance industry lies in the deployment of open systems and maximising the potential of intranet/Internet-based computing. The purpose of such endeavor is to ensure that company’s vital financial and analytical information is readily and constantly available. There are two categories of financial and accounting support tools: core and functional analytics. Core analytics include tools intended fro optimization, statistical analysis and mathematics whereas functional analytics purport on analytics for fixed income, equity, derivatives, portfolio optimization, risk management and foreign exchange.
For the financial services industry, managing the finances for individuals, groups and organisations can be daunting and tedious but the computerised financial system should ease the task. There are financial and accounting softwares readily available in the market and prices conform to pecuniary capabilities of the companies. The Technical Analysis Software and the Straight Thought Processing are examples of financial software tools and the Microsoft Office Accounting is basically accounting software. Financial softwares are intended for business process interoperability while accounting softwares are for accounting information system.
The Technical Analysis Software automates functions of charting, analysis and reporting to support technical analysts in their review and prediction of financial markets. The features of this software includes charting, back testing, optimisation, scanner, alerts, custom indicators, data feed and broker interface. Such software is available in the form of commercial or open source software which could be available on a computer or suitable mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA).
Straight Thought Processing (STP), on the other hand, enables the electronic conduct of the entire trade process for capital markets and payment transactions minus the need to re-key or for manual intervention. STP supports the goal to minimise settlement risk for the execution of a trade for its settlement and clearing to eventually occur on a just-in-time basis. The profound benefits of STP when fully realised will be on providing asset managers, brokers/dealers, custodians, banks and other financial services players to shortened processing cycles, reduced settlement risks and lower operating costs.
Developed by Microsoft, this accounting software is a complete accounting solution for small businesses as it save time in managing the daily tasks, get organised and provide opportunities for growing the business online. Equipped with business templates, Microsoft Office Accounting provide real-time insight to the business including bank account balances, important reminders and accounts receivable and payable.
Nonetheless, professionals who seek software tools to perform financial services faced a mixed market with several options. Software development brings incremental improvements in terms of speed and functionality. However, none of the existing financial software packages has gained enough dominance when it comes to consolidating the financial market. These financial software tools too allow insights into nooks and crannies of the organisations implementing such. For this reason, financial software applications should be critically evaluated to determine where along the technological continuum they lie.
3.0 Statement of the Problem
The issue that the study will focus on is the extent of effectiveness of these financial and accounting softwares. How these software can add value to the organisations and how their functionality contribute to the optimisation of financial and accounting processes will be investigated. The research will answer the following specific questions:
1) What are the basic functions and features of these software tools?
2) In what specific ways do these software tools assist in accomplishing business processes?
3) What are the benefits and detriments of these software tools?
4) How do they contribute to the economic growth of the companies?
5) How important are software tools to the companies?
6) What are the limitations of these software tools?
4.0 Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is to draw evaluative conclusions on the level of efficacy that the software tools provide for the business. The following specific objectives will be addressed:
1) To determine the value-adding attributes of the software tools to the financial services industry
2) To outline the benefits and drawbacks of the software tools that affects how companies/firms/organisations conduct their business
3) To investigate how these software tools provide quality to the business conduct and therefore to the success of the business
4) To outline the parameters of effectiveness of the software tools
5) To increase the overall understanding in the current software utilisation trend and to build theories on how companies/firms/organisations could maximise the potential
5.0 Literature Review
A literature review will be provided in the actual study, which will be put in the second chapter. The study will review documents – published and unpublished – and present related literatures. This will include literatures from and other proponents of financial and accounting software tools as a mean to optimise business endeavors. Literatures about the financial and accounting industry will also be reviewed as well as literatures that depict or reject the importance of software tools in doing business.
For the purpose of providing the readers to obtain references about the different concepts and elements used in the study, literatures will be reviewed to increase the knowledge about the topic and to help in the analysis of data. Literatures will be acquired from online journal databases such as . Initially, several related literatures have already been researched for this study.
(n.d.) present the impact of recent technology trends on how firm approach their financial and accounting. They also discussed the analytics applications and the role of software tools.
The second book which will be of immense significance is that of (2001) entitled describe proven strategies for establishing the thriving virtual accounting practice and presents in-depth coverage of the several accounting and consulting services offered by accountants over the Internet.
will be the third book to be used to draw insights from. Written by in 1998, the book discloses the calculus of IT in support of the banking, securities and insurance industries. The problem-oriented book which is taken from both technology and business perspective also presents challenges and solutions associated with the financial industry.
6.0 Research Plan
Research Perspective
According to (2003), research perspectives usually consist of three parts, the perspective of the positivist, interpretivist and the realist approaches. In my research I will be using the Interpretivist approach, (in between the continuum), as my research is exploratory, wherein, I will be exploring the degree to which the software tools identified could generally improve the accounting and financial processes of organisations. On the other hand, how and why these companies rely on these software tools to contribute to their business will be also explored. Thereby, using an Inductive approach to form a theory as to why and how companies resort to software tools utilisation towards the improvement of internal processes.
Research Strategy
The research approach is exploratory as it intends to explore and compare the effectiveness of the software tools to the advantage of the companies that are currently using it. This approach is a preferred mean of finding out “what is happening to seek new insights” or “to ask questions or to assess phenomena in a new light” ( 2003). This study will use the principal ways of conducting exploratory research, which include: literature search; talking to experts about the subject; and conducting focus group interview.
Research Design
My research will operate within the Cross-Sectional Design, as I will be collecting data on more than one case, using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, structured observation, and document analysis. The benefit of this would be that Ì would be able to focus on the breath and depth of the research. Moreover, by exploring the breath of the topic, I am increasing my validity and the truthfulness of my research, and thereby minimize the confounding variables.
Data Collection
The research will utilise both primary and secondary research. In primary research, the study will survey employees of five organisations which are currently using the software tools as well as interviews on experts. A structured questionnaire will be developed and it will be used as the survey tool for the study. It is planned that the questionnaire will have a 5 point Likert Scale, as well as ranking, probing and hypothetical questions.
A secondary research will also be conducted in the study. Sources in secondary research will include previous research reports, newspaper, magazine and journal content. Existing findings on journals and existing knowledge on books will be used as secondary research. The interpretation will be conducted which can account as qualitative in nature.
Sampling Strategy
The sampling will be on two stages: first for the organisation and second for the financial and accounting personnels. The first sampling technique to be used is the purposive sampling. This non-probability sampling refers to sampling with specific criteria in mind. As such, the study will sample five organisations which are currently using financial or accounting software. The software tools they are using should be Technical Analysis Software, Straight Thought Processing and/or Microsoft Office Accounting. In the second stage, the employees will be sampled through a simple random sampling. 300 questionnaires must be accomplished with the hope that 50% will be returned.
Analysis and Presentation of Data
The secondary data will be analysed through qualitative analysis. The primary data, on the other hand, will be analysed using the frequency analysis with the following formula:
1. Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire.
n
% = ——– x 100 ; n – number of responses
N N – total number of respondents
2. Weighted Mean
f1x1 + f2x2 + f3x3 + f4x4 + f5x5
x= ——————————————— ;
xt
where: f – weight given to each response
x – number of responses
xt – total number of responses
The dissertation will be presented in written form with the addition of data charts which will present the project’s results. Pie charts and network charts will be needed to illustrate some of the analyzed data. This cannot be confirmed, however, until the research data have been analyzed.
7.0 References
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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