Accounting Information System

Requirement

Accounting information system - BUSINESS REPORT

Executive summary:

Every business needs to have a well-defined sales process. The current report deals with analysis on the existing sales process of Bucks Phyz and recognizing its weaknesses. The analysis indicates Bucks Phyz has a number of problems including lack of prioritized work schedule, consistent performance appraisal system, and training programs. The problems can be mitigated using project management tools for work prioritization; web based training programs and dedicated software for performance appraisal. Bucks management wants to launch corporate credit cards for small purchases. The benefits and risks of corporate credit cards are also identified in this report. The analysis on corporate credit cards indicates that the risks can be mitigated if the trained procurement managers use it for limited number of transactions. 

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Introduction:

Sales process is one of the most critical activities for an organization. For every organization, having a structured sales process is necessary for meeting the business objectives. The current report deals with analysis of the sales process of Bucks Phyz , identification of weaknesses, risks and control measures. The impacts of introducing corporate credit cards for purchasing on Bucks Phyz are also included in this report.

The sales process for Bucks Phyz:

The sales process in Bucks Phyz starts with evaluating the sales situation. Market evaluation helps an organization to set realistic goals (Agnihotri et al. 2016). On basis of the analysis, separate goals for every individual members of the sales team are developed. Once members of the team start working to achieve the targets, their performance is monitored and reviewed once in a year. Feedbacks are also collected from the sales personnel to identify issues, they are encountering. The Bucks Phyz management emphasizes on motivating the sales people in several ways. Use of incentives is one of the techniques that the management uses heavily for motivates the employees (Rodriguez et al.2015).

Identification of internal control weaknesses, risks and corrective measures:

Although Bucks Phyz has an efficient sales team, it has a number of internal control issues within the sales process. The internal control weaknesses of the sales process are impacting Bucks Phyz to a great extent. An accounting information system (AIS) integrates employees of all levels of the organization. AIS enhance visibility of the sales reports, customer accounts and the performance of sales teams. It also facilitates the organization to use innovative procedures. So, implementing AIS is effective for bucks to cope with its problems. 
The weaknesses, the associated risks and the control measures of Bucks Phyz currently have, are listed below –

  1.     Internal control Weaknesses 

  2.       Risks           

  3.      Corrective Measures

Lack of prioritization of the sellers’ activities: A sales personnel has to carry out a number of activities including following up the existing customer accounts, finding out new customer accounts, analyzing requirements of the customers and provided them with the required products (Katsikea & Skarmeas, 2015). Introducing new products and services to the customers, finding out cross-selling opportunities and new sales channels are also carried out by the sales people. Each of the functions that a sales person does is essential for meeting targets of the individual. Hence, these activities are needed for achieving the organizational goals also. However, performing several duties can overwhelm the sales people and restrict them from performing every task with equal efficiency (Cuevas et al. 2015). Therefore, it is necessary to prioritize the tasks of sales team members so that they can concentrate on all of those equally.
Difficulties to attain goals due to unstructured work schedule: The sales people have to execute various types of tasks at a time. If the tasks are not prioritized the sales persons can face issues to meet their goals (Spillecke & Brettel, 2017). As the goals of an organization depend heavily on the performance of sales team, failure of the sales professionals is harmful for the organization also.
Implementing opportunity scoring framework using project management tool to prioritize activities of sales team: A scoring framework is effective to understand importance of a specific task by assigning it a score (Wotruba & Simpson, 2015). The Bucks management can use this approach to identify the importance of every task carried out by the sales team and can prioritize them accordingly. Use of project management tool makes analyzing the tasks easier and helps in accurate prioritization. So, The management can use project management tool for this purpose.
Lack of regular checkpoints to evaluate performance of sales people:
The performance of the sales people of Bucks Phyz is monitored once in a year. A yearly performance appraisal keeps the task simpler for sales managers, but it also prevents them to identifying the issues early and taking actions necessarily (Cummins et al.2016). Therefore, the management needs to focus on evaluating the performance of sales team more frequently. Frequent performance reviews create extra burden for the sales personnel but the regular performance appraisal also helps them to identify the problems on time and take corrective actions accordingly (Johnston & Marshall, 2016).
Failure to take corrective actions on time due to lack of frequent performance appraisals: 
The performance of sales team needs to be monitored frequently so that any issue can be determined as soon as they occur. Taking immediate corrective actions for a particular issue is not possible in case of yearly performance reviews (Spillecke & Brettel, 2017). As the problems are not fixed on time so they can cause serious threat for the organization later and prevent the organization from attaining its goals.
Using 360 degree feedback surveys and software to evaluate day-to-day activities of sales team:
360 degree evaluation helps organization to involve all parties that an employee handles, in the appraisal process (Katsikea & Skarmeas, 2015). The Bucks management can use this approach for getting a holistic idea on the qualities of a sales professional. The performance appraisal software is effective to analyze everyday performances of the employees (Agnihotri et al. 2016). The bucks management can also use the software to get a deeper insight of the performance of their sales team.
Absence of structured training programs:
Structured coaching programs are critical for an effective sales process (Cuevas et al. 2015). Training programs help the sales people to develop new skills and improve their performance. Training also helps the sales people to stay aware of the latest trends and technologies. Currently, the sales managers are in Bucks Phyz are responsible for identifying the training needs of people in their teams. However, lack of structured training process often a leads to inconsistent coaching. As a result, the sales people cannot attain the desired performance level.
Failure to boost performance of sales team due to lack of structured training program:
The sales trend change quite frequently. The sales persons need to use new techniques for finding out new business opportunities (Spillecke & Brettel, 2017). Due to lack of structured training programs, the members of sales teams of Bucks do not get chance to improve their skills. As an effect, the organization may lose its future business opportunities also.
Web-based trainings tools for training the sales teams:
Web-based training tools help an organization to run training programs consistently (Johnston & Marshall, 2016). The Bucks management can use web-based training programs to improve skills of all salespersons.
                                                                        Table 1: Internal control weaknesses, risks and control measures for sales process
Impact of introducing corporate credit card:
The corporate credit cards come with many benefits when used properly. However, misuse of the cards can pose serious threats for the organization also. This section of the report deals with analysis on the corporate credit cards and identification of the benefits and risks associated with these cards.

Benefits of using corporate credit card:

The benefits of corporate credit cards are as follow:

  • Cash benefits: The most prominent benefit of corporate credit cards is the cash rebates. Due to use of credit cards, the businesses obtain a rebate on their yearly purchases which is not possible in any other purchasing method (Bryan, 2014).

  • Better spend analysis: Use of credit cards help businesses to analyze their spending (Daly et al.2017). As an effect, the businesses can use their financial resources in a better way and gain more control over the expenditure.

  • Eliminating expenditure frauds: The expenditure frauds, if not prevented, can cause significant financial loss for the business (Ma et al.2015). Due to use of credit card, a business can stay aware of all the expenditure and can reduce the chances of false purchases.

  • Risks of using corporate credit card:Despite all the benefits, corporate credit cards are associated with a number of risks also.

  • The risks that can be caused due to use of credit card are –

  • Security loss of sensitive data: The chances of losing confidentiality of sensitive data are higher in electronic transactions ( Laudon & Laudon, 2015). Use of corporate credit card can enhance the chance of losing sensitive information.

  • Financial loss due to overuse of credit cards: Using credit card beyond its limit can cause monetary losses (Ma et al.2015). If the employees use corporate credit cards excessively, the business can encounter severe financial loss.

Internal controls to reduce the risk:

The risks associated with corporate credit cards can be reduced with help of internal controls – 

  • Setting transaction limit for each card: Setting a limit on the corporate cards prevents its overuse (Joshi & Singh, 2017). The Bucks management can set a limit to control use of the cards.

  • Providing cards to designated persons only: Allowing limited number of people to use corporate cards makes expense controlling easier (Boutcher et al.2014). Additionally, it also reduces the chances of misuse. Bucks management can provide designated personnel only with cards.

  • Training programs for card-users: Training programs on corporate card reduces the chances of misuse (Rubtsova et al.2015). The Bucks management can run training programs for the card users to ensure that the cards will be used in proper way.

  • Designated person to be issued with credit card: The procurement managers should be responsible for using the corporate card. Although it will be used for small purchases, the management should ensure that the card is used for valid reasons only. As the managers only will be responsible for using the card controlling, tracking and analyzing the expenditure will be easier.

Conclusion:

The current report indicates that the sales process of Bucks Phyz has several issues. However, the management can control those issues using AIS. Use of credit card for purchasing can benefit Bucks management in several ways. The management can use risks associated with it by setting limits on transaction and educating the employees.

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References:

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  • Bryan, B. E. A. L. (2014). U.S. Patent No. 8,688,511. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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