Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The Impact of Globalization on Management Accounting

With a movement towards globalization approaching, the change brought on by it can change how companies in the U.S. view their accountants. First, there are two types of accountants, financial accountants and managerial accountants. A definition of financial accounting, taken from Merriam-Webster, is the systematic analysis of information about the economic affairs of an organization for the use of persons outside the organization. Merriam-Webster goes on to explain management accounting as "the creation of reports for planning and decision-making"... "It's aim is to provide managers reliable information on the costs of operations and on standards with which those costs can be compared, to assist them in budgeting". The key difference to take away from these two definitions is that financial accounting provides information to people outside of the organization, and management accounting is aimed at helping managers within an organization make decisions.

The U.S. becoming more globalized will increase competition for firms within the country, therefore making management accountants more valuable to firms. The survey suggests that U.S. accountants "emphasize the use of standards to control manufacturing costs after the fact", while contrasting Japanese accountants use practices that look towards the future. This difference here lies within the goals set by the companies. While firms in the U.S. are looking at what they can do now to lower costs, Japanese firms are looking into the future to lower costs for products that might not exist yet. Management accountants look toward the future, they set up budgets, forecast, and steer companies in the right progressive direction. It is more common for businesses in the U.S. to demonstrate action for personal gain than it is in Japan, and in an age of globalization and increased competition companies cannot survive with that type of mindset and framework.

The current state of management accounting in the U.S. rewards managers and puts the company as a whole in jeopardy, and with a rise in competition approaching is it in firms' best interests to employ management accountants that make decisions for the best interest of the company.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Re-Devising Finance And Accounting Services To Re-Energise your Business

Having spent more than two decades in the finance and accounting (F&A) domain, I have seen changes from very close quarters within this business process. F&A is the backbone of any business, and re-engineering processes can make a world of difference to the bottom-line of any organization. We at WNS, partner with our clients to provide outcome-based solutions that can help them achieve a sustainable advantage over a period of time.

As businesses strive to accomplish more from less, there is intense pressure to lower operational and transactional costs. In doing so, businesses can gain from the constrained level of resources, such as global talent, capital and infrastructure, that they are currently operating in.

In most companies, there exists an inherent division between the various departments. The chief financial officer (CFO) is, more often than not, viewed as someone who is intent on slashing the marketing budget; while the CFO is of the opinion that the marketing team fails to effectively explain the basis and return-on-investment on communication spends. The result is the creation of silos between the two departments.

From the point of view of the marketing team, this division can often lead to lack of financial commitments to marketing and sales campaigns. On the other hand, finance executives like to point out that without their stewardship, marketing can let costs get out of hand. The fact is that the finance team can be an effective partner to achieve any business goal. Hence, re-engineering finance and accounting services is one of the key drivers of business effectiveness today. 

Our deep functional expertise, industry intimacy, focus on operational excellence and global delivery model gain help clients gain competitive advantage and remain ahead in the race. CFOs outsource accounting services to WNS so that their internal teams can focus on core business issues, while the WNS team delivers to goals of standardizing finance and accounting processes, transforming the finance operations and lowering costs.
 

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Make a Productive Growth by Utilizing Accounting Services for your Business


Most of the ingenious inventions introduced to the succeeding centuries and widely used by the modern world today were coined by Europeans. Europe was at the center of development in all areas including finance so it became a model for later generations to emulate. Every detail needs to be recorded but since the operation of commercial establishments doubled after money was introduced, owners experienced one setback: keeping up with the growing number. Merchants found the answer through double entry bookkeeping wherein two accounts are in use for every transaction which became the method of choice for added accuracy and precision.


Accounting Firms of Today
 
The 21st century saw the birth of firms that does more services for their clients with the use of modern technology through accounting software applications. The relationship between the increase in number of companies is just directly proportional to the increase in number of accounting agencies responding to their need. Most companies are reaching many countries now aside from their base country due to rapid offshore relations. The relevance of accounting services became more apparent due to the increasing demand from different industries of different natures.
One motivation for companies needing it is that they want to save on operating expenditures by hiring outsourced help from leading accounting consultants. Philippines has its share of outstanding accounting firms such as SGV and Laya Mananghaya and Company which even sponsor international exposure for its employees. Today, there are more than a thousand firm of this kind in the country or perhaps even larger and Davao is no exception. As a result, accounting services in Davao City became a booming business as well.


Online Software Services

If you are more into the personal usage, online software applications are also available for download; some must be purchased while others are for free. If you are a local company situated within Region 11’s capital and is wishing to do the accounting yourself, there are different accounting software services for Davao based companies, available for download. Some leading names in software development for accounting are Peachtree and MYOB.