MANCHESTER, NH, Jan 04, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- UNIT4 CODA, Inc. issued a list of predictions that it feels will be critical for the financial management success of any growing business in 2012. Founded more than 25 years ago, UNIT4 CODA's best-of-class financial management software, Coda Financials, is used by 2,600 medium and large organizations to control costs, drive performance and ensure compliance, while remaining agile and responsive.
Here are areas to watch:
Expect increased reporting needs for more granular, real-time data --
when, how and where you want it. The need for real-time accounting
data will result in blurred lines between accounting software and
business intelligence capabilities: companies will rely more heavily
on accounting software to provide on-the-fly analysis of financial
data.
Cashless payments will become more mainstream. In the U.S., several
different "cashless wallet" standards are in development, including
Google Wallet (allied with MasterCard, Citigroup and Sprint Nextel),
Visa's V.me, and Verizon (allied with AT&T, T-Mobile USA). In
Europe, the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) is designed to enable
cashless payments in euros across 27 different countries. Based on
common standards, SEPA is expected to streamline and simplify payments
leading to faster settlements, which will result in improved cash
flow, reduced costs and facilitated access to new markets. Despite
different U.S. and European standards, it's clear there is positive
momentum for cashless payments. The implications for companies is they
need to make sure their financial management systems track cashless
transactions -- whatever standards being used -- and provide an audit
trail to ensure accuracy and monitor attempts at fraud.
Consumerization of corporate technology will lead to more intuitive
interfaces. Demand for usability is moving beyond front-end,
consumer-oriented systems to back-end ones as well. Steve Jobs' legacy
of making highly usable, intuitive products is expanding into the
arena of corporate accounting. We are already seeing simple apps for
accounting software on phones & tablets, and expect to see these
become increasingly sophisticated over the next three to five years.
Renewed focus on the global marketplace will require increased
flexibility, continued need for financial visibility across
operations, and integration between systems. The Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) will continue to postpone the enormously
complex transition from U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Practices
(GAAP) to the International Financial Records Standards (IFRS) to
permit more time for feedback from all affected parties. Companies
doing business overseas will likely need to be able to manage their
books using both GAAP and IFRS approaches. Companies should ensure
their accounting systems are both flexible and robust enough to
accommodate the transition to IFRS -- and any other regulatory or
business-related changes that may occur down the pike.
As companies look to maximize their IT investments, efficiency and
automation continue to be key requirements. Companies will continue to
do more with less -- and at the same time, faster. Even those with no
plans in the near and mid-term future to move to "the cloud" for their
accounting will increasingly adopt cloud-based point solutions for
areas like billing and credit-card processing. An accounting system
that combines Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP) &
General Ledger into one unified database will reduce repetitive
processes and monthly drudgery of data reconciliation.
ERP isn't the Holy Grail it was once thought to be. Because ERP
systems can be expensive and time- and resource-consuming to
implement, companies increasingly may start turning to specific
best-of-class applications to deliver greater functionality and
business benefits. With the best-of-class approach, companies have the
flexibility to deploy new applications and replace outdated
applications quickly and more cheaply than if they're locked into an
ERP platform. In the new normal, many companies will find it more
difficult to justify the expense of an ERP system.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Market Watch, Press Release. 4th January 2012
