In that sense, it is of great importance to conduct thorough and systematic research on the computerization of the accounting information systems in Vietnam’s construction enterprises so
Trang 1INTRODUCTION
1 The necessity of the thesis
Amid the current international economic integration context, Vietnam
enterprises suffer big competitive pressure not only from domestic counterparts
but also from giant multinational corporations strong in capital, brands and
management capacity Accounting is known as a sharp and effective weapon for
enterprises in making plans and managing business operations To develop
sustainably, enterprises need to have various factors, of which the very crucial is
a good accounting system As globalization is increasing, the application of
information technology in accounting work has become common
Computerizing accounting not only processes and provides information
accurately, rapidly and conveniently but also increases labor productivity and
raises accounting efficiency Reality has shown that in recent years, the
Communist Party and Government have paid special attention to the
development and application of information technology to boost the national
cause of industrialization and modernization and affirmed that “Computerizing
management plays an important part and is a regular task of organizations to
raise management capacity, productivity, quality and efficiency Enterprises
need to invest in information applications, considering them a fundamental
measure to renovate management” (Politburo, 2000) This guideline has been
reflected by different circulars and policies which specify the tasks of relevant
agencies in setting, implementing, supervising and evaluating action plans so as
to turn information technology applications into a new form of development,
raise operational performance and competitiveness to catch up with other
countries in the world In this guideline, information systems play an essential
role in grasping new development opportunities, accelerating regional and
international integration process and renovating production This may result in
dramatic changes in business areas as well as management of enterprises
Information systems help to improve labor productivity, provide information
accurately, shorten work time, save human resources and raise performance The
application of the information systems becomes an inevitable trend with great
practical significance in raising business management quality
Besides, the necessity of developing the information system also roots
from the demand for integration with the world economy Vietnam has officially
joined in various international economic forums such as AFTA (1995), APEC
(1998) and WTO (becoming its 150th member in late 2006); entered ASEM in
2010, signed EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2015,
Vietnam-EAEU FTA in 2015, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in 2016 Since 2017
the entire world has entered the fourth Industrial Revolution - an era with new
technological applications in building information system with The Internet of things, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Social Network, Cloud and Mobile Computing, Big Data which have transformed the real world into digital world in all aspects of socio-economic life Information systems play an increasingly important role in the development of the society,
an essential element to connect and exchange with the whole world to create, store, transmit, process and exploit information This revolution is a new trend with considerable impacts on the society and economy of every nation, region and the entire world, including Vietnam More and more foreign corporates have come to Vietnam If Vietnamese enterprises do not apply information systems to facilitate their management, they will lose their market share to foreign rivals and gradually become outdated
Construction represents one of the key sectors in Vietnam’s national economy Along with the development of the country, the scale and market of the construction sector are rapidly expanding, its production process is being socialized In the world, depending on the country’s growth level, the contributions of the construction sector to the economy vary greatly, ranging
from 3% to 10% of GDP In Vietnam, this ratio is 6% - 7% (according to Vietnam Chamber of Industry and Trade, 2016)
According to the report of Ministry of Construction in 2017, the construction industry maintained a quite high growth rate of 8.7% over 2016, contributing 0.54 percentage point to national growth rate, ranking third among sectors with high percentage point contribution to the country’s GDP Under the forecast of BIM, the construction industry will grow at 6.6 % annually in the
2017 – 2025 period Construction enterprises belong to infrastructure creating sector in the economy The construction sector is expanding and developing under different forms including state owned, joint stock, private, limited and informal To integrate into the world economy, construction enterprises need to strengthen their financial management solutions so that they can save costs in each construction work
The construction industry has some typical features such as products are construction and architecture projects of big scales, complex structures, long-term completion period, these features can affect the process of informatic application in the accounting system Besides the normal accounting practices, construction accounting needs to perform some functions such as making estimates (estimating designs and construction), managing fixed assets, adjusting annual asset depreciation and accumulated depreciation Besides,
Trang 2product prices are calculated on the basis of negotiations with investors or
estimates Assets are fixed at construction sites while facilities, materials, labor
force are mobile on each project This makes it difficult to control the quality
and quantity of materials exported from warehouses; managing assets, labor
force and materials in the construction sites as well as creating accounting for
production costs depend on various factors Besides, upon completion, products
are used for a long time and difficult to change, so if products are not approved
after checks, they need rebuilding, thereby increasing costs For these reasons,
managing and supervising the construction and calculating process need to be
implemented thoroughly to ensure that the quality of the construction work
meets the estimated designs Particularly, accounting work in construction
enterprises often focuses on the process of accounting construction costs
implemented via the combination of three forms of calculation: profession
calculation, statistical calculation and accounting calculation Therefore, the
optimal solution that many enterprises are using at present is to research and
apply the accounting information systems to increase the efficiency of
accounting work in construction enterprises
According to statistics of Construction Research Institute, there were over
1000 enterprises under Ministry of Construction in 2017 Most enterprises have
been equipped with information technology infrastructure with LAN and
Internet connection However, the application of information system remains
quite limited Some enterprises face difficulties in processing, analyzing and
synthesizing accounting figures to make financial statements and statistical
reports to facilitate the decision-making of the management boards Moreover,
as the demand for controlling and using information of users varies, accounting
information is generally classified into two kinds: financial reports and
management reports The survey findings indicate that most enterprises use
financial reports to provide information for the making of financial reports for
managers and external subjects such as tax agencies, banks and investors; they
usually lack information for management reports that serve internal management
and control
All the same, in the face of pressure from international economic
integration amidst the faster and stronger development of technology,
construction enterprises also have the needs to change to an appropriate
accounting software or upgrade their systems with additional functions so that
they can manage the financial-accounting work more comprehensively The
complete replacement of the old software with a totally new one costs time and
money Besides, when upgrading the system, problems may arise when the old
and new softwares have drastic differences in terms of technology, data
accessing and processing modes To deal with these problems, the Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) has been proposed to integrate new applications into the existing ones to create a united system capable of sharing data among applications, using prevailing infrastructure, recycling old software, thereby increasing economic efficiency EAI helps enterprises to save costs of setting up the totally new system, enables them to apply different new solutions by integrating the applications of various manufacturing firms
In that sense, it is of great importance to conduct thorough and systematic research on the computerization of the accounting information systems in Vietnam’s construction enterprises so as to work out solutions and proposals to complete the systems amid the context of development and integration
Therefore, the dissertation titled “Research to Build Accounting Information System in Vietnam’s Construction Enterprises – Pilot Implementation in Dat Viet Investment Construction Trading Company” has both theoretical and practical significance to boost the development of accounting information system in the context of the fourth Industrial Revolution
2 Research objectives and research questions
Overall objectives: On the basis of evaluating the current level of
computerization in construction enterprises and the needs to improve this issue, the dissertation aims to design a synchronously-computerized accounting information system for Vietnam’s construction enterprises
Specific research tasks:
− Generalizing domestic and foreign research works related to the research topic
− Researching the theories on accounting information system, computerization in accounting information systems, approaches to the study of accounting information system
− Evaluating the level of computerization of accounting information systems in Vietnam’s construction enterprises at present
− Proposing the synchronously-computerized accounting information system capable of integrating with other implemented applications in the enterprises on the basis of EAI
− Designing and coding accounting cycles by the method of
Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
− Testing the system in Dat Viet Investment Construction Trading Company
Trang 3Research questions: To fulfill the afore-mentioned research objectives,
the dissertation is about to answer the following research questions:
− How do domestic and foreign research projects mention this issue?
− Which content do theories on accounting information systems cover?
What are the features of accounting calculation in construction
enterprises and how do they affect accounting information systems?
− What is the status-quo of computerization of accounting information
system in Vietnam’s construction enterprises? What lessons can be
drawn from the successes and limitations of this process?
− How is a synchronously-computerized accounting information system
under the approach of accounting cycles structured?
− How is the procedure of object-oriented analysis and design of a
synchronously-computerized accounting information system
implemented?
− How is the synchronously-computerized accounting information
system experimented in Dat Viet Investment Construction Trading
Company?
3 Objects and scope of research
Research subjects: The accounting information systems and
computerization level of accounting information systems in Vietnam’s
construction enterprises, including different elements of: human, hardware,
network system, software, data, process, procedure, application efficiency
Research scope: Research space includes construction enterprises within
the territorial border of Vietnam However, due to limitations in time and
geography, most enterprises in the sample are located in Hanoi and Hochiminh
city These are the locations with construction enterprises of different kinds and
forms Research time lasted from 2014 to 2017
4 Research methodologies
4.1 Determining research methods
A research method commonly used in the field of information technology
is the Design Science Research Methodology for Information Systems Research
(DSRM). This dissertation falls within the major of management information
system, a combination of the two fields of business management and
information technology Besides, as construction is a big sector in Vietnam, its
operations are related to many other production and business areas Therefore,
the author selected the DSRM method (Hever, 2004) to build and implement
accounting information system in construction via the following specific
methods:
- Method of system approach
- Method of professional process description
- Method of system analysis, design and building
- Method of system testing
Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the initial phase of the dissertation to identify research contents and collect adequate information about the requirements of users which an accounting software in construction enterprises needs to meet before building accounting information systems
4.2 Research procedures
Trang 4Research overview and identified research issues
Summary of theoretical research on accounting information system
Qualitative research
- Collect data through system documentation
- Observe the system directly
- Interview experts
quantitative research
- Design a questionnaire
- Collect primary data using a questionnaire
- Process surveyed data
- Analyze data
Results of qualitative research
- Evaluate advantages and disadvantages of
current accounting softwares
- Synthesize demand for applications of
accounting information system
- Analyze necessary accounting modules in
construction companies.
Quantitative research results
- Analyze and synthesize the current situation
of computerization of the accounting information systems
- Evaluate the need to apply accounting information systems in construction companies
- Identify the accounting modules not available
in the other softwares on the market today
Research to build an accounting information system
- Propose the model of accounting information system
- Specify business processes
- Analyze and design system
- Build the accounting information system
Implement and test the system
Conclusion Figure 1 Process of conducting research
Source: author proposed
4.3 Methods of data collection
Three methods were used in the qualitative research, including literature
review, typical system observation and in-depth interviews
Quantitative research was conducted via the use of questionnaires The
surveying time lasted from 2015 to 2016 Respondents filled in the
questionnaires sent via Google doc link for a research sample of 350
questionnaires The author sent the questionnaires to respondents via 2 ways: sending them directly to individual respondents and sending them indirectly via
Forms – Google Docs to construction enterprises
4.4 Methods of data processing
As to qualitative research method, the author mostly used the methods of synthesizing and analyzing documents to collect, analyze and quantify data in order to describe the status-quo of computerization in accounting and identify new technical and technological trends used in system building
As to quantitative research method, of the total 350 delivered questionnaires, 280 were returned Primary and secondary data were collected, quantified, expressed via charts, diagrams or panels in Excel with specific values to lay the foundations for evaluation and comments
5 New contributions of the thesis
By accumulating the theoretical and practical grounds of the previous studies on accounting information systems, the dissertation has some new contributions as follows:
Firstly, the dissertation has synthesized the fundamental theories on accounting information systems, computerization of accounting information systems in the context of the fourth Industrial Revolution to create an appropriate approach
Secondly, the dissertation has generalized the fundamental issues of construction enterprises and the roles of accounting information systems in construction enterprises
Thirdly, the dissertation has comprehensively analyzed and evaluated the current level of computerization in construction enterprises based on the published data and the author’s surveys
Fourthly, the dissertation has proposed a synchronously-computerized accounting information system for Vietnam’s construction enterprises, including management accounting information that has not been covered in previous
accounting softwares This system includes various cycles of: (1)- Accounting for material and equipment; (2)- Accounting for production costs and construction costs; (3)- Accounting for salary; (4)- Accounting for fixed assets; (5)- Accounting for revenues; (6)- Accounting for business contract distribution; (7) Financial reports, management reports, tax reports These accounting cycles are appropriate with the management conditions in Vietnam’s construction enterprises at present and can integrate with other applications in the enterprises
on the basis of the Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
Trang 5Fifthly, the dissertation has designed and coded accounting cycles by
using the method of Object-Oriented Analysis and Design to create a
synchronously-computerized accounting information system
6 Organization of the thesis
In addition to the Introduction and Conclusion, the dissertation consists of
3 chapters:
Chapter 1. Theoretical grounds on accounting information systems in
construction enterprises
Chapter 2 Status-quo of computerization in accounting information systems in
Vietnam’s construction enterprises
Chapter 3 Designing a synchronously-computerized accounting information
system for Vietnam’s construction enterprises and pilot implementation in Dat Viet
Investment Construction Trading Company
7 Overview of previous studies
7.1 Overview of foreign studies
Research works on accounting information systems are mostly published
on the leading journals on accounting and information systems Accounting
information systems are known as the interchange of the two fields of
information systems and accounting (Nasser, 2012) The research by Romney
and Steinbart(2015) considers accounting information systems as the
sub-system of the management information sub-systems, where profession practices are
processed in serve for accounting work of the enterprises The constituent
factors of accounting information systems are a combination set of humans,
software, hardware, network system, accounting information and the process of
establishing accounting information and business situation Accounting
information systems deal with issues related to accounting information and
business situation of the enterprises
(1) Research on the concepts, roles and elements of accounting information
systems
- Research on the concepts and elements of accounting information
systems
- Research on the roles and impacts of accounting information systems
in enterprises
- Research on the quality of accounting information
- Research on accounting information systems in the system of business
resource planning
- Research on factors affecting the quality of accounting information
- Research on the impacts of e-commerce on the system of recording
accounting profession, internal control and creating online reports
(2) Research on technology and techniques to build accounting information systems
- Research on the application of digital computers
- Research to the solutions to build accounting software
- Research on the solutions to build accounting information systems under Client-Server model
- Research on the solutions to build accounting information systems under Web-based model
- Research on the solutions to build accounting information systems under service-oriented model on the basis of cloud computing
8.2 Overview of domestic studies (1) Research on the accounting information systems and accounting software
- Research on the concepts, roles and resources in accounting information systems
- Research on the quality of accounting information systems
- Research on the controls of accounting information systems
- Research on the procedures of building accounting software
(2) Research on technology and techniques to build accounting information systems
- Semi-manual accounting information systems
- Partly-computerized accounting information systems
- Synchronously-computerized accounting information systems
8 Research gaps
A thorough investigation into domestic and foreign studies reveals that the research works on accounting information systems are greatly various in both theories and reality, they have covered different aspects of the concepts, resources and procedures to build and implement the systems
These are valuable sources of reference for managers, researchers and lecturers in the field of accounting information systems Accounting information systems play a very important role in the management work of construction enterprises, especially the big ones such as Song Da Corporation, Hanoi Construction Corporation, Construction Corporation No.1, LICOGI, Bach Dang Construction Corporation, Lung Lo Construction Corporation However, international research on the building of accounting information systems remains general without particular solutions for specific sectors and enterprise forms Research on building accounting information systems in Vietnam is limited in quantity and mostly done by researchers in accounting major such as
Trang 6Hoàng Văn Ninh (2010), Hồ Mỹ Hạnh (2014), Huỳnh Thị Hồng Hạnh (2014) in
order to complete accounting mechanism in enterprises without solutions to
build effective accounting information systems Some comments can be made as
follows:
- The level of computerization of accounting information systems in
construction enterprises is not high, mostly limited to the use of EXCEL or
separate accounting software, just a few enterprises implement the
synchronously-computerized accounting information systems Although some
accounting applications are implemented as soon as the enterprises are founded,
these software applications are designed for all business sectors Therefore
although there are accounting calculation modules for construction such as
Misa, Bravo, Fast, Effect, SmartPro, AccNet, some accounting practices for
construction cannot be calculated in details In the meantime, some professional
softwares specifically designed for the construction sector such as Ame
Construction, Amis.Vn, CicAccount, Vacom lack many major functional
modules while software providers do not have theoretical grounds to consult
which model is suitable for each kind of construction enterprises
- Most enterprises have not established accounting information systems
towards providing management accounting information for managers but only
provide financial information Some systems have functions of management
accounting reports but the contents are inadequate, simple, dispersed with no
deep analysis of business operations in the enterprises, so the information that
accounting reports provide to managers remains limited
- Accounting information systems are not flexible enough in formatting
reports and updating new accounting mechanism Whenever Ministry of Finance
changes reporting formats, users have to update the new formats manually or
wait for software providers to update them Accounting books and bills do not
comply with the current accounting regime There has not yet been sufficient
research on theoretical frames and a comprehensive accounting information
system model has not yet been developed to meet the requirements of the
construction industry for accounting practices and reports Moreover, the
processing speed of the systems is low, causing difficulties for users, especially
when updating prices or searching information
- Techniques of collecting and processing information are not advanced
enough, thereby cannot create the cohesion and stability between the
requirements of management boards and information for management
Functional divisions in enterprises are not organized under the models of
responsible accounting centres
Particularly, there has been no survey on the computerization in accounting work in Vietnam’s construction enterprises (except for annual surveys conducted by VCCI on the applications of information and communication technology in enterprises in general) to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of these applications and their capabilities in meeting the demand for accounting calculation so as to identify which accounting professions in the construction industry have been computerized and which accounting professions need to be implemented in order to facilitate the financial management in the enterprises
Therefore, it can be concluded that no systematic research has been conducted to investigate the computerization of accounting information systems
in Vietnam’s construction enterprises and evaluate the current level of computerization to propose a synchronously-computerized accounting information system for these enterprises This is the research gap that the dissertation aims to fill in
CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL GROUNDS ON ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISES 1.1 Overview of accounting information systems
1.1.1 Concepts of accounting information systems
This part presents various concepts and resources in the accounting information systems
1.1.2 Roles of accounting information systems
Accounting information systems are regarded as playing a crucial role in: (1) boosting the efficient exploitation of current equipment and infrastructure; (2) providing timely information to customers, giving them accurate and detailed information on finance-accounting situation; (3) raising labor productivity; (4) working as a catalyst in improving operational professions, eliminating unnecessary work and avoiding repetitive activities
1.1.3 Working procedures of accounting information systems
The procedures of accounting information systems consist of three main activities: collecting, processing and communicating information, storing information, controlling and supervising the systems
1.1.4 Principles to build accounting information systems
The process of building accounting information systems should respect the principles of consistency, integration and efficiency
1.2 Distinctive features of accounting information systems in construction
industry
1.2.1 Features of Vietnam’s construction industry
Trang 71.2.2 Features of accounting in construction industry
Accounting calculation in the construction industry is characterized as
follows: products are separate construction works implemented in a long time
and affected by social environment; production places depend on construction
sites; construction prices change in accordance with market fluctuations
1.2.3 Features of accounting information systems in construction industry
Accounting calculation in construction differs from other industries in:
accounting for production costs and construction prices, accounting for material
and equipment, accounting for revenue, accounting for fixed assets, accounting
for business performance, management accounting
1.3 Computerization levels of accounting information systems
This part presents the features of manual accounting system, semi-manual
accounting system (conducted in Excel), partly-computerized accounting
information systems, synchronously-computerized accounting information
systems and accounting information systems in ERP
1.4 Technology to build accounting information systems
In this dissertation, the author inherits the model of Service Oriented
Architecture (SOA) based on Web service technology proposed by IMB (2004)
CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER 1
In this chapter, the author presents fundamental theoretical issues of
accounting and accounting information systems, the roles and principles of
building accounting information systems The author also analyzes the typical
features of accounting work in construction industry and features of accounting
information systems in construction industry The author generalizes and
evaluates computerization levels of accounting information systems and
analyzes the technology to build current accounting information systems
Chapter 1 findings are scientific grounds for the author to investigate the
status-quo of computerization of accounting information systems in construction
enterprises in Chapter 2 and propose solutions to build the system in Chapter 3
CHAPTER 2 STATUS-QUO OF COMPUTERIZATION IN ACCOUNTING
INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN VIETNAM’S CONSTRUCTION
ENTERPRISES 2.1 Sample descriptions
This part describes enterprises participating in the survey
2.2 Analyzing the status-quo of computerization in accounting information
systems in construction enterprises
2.2.1 Status-quo of hardware and network system
The survey finds that hardware equipment used in enterprises mostly includes servers, desktops, laptops, printers, telephones, fax machines, scanners, projectors
2.2.2 Status-quo of accounting software
- As to the desires of users to accounting software: Screen interface should be users-friendly, data exchange among accountants should be conducted automatically, report formats should comply with regulations and Vietnam’s accounting regimes
- As to capabilities of upgrade and expansion: some softwares such as Misa, Omega.GL provide users with ad-hoc network
- As to technical specifications in software: technological and technical
bases, programming language, database management system
- As to capabilities to meet accounting profession requirements:
accounting softwares available in the market support accounting for material, accounting for production costs, accounting for fixed assets and financial report formats
- As to strengths and weaknesses of the softwares: many functions are
abundant while necessary construction accounting practices are not available, the softwares do not support creating management reports or reports do not meet the requirements of Ministry of Finance or do not update in accordance with new Accounting Law, manipulations are complicated, there is no notification when users make mistakes
2.2.3 Status-quo of accounting data
- As to the content of ensuring data integrity
- As to database management system
- As to the function of ensuring data safety in the software
2.2.4 Status-quo of professional procedures and accounting regime
Some enterprises do not have regulations on printing account books, reporting and saving data, erroneous figures on vouchers are adjusted directly on the vouchers without creating correction vouchers The practices of removing duplication of accounting entry in enterprises greatly vary, there are no absolute scientific and effective measures: duplications are mostly removed manually when vouchers have entered the same data or have been calculated via intermediate accounts and this does not comply with the accounting nature In fact, when computerizing accounting applications, enterprises often combine between software and manual work
2.2.5 Status-quo of users
Trang 81
Trang 9Accounting information system
1 Manage system settings 2 Manage portfolio 3 Manage vouchers
4 Manage accounting books
5 Manage construction accounting profession 6 Manage reports
Create financial reports
Create management reports
Create tax reports
Manage goods
Manage units
Manage information of fixed assets
Manage warehouse
Manage departments
Manage suppliers
Manage customers
Manage employees
Manage monetary
Manage taxes
Manage banks
Manage recording of increasing fixed assets
Manage recording of reducing fixed assets
Manage sale vouchers
Manage purchasing vouchers
Manage debit notes
Manage exporting forms
Manage entry forms
Manage receipts
Manage payable vouchers
Manage detail books of accounts
Manage detail books of sales
Manage detail books of materials
Manage ledgers
Manage warehouses
Manage cash books
Manage bank deposit books
Manage general journals
Manage material accounting
Manage production costs accounting
Manage salary accounting
Manage fixed asset accounting Manage construction contract revenue accounting
Set up company information
Set up accounts
Set up accounting periods
Set up the initial balance
Set up invoice, receipts
Set up display format
Set up accounting entries
Set up the entry
Set up report format
Manage identified business results accounting
Figure 3.1 Functional modules in the accounting information system
Source: Author proposed
18
Database Layers
Manage data
Component database (relational form)
Dynamic
Accounting reports Dictionary
lists
Intermediate files
Database management system (Oracle, FireBird, SQL Server)
Manage Query / Searc h
Manage
Synchronize data
Manage
Business Logic Layers
1 Manage system settings
2 Manage portfolio
4 Manage accounting books
6 Manage reports
Presentation Layers
.Net Framework, DevExpress, Javascript,HTML,CSS
LAN, WAN, VPN,
Information Technology
Hardware and Network Layers
Server
User interface components
Web se rver
3 Manage vouchers
Financial reports
Manageme nt
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
REpresent State Transfer Applicatoin Program Interface (REST API)
Enterprise Application Integr ation (EAI)
5 Manage construction accounting profession Mate rial
accounting
Production costs accounting
Salary accounting
Fixed asset accounting
Construction contract revenue accounting
Identified business results accounting
Figure 3.2 Technology model of the accounting information system
Source: Author proposed
Trang 103.1.2 Technological model of the accounting information system
Based on the instructions to build information systems under
service-oriented architecture model by Thomas Erl (2005), based on 6 accounting
professions and 3 distinctive kinds of reports of construction enterprises, the
author proposes the procedures to build the accounting information system
including 8 following steps:
Step 1 Examine the existing accounting modules
Step 2 Identify new accounting modules
Step 3 Analyze accounting professional procedures
Step 4 Analyze and design the system
Step 5 Program and test the system
Step 6 Build the enterprise application integration
Step 7 Integrate old modules into the new system
Step 8 Maintain and upgrade the system
Figure 3.3 Process of building the accounting information system
Source: Author proposed
3.2 Solutions to build accounting information systems
- Completing network system and hardware: The hardware system is
established depending on the human resources in the accounting department To
guarantee data safety and security, enterprises should ensure that two
accountants should not share one computer The accounting department should
also be allocated with its own network so that accountants can work internally
and avoid unauthorized access from equipment in other departments or from
outside the enterprises Computers should be connected with each other under
connected networking model Stations will work directly on the database of the server At the end of the day, the server will backup data to prevent the risks of data loss Stations and the server will send information to other departments via Router or by the server itself Other devices such as telephones, printers, fax machines use the system by sending requests to the server The server is connected to the Internet to strengthen the sharing and can be secured by
switching devices such as Switch, Router or Firewall
- Building accounting software: The biggest difference of this system from existing accounting softwares is the AISC (Accounting Information System
in Construction companies) model proposed by the author has full independent accounting functions and kinds of reports to help accountants perform their work rapidly and accurately The software has decentralization mode and runs under the control of anti-virus software to intensify the capability of accounting data security When in use, this software does not change the nature, principles and methods of accounting regulated by legal documents Besides the necessary modules of a normal accounting software such as system management, portfolio management, voucher management, accounting book management, report
management, the proposed system has the module Construction accounting management which directly supports accounting professions related to
construction field and the module Report management which automatically
creates kinds of reports as requested by users The new feature of this proposed software in comparison with the existing ones in the market is the author has built the software with programming modules which can work independently or integrate with functional modules in other softwares
- Building accounting database: In this model, the database is the structured set of data created from files of accounting data that record the daily business activities The collected accounting data are updated and saved in relation panels The software will automatically update data from relevant departments and calculate the allocation of production costs The database encode cost objects and items The result panels will collect production costs under categories of half-completed or completed projects With accounting for materials: fixed data and items related to accounting cycles must be entered first With accounting for labor costs, some items such as the number of dates, hours, basic salaries must be entered after payroll has been created With accounting for production costs, fixed data such as portfolio and arising data must be entered
- Completing the accounting profession management procedures on computer
3.3 Description of the procedures of the accounting information system