Systems for Accountants

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Introduction

The TCU University is a reputable English university with a sizable student body, including 22,000 domestic students and 4,000 international students, as well as 20,000 full-time and 6,000 part-time students. With 3,000 academic staff on staff, the institution provides a wide range of studies, such as bachelor’s degree, master, and professional programs. The university stands at number 52 overall out of 114 institutions, number 45 in terms of academic research performance, and number 10 in the Green table. TCU’s information systems, which are out-of-date and lack integration, making for expensive operational costs and inefficient data management, provide a number of management issues. The decision to switch to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, particularly the Oracle ERP system, was made by the institution in 2015. Due to frequent issues with ERP installations, such as a lack of expertise, competition for competent team resources, and a lack of staff, the adoption of the ERP system was prolonged and deployed in phases. The outcome was a slowdown in the deployment until August 2018 and considerable expense overruns as well as issues with the process transition. TCU is aware of these problems and has made the decision to install an ERP education suite to deal with them and boost the effectiveness of its activities. With the use of Soft Systems Methodology approaches, the TCU plan to adopt an ERP Education Suite that would be systematically analyzed in this paper. Further, various report’s sections on the proposed system’s goal, boundary determination, CATWOE and Root Definition, stakeholders’ viewpoints, inputs/transformations/outputs/feedback, and thoughts on the systemic analysis’s efficacy and the efficiency of ERP software will also be covered.

Task 1

System Purpose

The proposed TCU ERP Education Suite system aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the university’s operations by providing a comprehensive and consolidated framework for coordinating student information, financial affairs, employee management, and other essential business operational processes within the University. With such a single, innovative strategy that may speed procedures, lower mistakes and the amount of physical effort required, and increase data precision and reliability, this system seeks to replace TCU’s old portfolio of information systems, which has poor connectivity and high maintenance expenses.

Task 2

System boundary

Elements within the Boundary

The hardware, software, databases, and human capital that are significantly utilised in the operations and administration of the ERP Education Suite system are all encompassed inside the system boundary. The hardware and software aspects of the system, the information and data handled by the device, and the persons who use the system such as faculty, employees, and administration staff, are all included as elements inside the boundary.

Elements outside the Boundary

The external systems and services that the ERP Education Suite system interacts with, include external suppliers and service providers, government agencies, and other decision makers, are considered to be outside the boundary. In addition, other elements include lecturers who mainly are in charge of manually tracking attendance in case the technology malfunctions, students who have the ability to provide feedback on any errors they encounter, and the management administrators who ensure proper protocol when maintenance and malfunction issues arises.

Subsystems

The many functional modules of the system, including student information, financial elements, human resources, and others, are considered sub-systems inside the ERP Education Suite system. The efficient and uniform handling of data and information across all functional areas is ensured by the integration and linking of these sub-systems.

Evaluation Analysis

I conducted research based on various studies and asked my instructor for guidance in order to learn about the various components of the overall system, their various functions, and how they work together to form a coherent system. Understanding how the many sub-systems work together to produce the desired outcome required knowledge of this.

Task 3

CATWOE and Root Definition

CATWOE

  • Customers: The main beneficiaries of the system include TCU personnel, faculty, and administration staff.
  • Actors: The professionals who created and put into practice the ERP Education Suite system. There main task involved the need to set up terminals for precise data acquisition. Thus, during each planned lesson, students are required to bring their ID card and scan it using the terminals.
  • Transformation process: TCU will replace its current systems with an integrated and complete ERP system. The main objective include tracking and ensuring smooth system integration with other systems for instance planning and application systems.
  • Worldview: An increase in the efficacy and efficiency of university operations, thus appropriate stakeholders will receive notifications regarding attendance inputs.
  • Owner: TCU, which will ensure the system’s successful implementation and alignment with the organization’s objectives.
  • Environment; Linkage with current systems, regulatory requirements, and financial restrictions are environmental limitations.

Root definition

The ERP Education Suite system is a holistic and unified framework that strives to enhance TCU’s operational effectiveness and efficiency by offering a consolidated and optimized solution for handling student information, finance, personnel management, and other crucial areas of university operations. Therefore, the system intended purpose is to track of both domestic and foreign students’ attendance. The system thus will implement this by combining the timetable mechanism, which generates a schedule of the lectures to attend, verifies student information when they place their ID card on the machine. Hence, the changes ultimate effects will enable the creation of a clear, comprehensive attendee information.

Evaluation

Through the CATWOE research, I was able to understand how the various system stakeholders interact. It also provides a better perspective for solving issues. By making it easier for concerned parties, I hoped to expand on an effective technique that I had already learnt through earlier work and other units.

Task 4

Stakeholder and stakeholder groups involved in the system

The students, employees, administrators, outside service providers and supplier’s regulatory agencies, and maintainace team are all involved the stakeholders involved in TCU’s ERP Education Suite system.

Stakeholder’s perspective

Students may manage their personal data, course information, transaction details, and outcomes on a consolidated and easily accessible platform through the ERP Education Suite system. The system offers a streamlined and effective approach to overseeing university activities, decreasing human labor, and enhancing information accuracy and credibility from the viewpoint of employees and administrators

The ERP Education Suite solution offers a unified and unified platform for controlling invoices and transactions, lowering the risk of mistakes and delays, from the approach of outside service providers and vendors. The system offers enhanced compliance and monitoring abilities from the perspectives of government agencies, guaranteeing that TCU complies with all legal obligations. Further, based on the perspective of the maintainace team, they ensure that high standards and expectations for consistent and accurate input are required for the projects.

Evaluation

Conducting a stakeholder analysis is crucial for any project. Finding stakeholders and understanding their perspectives and feelings are essential for project success. However, picking the most effective communication tactic can be challenging and may differ from person to person. Be aware that opinions can shift based on one’s experiences and upbringing. If I had considered the feedback from a representative group of stakeholders, rather than basing my initial response on a broad perspective, it might have been more appropriate.

Task 5

Input/ Transformation/ Output/ Responses

Input – Involve the information gathered from all of the major data systems as well as from external sources, like governmental organizations and financial institutions. Typically, the ERP Education Suite system receives data and details from students, employees, and administration staff as well as from other outside systems. The system processes and transforms this data into useful information including student records, financial reports, and HR indicators.

Transformation – Involves the linkage and simplification of the data and procedures inside each of the main information systems. This plays a very crucial role towards assisting in the transfer student schedule information to computers so that card scanners can track attendance and engaging the student on the system while enlisting and checking there details.

Output – The system’s outcomes include better operational effectiveness, decreased operating costs, and precise and readily available data for all stakeholders. Therefore, the findings, infographics, and other information products produced by the ERP Education Suite system are utilized by stakeholders to track and oversee university activities. The system also gathers feedback from stakeholders, which is used to enhance the system’s functionality over time.

Responses– Stakeholders, such as students, employees, suppliers, and regulatory agencies, will provide feedback regarding the system, which will be utilized to constantly. For instance, when a students is inserted, the system will respond by producing the students ID, the email address, and the students program.

Evaluation

A complete assessment of the process might not be feasible without additional research and study on the organization and the process of change. However, this assignment allowed me to deepen my understanding, and I believe that through a short period, my understanding will improve.

Task 6

Reflections on the Systematic analysis and SSM

The effectiveness of the technique in comprehending the depth of the TCU plan to adopt an ERP Education Suite can be considered in my reflections based on the Systemic Analysis process utilizing Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). According to my thought, the following ideas may be taken into account: first, I believe by taking into account actual events and the needs of the stakeholders, the SSM strategy aids in defining the intended system’s objectives and bounds. Usually, a comprehensive understanding of the system and its surroundings is provided by the SSM approach, which enables the identification of the components inside and outside the system perimeter and their interactions. Therefore, the objectives, participants, and limitations of the system are clearly and succinctly understood by the CATWOE and Root Definition, allowing for a specific targeting and comprehensive examination.

In order to make sure that the system satisfies the needs and expectations of all concerned parties, it is important to identify the stakeholders and understand their views. Besides, I am confident that a better understanding of the system’s operations and how it might be enhanced or monitored is provided through the identifying of input, transformations, outputs, and response.

Reflection on the system

When examining the system as a whole, the following things should be taken into account: first, data security, overheads, and ineffective business operations are only a few of the difficulties caused by TCU’s old information system portfolio and inadequate integration. The rollout of the Oracle ERP system in 2018 demonstrated the typical difficulties with ERP rollouts, including organizing data, transfer, process management modifications, and resource limitations. Lastly, by offering a comprehensive solution that satisfies the unique requirements of a Higher Education Institute, the ERP Education Suite put out by TCU seeks to address these difficulties. Thus, several stakeholders, including students, employees, suppliers, and admissions, will be impacted by the deployment of an ERP Education Suite, therefore it is critical to take their thoughts and needs into account during the assessment and implementation phases.

Task 7

Enterprise Resource Planning

Introduction

The majority of businesses use ERP software to efficiently handle a variety of business activities, including managing risk, regulatory, accountancy, and supply chain administration. As a result, such organizations have profit greatly from ERP software, leading to boost in the productivity, enhanced data management, and reduction in expenses. According to Govindaraju (2012), ERP adopts best practices specific to the business in order to integrate many functions onto a unified system.

Reasons why it is most effective solution

First, ERP software plays a very crucial role in data integration (Katuu, 2020). Based on the research conducted by Saade & Nijher (2016), ERP software gives businesses a completely integrated method for overseeing all of their commercial activities, streamlining their operations and reducing the need for physical labor. According to Akyurt (2020), ERP systems can automate repetitive operations, cutting down on the time and expense of physical information processing. Secondly, ERP assists in data management (Samiei & Habibi, 2020). ERP software offers a single repository for information, allowing businesses to better handle their information and lessen the chance of errors and redundancy. Costa, (2016), further denotes that as a consolidated platform for managing corporate processes, the ERP software, lowers the likelihood of data duplication and discrepancies. Lastly, the system plays a very crucial role towards cost savings. By automation of manual activities, eliminating the requirement for manually entering data and lowering the probability of errors, ERP software can save expenses (Madanhire & Mbohwa, 2016).

Reasons why it is not the most effective solution

Svensson & Thoss (2021) denotes that ERP system deployment can be difficult and complicated, requiring a significant amount of time and knowledge. Also, ERP system implementation and procurement costs might be high (Vayyavur, 2015). Further, implementing ERP software frequently necessitates that businesses modify their operational procedures. This is a substantial problem for certain businesses as suggested by Abdullah (2017), especially those with well-established operational procedures. In addition, some users may find it difficult to embrace ERP software, especially those who are accustomed to using conventional systems (Jinno & Iizuka, 2017).

Conclusion

ERP software can be a useful tool for meeting business demands, but it’s crucial to take into account the unique needs of each firm before making that determination (Singh & Kaur, 2017). The advantages of ERP software, such as better productivity, enhanced data management, and reduced expenses, should be evaluated against any potential drawbacks, such as user acceptance, installation, and organizational change.

References

Abdullah, M. A. M. A. (2017). Evolution of enterprise resource planning. Evolution, 1(11).

Akyurt, İ. Z., Kuvvetli, Y., & Deveci, M. (2020). Enterprise resource planning in the age of industry 4.0: A general overview. Logistics 4.0, 178-185.

Costa, C. J., Ferreira, E., Bento, F., & Aparicio, M. (2016). Enterprise resource planning adoption and satisfaction determinants. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 659-671.

Govindaraju, R. (2012). Enterprise systems implementation framework: An organisational perspective. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 65, 473-478.

Jinno, H., Abe, H., & Iizuka, K. (2017). Consideration of ERP effectiveness: From the perspective of ERP implementation policy and operational effectiveness. Information, 8(1), 14.

Katuu, S. (2020). Enterprise resource planning: past, present, and future. New Review of Information Networking, 25(1), 37-46.

Madanhire, I., & Mbohwa, C. (2016). Enterprise resource planning (ERP) in improving operational efficiency: Case study. Procedia CIRP, 40, 225-229.

Saade, R. G., & Nijher, H. (2016). Critical success factors in enterprise resource planning implementation: A review of case studies. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 29(1), 72-96.

Samiei, E., & Habibi, J. (2020). The mutual relation between Enterprise resource planning and knowledge management: A review. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 21, 53-66.

Singh, C. D., Singh, R., & Kaur, H. (2017). Critical appraisal for implementation of ERP in manufacturing industry. Germany: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.

Svensson, A., & Thoss, A. (2021). Risk Factors When Implementing ERP Systems in Small Companies. Information, 12(11), 478.

Vayyavur, R. (2015). ERP implementation challenges & critical organizational success factors. International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, 5(4), 2347-5161.

 

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