Abstract Information technology is significantly changing the operating practices of an increasing number of companies globally. These developments have important implications for the Accounting profession and in particular accounting practices in the twenty-first century. This study examines the development of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems as a means of illustrating how changes in information technology allows all systems in a company to be linked to manage operations holistically. The study investigates the change in accounting systems using a sample of Australian companies with emphasis on the adoption of ERP systems including the potential impact of ERP on capital budgeting processes. The results show that ERP systems are changing management accounting practices, although at this stage, the impact on capital budgeting techniques appears to be limited. The findings contribute to the emerging body of literature on the development of ERP systems and its impact on management accounting teaching and research. Key words: Management accounting, capital budgeting, enterprise resource planning systems, information technology. 1. Introduction During the past decade an increasing number of companies have been impacted by information technology in terms of computerized transaction processing and electronic telecommunications such as that done with the Internet, intranet, and extranet. For competitive reasons, companies have had to change from manual and then mainframe systems to what has been called enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. An ERP system has a common database or data warehouse that links together all systems in all parts of a company including, for example, capital budgeting with financial, control, manufacturing, sales, fixed assets, inventory, human resources modules, etc. An ERP system, by linking all systems through a data warehouse, allows a company to manage its operations holistically. A second impact of ERP systems has been a general shift to manage at the activity level rather than at the more abstract level of financial transactions. This means that management accounting, with its focus on activities, can be most effective when it is used with ERP systems to incorporate the activity level for costing and performance measurement. To be effective an ERP system will contain an extensive chart of accounts or codes for activities such as accurate recording and tracking of activities, revenues and costs. The coding incorporates stable entities of a business, such as divisions, plants, stores, and warehouses. At a detailed level there are codes for functions such as finance, production, sales, marketing, and materials management. There are also the traditional financial account codes such as assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, and the central ERP feature of coding processes, activities, and sub-activities. There must be consistent coding among all parts of a company in order for them to relate to one another. As the ERP system incorporates activities in terms of quantities of resources, including labour, a record of resource use is maintained. Therefore, performance can be measured in physical terms and compared to standards, which allows for the calculation of variances. This performance measurement at the activity level serves as a feedback system on efficiency and effectiveness. The confusion from abstract monetary measures is erased, and what is actually happenin，英语论文题目，英语论文题目 |
