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When Europe changes to only one currency on the eve of 1999, will your financial systems be ready? On January 1, 1999, something more technologically onerous than the Year 2000 [...]

A review of the leading products available in this market. The developers of high-end accounting software and the users of that software too often march to a different drummer. The [...]

Omicron's (Walton-on-Thames, UK) Unix-based XIS accounting computer software is a superior accounting package that offers advanced multi-currency processing in the general, sales, and purchase ledgers. The strongest feature of XIS is its general ledger, the predefined screens of which can be custom tailored and allow the accessing of 170 fields for any screen. XIS is the most powerful UNIX software package for financial ledgers and can be tailored to meet the requirements of the end-users.

Omicron XIS is a UNIX-based financial software program that consists of general, sales, and purchase ledgers. The program is well designed for the single European market of 1992. The program incorporates a high level of multi-currency processing in all three ledgers and contains a multi-language facility. The software utilizes a file structure that offers a range of functions broad enough for the requirements of any business. The program requires hardware with powerful UNIX processors that can handle over 100 users. Installation must be done by professionals, but once the program is installed and configured to the client's specifications, no further modification is needed. Omicron XIS is one of the most powerful UNIX-based financial packages offered on the market, and it offers unlimited functionality. The price of Omicron XIS is 2,150 pounds sterling per module.

Byline: Dennis Keeling Spaghetti function What a mess! The business systems in most large business are a spaghetti nightmare. These systems have grown like topsy A- with many different solutions [...]

Byline: Dennis Keeling Time the taxman got a grip One of the worst IT disasters in years has been steadily unfolding for HMRC. Tax agents are unable to electronically file [...]

Byline: Dennis Keeling devil's in the detail In the late 1990s, when most large companies were pre-occupied with the millennium bug, the most popular business systems were of the ERP [...]

Kerridge Computer Company (Newbury, Berks, UK) has developed advanced business and accounting systems for PCs using the Unix environment. The Kerridge Commercial System is a business and accounting package that runs on PCs using the Intel 386 microchip and both the SCO Xenix operating systems and IBM's AIX version. The firm currently is rewriting all its modules to increase functionality. The Kerridge Commercial System offers nominal, sales, and purchase ledgers, a report generator, a fixed asset system, a separate accruals module, end-of-day procedures, and a distribution modules. The distribution systems of Kerridge are unequaled and its financial systems have excellent screen handling capabilities and graphics.

The selection of a mid-range or mainframe computer accounting system by a company is a major undertaking that necessitates the empowerment of an internal project team to oversee the process. The internal project team should be made up of a cross-section of people from the organization. The team should prepare a statement of requirements in order of priority which should be circulated to a minimum of 10 potential suppliers. Demonstrations and site visits should be scheduled and carried out, and the team should interface with the user group associated with the package. Upon implementation of the system, a project planning software package should be installed to monitor the progress of all the groups using the accounting system. To effectively manage the system, it is normal to have weekly meetings to monitor progress in order to feed information to the project planning system.

Computer Associates' (CA) Masterpiece 2 accounting software package is a mid-range and mainframe application that works on all major hardware platforms and proprietary systems, including: Digital VAX VMS; IBM's system 36/38, MVS, and AS400; and ICL VME. Masterpiece is a stand-alone program for hardware platforms that lack a query facility: those platforms with localized query facilities can access the program also with a CA-supplied dictionary. Masterpiece is an exceptional accounting package that allows: PC or mainframe-based reporting of graphics; direct links to CA's spreadsheet package; and the use of fourth generation languages. The package provides a complete set of distribution systems and integrated ledgers including a general inventory ledger; fixed assets; sales ledger sales order processing; and purchase ledger purchase order processing.

Dennis Keeling Opinion To read the headlines, one would think most large businesses have been moving to outsource their entire IT departments. However, the reality seems to be somewhat different. […]

E-commerce works on the principle that when two parties exchange electronic messages they can both enjoy the productivity improvement of not having to re-key the data Tony Blair wants 20% […]

Strategix is a new UNIX-based software package for business and accounting purposes that permits the use of 24 to 200 terminals per mid-range system user. It has the main financial and distribution modules, such as sales, purchase and general ledgers, fixed assets, stock control, and purchase order processing. Aside from these, Strategix offers special features including its ability to report in a foreign currency from the general ledger, its graphic facilities that allows sales and payment history to reflect on the ledgers, and its ability to create a purchase order form a sales order. Strategix is well designed, reasonably priced, and is considered one of the most advanced distribution systems under UNIX that is available in the market today. However, customers are cautioned regarding potential problems that may arise from the use of such newly released sophisticated systems. Strategix is from TIS Software.

The Inland Revenue intends to implement a new computer system related to construction industry. However, the move is being met with some skepticism because of failure in the Child Support Agency for single mothers.

Suggests that the British government should buy package software to avert further failure of public-sector information technology (IT) projects. Need for departments to stop insisting on specially developed systems; Benefits of using package software; Call on agencies to be flexible when specifying their systems.

Presents several letters to the editor on articles and topics discussed in previous issues. Support to HM Revenue & Customs' Chief Information Officer Steve Lamey from the application software industry; Comment on reduction in computer software piracy; Opinion of the state of the recruitment market in Great Britain.

The article presents a discussion on outsourcing in the field of information technology. Organizations that want control of their software are keeping it in-house. To read the headlines, one would think most large businesses have been moving to outsource their entire Information Technology (IT) departments. However, the reality seems to be somewhat different. Certainly, managing their hardware has become a nightmare for many large organizations, and there is plenty of evidence that they are outsourcing their computer infrastructure to one or other of the big players. A survey of accountants in business showed that the main areas for outsourcing of software were payroll systems, followed by tax compliance issues. The surprise was the number that expect to outsource in the future: only 10 percent. This is a major reduction, especially as far as payroll is concerned. The key to successful outsourcing is to have a partnership between the client and the provider to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Outsourcing software has hit many problems. Organizations want control of their applications, they need to be constantly changing configurations, adding new products, developing closer integration between their systems and, more importantly, introducing best-in-class processes.

This article discusses some issues related to the IT industry. The small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) sector is a vital part of British corporate sector. Small employers already have to administer tax credits, stakeholder pensions and a whole range of extra deductions through the payroll. On the plus side, it is possible to claim £ 825 over five years by filing online early. However, to do this, SMEs will need to make sure that the payroll software they use to file online is capable of sending the data electronically, and that, from April 2005, it meets the Inland Revenue quality standard. People can expect to see XBRL being used for filing corporation tax returns to the Inland Revenue, annual returns to Companies House, and VAT returns to Customs & Excise— this is sheer madness. According to an online accountant's newsletter, AccountingWeb, the Treasury has refused to consult the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales' tax faculty before its review of the small company tax regime.