Accounting Systems Design & Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Accounting Systems Design & Development - Essay Example Therefore, in an organization a steering committee plays the role of a decision maker (Shelly and Vermaat, 2010, p. 420). In the context of a system development project, the roles of the steering committee are as follows: The steering committee takes the responsibility for the feasibility of the project, developing the business plan. It ensures the scope of the project aligns with the need of the customers or the stakeholder groups. The steering committee also assists in the process of evaluation of project risks and the approaches of project risk management. The committee also provides guidance to those involved directly in the project. The guidance is offered mainly in the field of business issues related to the success of the project. (b) Discuss one advantage and one disadvantage of phased-in and direct switch-over implementation strategies. Solution: Phased-in implementation can be defined as a process of changeover from a preexisting system to a new one. The phased-in strategy has to move across a number of stages in order actually implement it. Advantages: Through the phased-in implementation process, it is possible to develop an overall implementation plan and further test it in small scale employing the production data. Apart from that, it also ensures establishing tractable and reasonable measures of success. Furthermore, it institutionalizes the process as it takes place. The changes in the process of implementation can be easily incorporated in the strategy through the process of familiarization. Also, the team members become the actual functional owners. The changes in this process are gradual and, therefore, easy to get accustomed to. Disadvantages: The biggest disadvantage of phased-in implementation strategy is that the process of implementation is very much time-consuming. Also, the implementation strategy is comparatively slower than the direct implementation strategy. The implementation process differs on a project-to-project basis. The impac ts of the implementation are not visible readily and have to wait till the results appear. In this implementation strategy, it is very difficult to maintain the momentum of the team members until and unless a situation of urgency is reached. Direct Switch over Implementation Strategy The direct switch over implementation strategy is about the direct switchover from the old system to the new system (ISRD group, 2006, p. 315). Some of the advantages and disadvantages are illustrated below: Advantages: The process of implementation is extremely fast as compared to the other forms of implementation strategies. Sometimes, the implementation process is completed within a week or is implemented overnight. Disadvantages: Sometimes, huge delays may occur due to absence of any scope of reverting. The system becomes unfamiliar to the user. It does not provide any option by which the old and new systems can be compared. 2. Using the Table provided, classify the following control activities as g eneral or application and explain your reasoning, (a) Employees have a password to gain access to the system. (b) When sales are entered the system retrieves customer details based on the customer number. (c) A check is performed to identify if all cheques can be accounted for. (d) Systems development is subject to signoff by the CIO before it can take place. (e) Virus definitions are updated daily. (f) The Sales Manager must approve all discounts