Evaluation of Accounting Information System for Bunnings Warehouse

This report evaluates different accounting information systems suitable for Bunnings Warehouse Company and suggests the best accounting software for the company to gain a competitive advantage. It provides an overview of the company and its business activities, key business processes, expected outcomes, system requirements, and the selection of the best accounting software. The report also discusses the categories of accounting software and compares different software options for Bunnings Warehouse.

HA2042 Accounting Information
Systems Report writing
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Main body........................................................................................................................................4
Overview of the company and its business activities..................................................................4
Business requirement of Bunning warehouse..............................................................................5
Key business process...............................................................................................................5
Expected outcome of Key business processes.........................................................................5
System requirements....................................................................................................................6
Selection of the accounting software for the Bunning warehouse..............................................9
Category of accounting software...............................................................................................10
Comparison and selection of the best accounting software for the Bunning Warehouse.........10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................14

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Accounting information system refers to a technique of collecting, storing, analyzing, processing
the accounting and the financial data of the company, which assist the decision makers in taking
the decision. The present study shows the comparative evaluation of different accounting
information system suitable for Bunnings Warehouse Company. As per the analysis, the
requirement of the accounting software is based on the requirement and the capacity of the
business for executing its operations and functions. Therefore, the present study shows that by
implementing the suitable accounting Software, the Company can gain the competitive
advantage.

INTRODUCTION
The accounting system software is designed and implemented to support the business activities
and the business functions of the organization. Computer-based accounting system enhance the
efficiency and effectiveness of the organization through the automation in the various parts of the
business process (Jones, and Jones, 2016). The accounting software is capable of generating the
financial reports along with many other reports of the company, further it is also the analytical
tool, by which the company can forecast about its opportunities (Metzger & et al., 2015). By
considering the increasing importance of accounting information system, the present study is
based on the evaluation of investment in the accounting software for assisting Bunnings
Warehouse for better management of operational activities of the company.
MAIN BODY
Overview of the company and its business activities
Bunning warehouse is an Australian based company, whose headquarter is situated in Hawthorn
East, Victoria, Australia. This company was started in 1887, and it became public in 1952.
Further, Bunning Warehouse Company is the subsidiary company of the Wesfarmers. This
company is an international household hardware chain and has expanded its operation worldwide
s in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland (Bunning Warehouse, 2018). At
present, the company has 294 stores, and more than 30,000 people are working for the company.
The market share of the company is also very significant; around 20% share of the retail
hardware sector in Australia has been captured by the company.
The company is mainly engaged in the selling of the household hardware appliances at its retail
stores. There are wide ranges of product available in the Bunning warehouse such as tools,
general hardware, screw, bolt and fixing, storage and cleaning appliances, lighting and electrical
and so on. Further, the company also provides the D.I.Y advice (do it yourself) with respect to
home improvements, kitchen, indoor, flooring, sustainability of the environment to save energy
and water through the recycling practices. Moreover, the company also provides in-house
services related to insulation assessment and installation, and outdoor furniture assembly. In the
stores, the company also provides the services of special order, kids’ activities, maintain D.I.Y

workshops, pool water testing and so on. The company also gives a number of options to its
client for providing the product at home safely and securely, as a part of their business process.
Business requirement of Bunning warehouse
Key business process
Business requirement plays an important role at the time of developing; purchasing the software
or the other system; it is because the proposed system from the perspective of the individual,
who will use the system, defines accurately, then it will assist to meeting the objectives of the
company. Further, the product, system business process, and the outcome of the information
management system are a manner to satisfy the customers’ expectations and achieve the business
requirement (Kuznetsova, 2017).
A business process is a set of interrelated activities of the company, after the completion of all
the activities, the objective of the business achieved (Rosemann, and vom Brocke, 2015).
Business process of the Bunning Company includes designing and building home off-site the
location and then transportation to a location as per the choice of the customer. Further, they
provide the extensive range of farm building and design as per the choice of the customer,
offering the high-quality material for the prefabrication of the wall frames, floors, and roof,
supply the innovative building product and quality product, provide the power pass to the
customers, taking care of the health, safety of the employees, and so on.
The expected outcome of Key business processes
The result of the business process is that the company can deliver the fast and cost-effective
designed of the home at the difficult site location along with company also ensure about they
meet local building code. This also increased the enhancement of the customer experience. The
company also started various schools, sporting clubs, and hospitals for the benefit of the
community. Through the new business stores and digital engagement, company is expanding its
business (Brandas, Megan and Didraga, 2015). Along with this business process of the company
also assist in maintaining the strong relationship with the customers. The company also offers the
benefits and opportunities to its employees. Since the company recruits those employees, who
are experienced with the functions of the company so that employee provides the expert advice
and great services to the client. Through its innovative business process, the company provides
the product at the lowest price as compared to its competitors (Wickramasinghe, Cooray, and

Dissanayake, 2017). Further, the main aim of the company is to conduct the operations of the
company after considering the social and environmental aspect of the country, the result of this
the product of the company helps in saving the water and energy.
System requirements
For achieving the objective of the company and the proper operations of the company, Bunning
Warehouse has to manage its operational activities in a systematic manner. Further, the basic
function of the company to receive the goods, identify and sort it to dispatch to the storage, by
receiving the order from the customer, maintain the inventory level, record keeping and
maintaining the accounts of the company (Kreutz et al. 2015). Therefore it is very necessary to
develop a management system that is engaged in the information technology to minimize delay,
product damage and loss. Further, information system should support the identification of the
opportunities for increasing the financial profit of the company.

Figure 1: Management of Accounting Information system
(Source: Li, 2015)
For running the warehouse business, it is not only important to maintain the business in the
boundary of the organization, but the company is also required to consider the inventory
management, inventory planning, cost management, and the implementation of the information
technology of the organization (Li, 2015). Company by making the investment in the
information technology can track the proper record of the inventory; maintain the level of
inventory as per the need of the organization, decrease the cost of the labour, and also it leads to
the proper management of the accounts along with ensuring accuracy and reliability of data
generated (Miller, Bunn, and Noe, 2016).

Therefore while implementing the software in the organization Bunning Company should
consider that the function of the software can be changed according to the situation, and also
services are provided by the professional vendor company. The software is capable of
maintaining the all aspect of the operation of the business along with it; software can perform the
various analytical techniques so that company can get to know about the operations of the
company (Kreutz et al. 2015). The software can be able to identify each and every item of
warehouse and also increase the ordering and fulfilment process. Software is capable for the
inventory management system of the organization, by which manager can identify the inventory
level order, sales and delivery of the product, as the inventory is very important part of any
organization, company should maintain the proper inventory in their stock so that it can sell the
product on time (Brandas, Megan and Didraga, 2015). Along with this, it is very important that
the backup of software can be accessed at the time of loss of data by any uncertain event. Since
the Bunning Company also provides the delivery of the goods at the door of the customers,
therefore software should provide the status of goods that are in the delivery process and which
goods are pending of delivery. This will provide the transparency in the movement of the goods
(Jeston and Nelis, 2014). Apart from this identity of the labour and working time of the labor can
also be maintained by the software and the performance of the employees can be evaluated.
Along with this software also assure about the proper billing system and the identification of the
price of the product through the barcode system in the company.
Moreover, company should also install technology in the premises by which the stealing of the
product can be track since there is a large number of customers every day on the premises of the
company; there is a greater chance of stealing of product from the store (Kreutz et al. 2015).
Further Bunning Company expanded its business worldwide. Therefore the company should be
able to implement the centralize software at the head office so that it can maintain all the records
in respect of inventory, product, order, and so on at the one place and can evaluate the
performance of each store. Moreover, at the time of purchasing the software, the company
should also consider the services provided by the vendor at the time of sale as well as after sale
services (Teittinen, and Granlund, 2017).
The company should also have the proper arrangement of a system for implementing the
software smoothly and efficiently as if the system requirement is not proper then it leads to a

problem in the installation (Wickramasinghe, Cooray, and Dissanayake, 2017). There are four
elements of the business requirement such as functional requirement, data requirement, quality
requirement and the constrained. By getting the information about software system requirement
from the vendor, the company can also improvise the performance of the software by
customizing it.
Selection of the accounting software for the Bunning warehouse
Accounting software of the company automates the many operations of the business and assist in
maintaining the books of accounts in a very easy, accurate and reliable manner. Accounting
software of the company enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the company, and it is also
considered as a cost reduction technique for the company (Shagari, 2017).
By considering the operations and functions of the Bunning warehouse company, the following
software will be beneficial for the company.
A) SAP accounting software- By using the SAP accounting software, the customer can
connect with the company and can give the order by using the system. It is very easy to
understand and to work with the SAP software (Wickramasinghe, Cooray, and
Dissanayake, 2017). The features of the SAP accounting software is inventory accounting
and forming the profit and loss account by which the manager can know the defaults for
the company, wrong value to the item or the group of the item and so on. Along with
inventory management, it also enables for an accounting of the sale and purchase of the
goods so that the company can produce their financial reports (Koleva, Gradl and
Krcmar, 2015). This system creates the automatic journal entry; so there is no need of
separate entry for each item. Along with this many standard reports such as trial balance,
the budget report can be created by the SAP accounting software.
B) Microsoft Dynamics NAV accounting software- This software provides the up to date
financial information, which enables the company to evaluate performance and make
decisions accordingly (Trigo, Belfo, and Estébanez, 2016). It assists in maximizing the
cash resources with flexible, integrated accounts payable capabilities. Further by this
software, the company can do the cash flow forecasting, bank reconciliation,
intercompany posting, electronics payment, and other related activities.

C) XERO accounting software- This accounting software offers various tools and technique
for managing the bank transaction, inventory management, comprehensive financial
report, payroll management, and detailed financial reports. It is user-friendly software,
which increases the efficiency of the company (Ismail and King, 2014).
Category of accounting software
Generally, accounting software is the application software of the organization, which record and
processes the accounting transaction taking place in the operations of the company. The
organization can develop the software on its own or can directly purchase the software from the
vendor or can be developed by the third party as per their own requirement. The accounting
software of the company is a mechanism for accounting information system (Bhimani,
Willcocks, 2014).
There are three categories of the accounting software, it depends on the size and nature of the
business, whether to implement low-end accounting software, medium end accounting software
or the high-end accounting software (Abdinnour and Saeed, 2015).
Low-end accounting software performs only the basic function of the accounting; it is the
general software, not specific to the industry, which can be used by all the business types.
Medium end accounting software enables the accounting in the multiple currencies, by which the
requirement of the international firms can be fulfilled (Wickramasinghe, Cooray, and
Dissanayake, 2017). High-end accounting software will be implemented for the long period of
time, and they contain the more specific features and can be customized according to the
requirement of the business.
Comparison and selection of the best accounting software for the Bunning Warehouse
The best way to select the suitable accounting software for the company is to analysing the
result by comparing with each other. Here, for the selection of the appropriate accounting
software for the Bunning Warehouse, the comparison between the SAP and XERO and their
features are given as below-
Table 1 comparison between the SAP and XERO accounting software
Comparison SAP XERO

Introduction It is used by around 50,000
customers, at 47 location 37
language and assists the
business process in 25
industries.
It is an online accounting app
which is designed by
considering the requirement
of several industries.
Rating 8.5 9.5
Customer satisfaction 100% 97%
Characteristics It is the Fundamental human
resource software which
assists in obtaining the raw
material required for the
services. Along with the
essential part of the software
is in finance, and also help in
creating the product idea until
it reaches to the market
(Abdinnour and Saeed,
2015).
It assists in keeping and
maintains the record of the
supplier and customers.
Moreover bank
reconciliation, inventory
management, financial
reporting, log in facility from
anywhere, make and send the
invoice automatically, online
accounting access at any time
and from anywhere, payroll
management, purchase order,
free and unlimited e-mail
support, mobile apps for the
i-phone, Android and i-pad
users, managing multi-
currency and so on (Bodnar,
and Hopwood, 2013).
Price High Moderate
By analyzing the above comparison, it has been concluded that for the Bunning Warehouse, SAP
will be the most suitable accounting software. Since the accounting software is consist of many
features, which are already discussed above, leads to the company to gain the competitive
advantages. Through the inventory management by the software, it makes the balance between

the level of inventory and the demand of the product, as in warehouse business, inventory plays a
very important role in the performance of the organization, Such as excess or less inventory
affects the cost of the organization (Wickramasinghe, Cooray, and Dissanayake, 2017). Along
with this by maintaining up to date inventory level, the company can place the proper order, by
which the efficiency of the organization also will increase. Therefore by implementing this
accounting software in the Company can maintain the proper level of inventory. Moreover, this
software also won the best award as per the choice of the expert in the year 2017.
Therefore by implementing the SAP accounting software, the company can place the timely and
accurate deliveries to customers and also interlink the other business process.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above the above study, it has been concluded that selection and implementation
of accounting software depend on the requirement, operations and the functions of the business.
Therefore, if the requirements of the business operations are clearly defined, then only the proper
accounting software can be implemented for the organization. The company can develop the
software in-house, can buy from the vendor or customize the software according to the
specification of the process of the company. However the selection of the software is not an easy
task for the company, but it can be done by comparing features of the software and can choose
the best software, which is suitable for the organization. Selected accounting software for
Bunning Warehouse will assist in inventory management, maintaining the customer and supplier
record, and stock level. It will also provide proper and reliable data and also enhance the
efficiency of the operations of the company.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance with the present study, Bunning Warehouse is recommended to make the
investment in information technology as it provides the improvement in managing the
organization. By using the software, the company can get the cost advantages from it, since by
implementing the software design cost of the product is reduced and low cost assists in the better
performance of the operation. Further, the company will also be able to provide the different

services to the buyer, by which buyer can get attracted, which leads to the overall growth of the
company (Daru, 2016).
For the Bunning warehouse company, high-end accounting software will be the most suitable for
the firm. As the company is one of the largest company of Australia and expanded its business in
other countries also, therefore it is better to use the high-end accounting software in the
company, by customizing the software as per their specific requirement (Cauvain, 2015).
Bunning Company can integrate all the operations such as planning, material purchasing,
inventory management, finance, marketing in one software by which company can determine its
own performance and on the basis of this make the future strategies (Harmon, 2014). The further
company can also apply the analytics by using the high-end accounting software. This software
is customized by the company; therefore it is also easy to use. Due to the reliability, accuracy,
customization, connectivity it is beneficial for the Bunning company to implement the high-end
accounting software in the company, for the effective operation as well as for achieving the
competitive advantages by the company (Trigo, Belfo, and Estébanez, 2016).

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