ACC2002 Report: Strategic Uses of Cloud Accounting Information Systems

This report examines the strategic applications of accounting information systems (AIS) and two cloud-based systems, focusing on their role in achieving IT-related innovations. It analyzes Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS), discussing their features and benefits. The report explores how companies implement these systems and their impact on organizational performance, including the advantages of cloud computing such as cost reduction and flexibility. It also evaluates the strategic application of AIS by firms to drive IT innovations, considering aspects like agile projects, digital business, and data center substation, and the implications for IT staff and business users. The report considers the advantages of SaaS, including scalability, and discusses the importance of IT as a strategic asset for business success.

Running head: ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEM
Accounting information system
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:
Course ID:

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Executive Summary
The report has been prepared to demonstrate the strategic uses of an accounting system and
two of the cloud based systems of accounting information that help to achieve the IT related
innovations. It has further been segregated into two parts in which the first part highlights the
analyses of IaaS and SaaS software’s. The second part deals with the application of the
system by the company and effect of implementation of the software on its performance. The
attributable aids to the accounting software relating to the organization have been discussed.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Discussion..................................................................................................................................4
Critical discussion of the two AIS based on cloud................................................................4
Evaluation of the strategic application by firms to achieve innovations relating to IT.........8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
Reference list............................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Accounting Information System is the structure used by an organization to store,
process, collect, report and manage the financial data. It is used by business analysts, tax
agencies, accountants, auditors and consultants. Many accountants are trained with in depth
knowledge of AIS to make sure that the accuracy level in the financial transactions are high.
Online Accounting is the other name of Cloud Accounting. The accounting software provides
the same services and stores the data securely on its server known as the cloud (Shuleski et
al. 2016).
The software of AIS providing cloud computing delivers computer services. The
storage, server, network and database are used. Software as a Service (SaaS) and
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) are the two varieties of AIS whose implementation based on
cloud computing has been discussed. IaaS involves renting of IT infrastructures like
operating systems, networks and servers. SaaS involves providing of software application and
getting solution over the web.
Discussion
Critical discussion of the two AIS based on cloud
AIS is a cloud based system where the system’s process is automated so the
accounting is performed easily, the company’s data is integrated onto the server. The
consumers are allowed to get the details in real time. A cloud based AIS promotes
outsourcing of the accounting process in a proper manner.
Infrastructure as a Service – The cloud based service system allows the vital web
architecture to get business. Without purchasing the organizations can make use of servers,
connections, and storage space while internet infrastructure gets managed by themselves. The

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infrastructure which is provided, is beneficial for both the business because of the
involvement of the specialization and economies of scale.
Iaas provides access to resources that are highly scalable and can be changed as
required by the capacity. The company gains experience similar to the high workloads that
are temporary. The small and medium size businesses that forecast an increase in demand are
best suited for this service. Another benefit received by the company is the flexibility of
location (Mahama et al. 2016). IaaS is accessed virtually from any location that has no
internet connectivity. Strategic use of the categories of its services-
Agile projects – Agile procedures are performed by organizations that launch IT
projects. They are required to meet the development of rapid application and its prototype
which is required for the ability and flexibility to meet the organizational requirements.
(Rosado and Bernardino).
Digital business – The account supports the major workloads of the organization.
Organizations are required to provide with the cases that include data services, digital
marketing and customer resource management.
Batch computing – For the purpose of grid computing or traditional high
performance, IaaS serves as a substitute due to its less requirement. It includes processes like
number analysis, data analysis, video encoding and genetic sequencing.
Data centre substation – IaaS has steadily been complementing on the structure of on-
premises data. The service is being similarly used for the inside visualization environment.
The company started with the economic development as the experience and trust grows they
steadily expands the use of IaaS for critical applications.

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Cloud computing has positive effect on the organization. The expense of the company
has been reduced as the resources are taken at the time of requirement and is paid only after
its use. The clients do not have to hold the ownership of the infrastructure but the online
services can be used by them. Thus, the maintenance cost and initial expense has been
lowered because the need for purchasing the infrastructure no longer exists. For the up
gradation of the infrastructure of the services, the cloud providers are responsible. Clients get
new trends and solutions in business that the cloud providers put to use by making use of the
advanced techonlogies (Vadivelu et al. 2018). By using different software and security
software, the systems are maintained by cloud providers.
Organizations make use of cloud computing to facilitate modernization where the
clouds can be used as a medium to transfer information over the servers and be instantly
accessed. The innovations in cloud is accelerated by running the servers and software’s as the
teams no longer have to wait for the resources that the IT provides (Turner et al. 2016). The
cloud computing facilitates faster modes of delivery of customer services and products.
Software as a Service - Software as a Service becomes mature with the use of
predates in the phases. The applications that run on the vendor’s computer allows leveraging
of the cloud for the purpose of software architecture by decreasing the pressure of support,
operations and maintenance. The Information Technology based application enhances the
scalability and reliability at much lower costs in a utility model when compared to an on-
premise IT system.
The advantages which is provided by SaaS to its consumers is that of zero investment
cost, upgrades and support by vendor, response to the market, the elasticity of computing
resources, usage measured as resource pooling and utility as needed to increase the resources

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of computing. Based on the advantages, the companies choose to opt for the SaaS model. The
advantages of the model have implementations on the role and department of IT workers.
The implementations of the firm include variation of skill set of the IT workers,
laying off of the IT hardware workers and upon loss of server control by the IT department.
There are significant risks posed to the cloud service provider to their personal jobs. The
business mode is identified as an increasingly technology of disruption that assists the whole
implications of the firm by obtaining such services. The business model of SaaS has an
attribute of unprecedented scalability that is allowed to be addressed for the computational
needs which require addressing of fast and cheap outsourcing strategies than traditional ones.
The mechanism of cloud computing solves the problems relating to infrastructure and
finance that is relating to the development of custom applications. A company is able to
provide efficient and effective services by using the SaaS model. The tie up with its peers
assists application development. The firms get an easy opportunity to start the task and
allocate it in the market. The proper efficiency in the use of the resource of deployment by IT
for developing the application is the major advantage provided by the system. The use of
virtual IT services in the applications make them more efficient and better equipped to the
demands of its users. The services of cloud computing provide flexibility to the clients by
using pay-per use model and how much they want to spend therefore it eliminates the
redundant expenses (Diatmika et al. 2016).
The advantage of software implementation is an easy service scalability. It allows the
movements of services by the firms upon need. It is required when the business has a cyclical
nature and the firms that keep on evolving. The providers of service provide automatic
updates in software depending upon the need of the users that are available or on installation

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of patches like security updates (Shuleski et al. 2016). With the limited IT staff, it can be
easily appealing to the organization for handling the tasks.
AIS is a procedure based on machine that gets assisted by IT for the tracking purpose
of auditing and accounting activities. The cloud computing has been adopted massively as it
is easier to adopt it in different size of organizations. The firms save their cost of maintenance
by setting up service providers based on cloud as it enables flexibility of addition or removal
of IT services upon demand since almost all services are provided using online services
(Dehury and Sahoo 2016).
The importance of IT is emerging as the market is very competitive. It is adopted as a
strategic asset for the success of companies. IT makes use of these for gaining strategic
advantages when deploying innovations. The reengineering business processes is used to
achieve the structure so that benefits of IT can be gained.
Evaluation of the strategic application by firms to achieve innovations relating to IT
IaaS is widely used by organizations for its fast, easy and cost efficient attributes. In
IaaS, infrastructure from other business is rented or leased. The effective model is
experimental and temporary with its workload. It has five motivators which include capacity
management, capability to access new capabilities and skills, savings of cost on infrastructure
and hardware and disaster recovery. Organizations get advantages from its implementation as
it gives support to the IT department, assist in purchasing and installation of hardware
elements, database, middleware software and operating system. The tasks are sent to the
service providers of the IT department who are responsible for the services. A long term
impact in the use of IAAS on the manner of understanding business by the IT staff. Upon
receiving technical tasks from the cloud provider, the roles of the IT staff get reassigned

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within and the strategic and business related issues gets more focused in the IT tasks (Chen et
al. 2018).
In any firm, the business are the main clients. On purchasing the Enterprise Resource
Planning, marketing solutions or Human Capital Management for users of business these
services are used. The users are able to articulate their requirements and involve themselves
in the discussion with the supplier of cloud who are the professionals with knowledge in the
respective fields for providing solution. The users can directly order for the application from
the provider of cloud without having to go through the IT department. Therefore, the
relationship between the business and IT department has become obsolete, it is longer
required as the providers of SaaS can directly be contacted (Gelinas et al. 2017). The
outsourcing research of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has highlighted
the importance of advantages and success of outsourcing ICT in contractual and relational
governance. The presence of ICT outsourcing literature does not affect the advanatages of
SaaS in relational governance. The ICT services have more complex provisions which is
generally involved in ICT outsourcing, highly customized as per the clients, the client and
provider requires more interaction and cooperation. There is no need for the improvement of
the connection among the providers of SaaS and the firm. The intensive client-provider needs
which the features of SaaS including limited customization, minimal client-interaction and
standardized services (Patel 2015). The study provides the advantages of innovation and
operation which is provided by SaaS have an impact on the performance of the firm
positively.
In the virtual environment, AIS such as IaaS assist by providing access to information
technology resources like all the other cloud computing service providers (Ahmad et al.
2016). Some applications is hosted for the customers using the distribution model of software
SaaS and the customers can access such service using the platform of internet. In addition to

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this, the cloud providers operate, own and maintain the networks and servers that are
generally distributed across the data and IaaS is responsible for providing such services. The
study on the multilateral development of software can be studied using the new possibilities
offered by the cloud computing.
Conclusion
The report shows that IaaS and SaaS have operating benefits and have a strong
positive impact on the firm’s performance. By innovating the service of Saas, the firm
performance has a moderate effect. Thus, from the firm is being benefitted and have a
substantial and performance. It supports the current innovations instead of enabling
modification. The difference among the innovation and operational advantages that is derived
from SaaS has a positive effect on the performance of the organization and the parameters
that help to decide its magnitude.

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Reference list
Ahmad, M.A.N., Smith, M., Ismail, Z., Djajadikerta, H. and Roni, M.S.M.M., 2016.
Computerised Accounting Information Systems and Firm Performance: The Mediating Role
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