Accounting Software in Australian Finance: Macquarie Group Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Macquarie Group's implementation of accounting software in Australia. It begins by outlining the company's organizational structure, which is described as non-hierarchical, and discusses operational problems that arise due to this structure. The report then delves into the system acquisition methods used by Macquarie, including vendor software like Intralinks, Manage Engine, and Synopsys, as well as their own customized solutions. A system flowchart of the sales procedures is presented, followed by a discussion of control problems and potential frauds. The second part of the report examines the development and adoption of accounting software packages, specifically Xero, and its role in the company's financial services. It also provides an overview of the current market size, competitive advantages, and challenges encountered by users of accounting software. Finally, the report offers recommendations to overcome these challenges and concludes with a summary of the findings. The report highlights Macquarie's market position and the importance of accounting software in its operations, while also acknowledging the need for improved security and user-friendliness.

Running head: ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
Organization using Accounting Software in Australia
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

1
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
Executive Summary
The objective of this report is to discuss about an organization in Australia that makes the use of
accounting software for its functioning. This report discusses about the Macquarie Group and its
organizational structure. It also outlines the types of software that this organization uses and its
competitive advantages. This report also suggests several solutions to overcome the limitations
of the accounting software.

2
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Part One...............................................................................................................................3
Current Organizational Structure.....................................................................................3
Operational problems faced by Macquarie due to its Structure......................................5
System Acquisition Method............................................................................................5
System Flowchart of the Sales Procedures......................................................................6
Control Problems and Different Types of Frauds that are Possible in this System.........8
Part Two...............................................................................................................................8
Development and Adoption of the Accounting Software Packages................................8
Current Market Size.........................................................................................................9
Leaders in the Market and Competitive Advantage......................................................10
Existing Challenges Encountered by Users of Accounting Software...........................10
Recommendations..........................................................................................................11
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................11
References..........................................................................................................................12

3
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
Introduction
Macquarie Group is a well reputed Australian company. It is based in Sydney. Macquarie
is a well diversified financial group that is responsible for providing asset management and all
kinds of financial services like banking and risk solutions to the clients. They have a robust risk
management structure that has helped them to generate huge profit and revenue over the years.
This report focuses on the implementation of accounting software in the Macquarie
Group. It describes the organizational structure and what is the competitive advantage of the
company. It talks about the importance of accounting software used by the organization and the
existing loopholes in the accounting software. Accounting software is a type of software that
helps a company to carry on with its accounting works more efficiently in less time.
Part One
Current Organizational Structure
Macquarie group is involved in providing financial services like banking, asset
management and other financial aids to the clients. The company was founded in the year 1969
(Macquarie.com 2017). Macquarie follows a non hierarchical structure. This type of structure
follows no hierarchy or levels. This can also be called as a flat structure. This type of structure is
beneficial as it promotes an employee participation in decision making and motivates the
employees to work better (Smither Houston and McIntire 2016). This also helps to increase the
productivity of the organization as the response to the clients is faster. There are five divisions in
Macquarie, each having different functionalities. The managing director, deputy managing
director and the chief operations officer form the central or main group in the organization. This

4
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
division takes the responsibility of managing the entire organization as a whole. The other
departments in the company are also managed by the member of this group. The divisions in the
company have interrelations with one another. There are services divisions too. The divisions
are: legal department, financial management department, risk management department and also
corporate operations division.
Figure 1: Organisational Structure of Macquarie Group
(Source: Macquarie.com 2017)

5
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
Operational problems faced by Macquarie due to its Structure
The non hierarchical structure of the company has led to certain troubles. Organizations
have faced issues regarding losing control. This kind of structure is still applicable in case of
small organizations. But when the number of employees increase, it becomes difficult for the
management to keep control over the organization. There have been issues in the area of power
struggle among the employees of the company (Rothaermel 2015). The company has also faced
accusations of giving wrong financial advices and misconduct. This led to severe financial loss
of the clients due to wrong advice. This would not have been possible in case of a strong
hierarchical structure where the strict adherence to rules and governance of the higher authority
would monitor the activities of the financial advisors of the company. The financial advisors
have also been blamed for investing the money of the investors in high risk projects (Hall 2012).
The non hierarchical structure has led to this no monitoring of the activities of the employees
leading to such troubles.
System Acquisition Method
Macquarie group is known for using three types of vendor software from the providers.
This method is followed by the company as an acquisition method. One of the software used by
Macquarie is Intralinks (Intralinks.com 2017). This software is used for the purpose of project
management. It provides for the collaborative solution of different types of industries like
finance, management, science and technology. This software helps the company to provide
financial solutions and improve its efficiency and productivity. One more software used by
Macquarie is called Manage Engine (Manageengine.com 2017). This software enables the
company to take management decisions by providing the company with management related

6
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
tools. This software helps Macquarie to take real time decisions and perform efficiently.
Synopsis is the name of another software provider that is responsible for providing optimization
and testing tools (Synopsys.com 2017). This software enables Macquarie to perform financial
transactions in a safe manner.
Macquarie group has also developed its own software that is customized to their own
needs. This software helps to improve the relationship with its clients (ComputerWeekly 2017).
They have developed a data layer through the use of database tools are open source in nature.
System Flowchart of the Sales Procedures
The sales procedure of Macquarie starts from the customer and ends with the fulfillment
of the order. Initially the customer places an order, may be for a credit card. This leads to a
procedure of checking the details of the customers. Based on the financial background,
Macquarie approves or disapproves the request. The order is also reviewed for the approval or
disapproval. Then the execution of order takes place. After that the client receives the order. The
figure below shows the sales procedure of Macquarie group.

7
Customer Submits PO Rep Logs PO, Enters
Order
Order is reviewed
Standard Terms
Order is
approved
Approval is
requested
Order is
cancelled
Order is not processed
Rep is notified
Attorney Marks it
OK and sends back
Attorney Marks it
NO and sends back
Changes Acceptable
Orders are
executed
Client receives order
NO
YES
YES
NO
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
Figure 2: System Flowchart for Sales Procedure of Macquarie Group
(Source: Macquarie.com 2017)

8
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
Control Problems and Different Types of Frauds that are Possible in this System
The Macquarie Group has a non hierarchical structure that causes the main problems in
the system. This leads to loss of control of the management in the organization (Ting 2014).
There are chances that the financial advisors might take wrong and fraudulent decisions in order
to invest the money of the clients in a risky project (Li, Allan and Evans 2015). If the structure
would have been a tall structure then it would not have created any such problems. The
organization would have great control and hold over the employees in case of a tall
organizational structure. In this type of case the system is well organized and well managed
leading to better productivity of the company. This flat structure creates problem in monitoring
the activities of the company. These issues lead to severe problems. The ASIC had even ordered
Macquarie to compensate for 160000 customers approximately due to such fraudulent activities
(Mossa and Silvapulle 2012).
Part Two
Development and Adoption of the Accounting Software Packages
The accounting software used by Macquarie group is Xero (Dimitriu and Matei 2014). It
is third party software. This software is also based in Australia. This software helps the company
to provide financial services over the internet. It is an online service. This software allows the
customers to get the transaction details that they have performed online. This software also
allows the customers to get an online mini statement. This software also helps to keep an
accounting bookkeeping of the customers (Mageto 2017). This accounting software helps in
carrying out all the transactions in an effective manner.

9
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
Current Market Size
The graph provided below reflects the current market size. Macquarie bank is being
compared with three other leading banks called the Commonwealth bank, Westpac Banking
Corp and the Scentre Group. The performance of Macquarie is better in comparison to the rest of
the banks. The share price is up by 11.27 per cent that shows that this bank s performing well in
the market. The graph clarifies the fact that Macquarie is at the top of all the other top ranked
banks in the current market. The blue line represents the performance of Macquarie group. It is
the best performing bank among its competitors.
Figure 3: Current Market Size of Macquarie Group

10
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
(Source: Macquarie.com 2017)
Leaders in the Market and Competitive Advantage
There are many companies that play leading role in the market like Commonwealth Bank
in Australia. The other leaders are the Westpac banking Corporation along with the Scentre
Group. The reasons behind their success are their unique competitive advantages (Bhattacharya,
Romani and Stern 2012). These strategies have kept them ahead of all their rival firms. The
strategy that is adopted by the Commonwealth bank is to focus on the customer satisfaction. The
Westpac Banking Corporation on the other hand follows to improve its technical efficiency in
the market. Macquarie group focuses on the different types of services that they provide and
focuses on bringing unique features to the services. Macquarie group is known for its efficiency
and competitive advantage over the rest of the companies in the market. They believe in
integrity, commitment to the clients, team work and following the highest standards in order to
retain customers and increase the number of customers. The most competitive feature of the
company is its remuneration package. The training provided by Macquarie to its employees is
considered to be the best in the industry. These different varieties of financial services provided
by the bank have led to the tremendous success of the Macquarie group in leading the market.
Existing Challenges Encountered by Users of Accounting Software
The existing challenges that are faced by the Macquarie group while using the accounting
software are lack of security and non user friendly features (Simkin, Norman and Rose 2014).
The software is difficult to customize according to the needs of the customers. On the other hand
the software is involved in handling financial data of the clients. Any kind of security breach

11
ORGANIZATION USING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IN AUSTRALIA
leads to loss of the sensitive information of the user data. This will also affect the reputation of
the company in a serious manner (Mutongi 2014). The accounting software also has weak
reporting ability along with a poor access speed.
Recommendations
Proper security policy must be installed in the organization to overcome the risks and
challenges of the accounting software. The system must have a strong firewall configuration that
will protect the sensitive data from any type unauthorized access. Network security software will
help to protect the software from any type of misuse of the data. Financial models used by the
Macquarie group must use a flexible model for the proper efficiency of the system. A driver
based solution will allow the use of software for any other purpose too. The adaptability of the
system must be good in order to get accustomed to any type of work.
Conclusion
This report concludes that the accounting packages used by the Macquarie group are
provided by the vendors. The software used by the company has several challenges but these
challenges can be rectified by following certain steps and procedures. This report also discusses
about the competitive advantages that has led to the success of the company. This report also
gives a brief outline about the organizational structure and its loopholes. This report also gives
recommendation about overcoming the limitation of the accounting software.