An Analysis of Accounting Software and CBA's Financial Performance

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and its use of accounting software. It begins with an overview of CBA's organizational structure, highlighting key management levels, and then delves into the organizational problems the bank faces, including declining market shares, ineffective strategies, and customer dissatisfaction. The report examines CBA's strategies, which focus on customers, technology, strength, and productivity, and discusses the system acquisition method, particularly the use of the SAP model. It also addresses control problems within the system and process design considerations, including customer relationship management. The second part of the report focuses on accounting software packages, market size, and competitors, identifying key players in the banking sector. The report concludes with recommendations for CBA to improve its financial performance, including reducing interest rates, addressing share value concerns, and enhancing customer service. This report is a valuable resource for understanding the financial and operational aspects of a major banking institution and is available on Desklib, a platform offering AI-based study tools for students.

Running head: ORGANIZATION WITH ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Organization with Accounting Software
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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ORGANIZATION WITH ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Part 1............................................................................................................................................3
Commonwealth Bank of Australia..........................................................................................3
Organizational Structure..........................................................................................................3
Organizational Problems.........................................................................................................4
Strategies..................................................................................................................................6
System Acquisition Method....................................................................................................7
Control Problems in the System............................................................................................10
Process Designing..................................................................................................................10
Part 2..........................................................................................................................................11
Accounting Software Packages.............................................................................................11
Market Size............................................................................................................................12
Market Leaders and Competitors...........................................................................................12
Recommendations..................................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................16

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Introduction
Accounting software is a kind of software of execution, which tracks and operates
different transactions of the department of accounting in the diverse effective modules like the
trial balance, accounts payable, accounting records and payroll (Galliers and Leidner 2014). It is
usually acquired from a third party vendor, or is spread by the company that is planning to take
accounting software or it can be an integration of both cases with slight changes.
The discussion of The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is given below. This review
helps to understand the basic organizational structure of the bank, the various organizational
problems in the systems such as the inefficiencies and the error with proper information and
graphs (Hallikainen et al. 2017). The review provides the sales flowchart of CBA. The market
size and the competitors are also mentioned here.
Discussion
Part 1
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia
One of the most recognized and popular banks is The Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(Commbank.com.au, 2017). They provide various finance related services. These services
include providing loans, investments, different banking.

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Organizational Structure
The organizational structure of Commonwealth Bank of Australia covers the complete
management and corporate structure of the bank including all the managing bodies and
employees of the organization (Ismail and King 2014).
Figure 1: Organizational Structure of CBA
(Source: Commbank.com.au, 2017)
The above figure describes all the important managing bodies including the top
management, the middle management and the lower management levels of Commonwealth Bank
of Australia.

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Organizational Problems
CBA is considered as the best bank in Australia. However, they have faced major turmoil
in their business and market shares (Kavanagh and Johnson 2017). Over the years, the shares of
the bank have fallen down. The main reason for this degradation is their wrong strategies.
Various approaches are undertaken by the bank to overcome the problems and to improve the
bank shares. Almost all of the approaches went wrong because of the constant alterations in the
trends of the market (Hallikainen et al. 2017). The main reason for the alteration in the structure
of the organization is the involvement of Commonwealth Bank competition. The bank was not
able to satisfy their existing customers and was not able to fulfill their necessities. Due to the
constant downfall in the shares, they were not even able to provide loans to the customers.
Another important reason that lost the interest of clients was the higher rate of interests (Ismail
and King 2014). People were not able to pay back their loan with ease and ultimately reduced to
take loans or open accounts in their bank.

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Figure 2: Downfall of shares in Commonwealth Bank
(Source: Commbank.com.au, 2017)
The figure given above represents the drastic fall of the shares of the CBA. Previously,
the shares were above 76, which were extremely good for the organization. However, after few
years, there was a drastic degradation in the shares of the bank and was a sharp downfall in the
shares (Kavanagh and Johnson 2017). The shares have even gone down to 75.5. This is effecting
to the new and the existing clients. They are scared to invest their money in the bank. They are
even not taking loan from the bank because of the higher interest rates. The clients of any bank
always take loans or invest their money in those banks, where the interest rates will be lower and
they will be feeling that their money is safe (Li Cui and Lu 2017). Another problem with this
bank is that sufficient staffs are not present in the branches with respect to the huge amount of
clients visiting everyday and the staffs and employees present in the bank are not polite enough
with the clients, which is again creating a negative impact in the minds of the clients.
Strategies
The strategies that Commonwealth Bank of Australia follow are for the betterment of the
bank and its clients. They focus on four major components. They are as follows:
a) Customer: The customer is the first and foremost element of any bank. If the
customers will stop coming to the bank, the bank shares will fall down and the bank even can be
closed (Nguyen, Nguyen and Bosch 2017).
b) Technology: Another important component is the technology. The bank should change
their ideologies according to the modern technologies to match with the rest of the world.

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c) Strength: The main strength of Commonwealth Bank is their teamwork (Peppard and
Ward 2016). The staffs and the employees work together to obtain the organizational goals.
d) Productivity: The final strategy is to focus on the productivity. They keep regular and
annual records on the productivity of the bank and the employees.
Strategies
Customer 40%
Technology 15%
Strength 15%
Productivity 30%
Figure 3: Strategies of Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(Source: Commbank.com.au, 2017)
Customers carry 40%, technology carries 15%, strength carries 15% and productivity
carries 30%. The main focus is given on the customers and they carry the maximum weight age
by CBA.
System Acquisition Method
ERP is the procedure through which an organization, mostly a manufacturer controls and
amalgamates the major portions of a particular business (Peppard and Ward 2016). An

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information system of management of ERP combines the major areas of an organizational
business like the marketing, planning, sales, finance, purchasing and human resources. This is
the method or technique that is used by various organizations to achieve the goals and objectives
of the organizations (Li, Cui and Lu 2017). Commonwealth Bank uses the basic Systems,
Applications and Products model or the SAP model in their business. Introducing SAP in the
business is extremely complex and it requires sufficient training and knowledge. This model
helps the technical team of any organization to attain maximum benefit (Madhavaram and Hunt
2017). Another important advantage of SAP that brought success to Commonwealth Bank is the
flexibility and extreme integration with all other modules of the business. Another advantage of
SAP is its cost. It is absolutely cost effective. The main problem that Commonwealth Bank has
faced during its business is because of the wrong strategies that they were following in the past
days. The SAP of Commonwealth bank is updated and renewed to make the shares of the bank
steady (Nguyen, Nguyen and Bosch 2017). The shareholders of the bank are trying to reduce the
interest rates of the banks so that the clients will be interested again in taking loans.

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Figure 4: Systems Flowchart of Commonwealth Bank
(Source: Commbank.com.au, 2017)
The above figure shows the basic flowchart of the processes of the bank. It gives an
illustration of all the procedures of the bank in details (Appelbaum et al. 2017). It helps to find
out the loopholes in their processes. The flowchart is divided in three basic components. They
are the review, evaluation and the respond. The review part comprises of the feedback of the
bank from their customers. The evaluation portion comprises on the answers and necessary steps
taken from the feedback. The third portion is the respond. It comprises on the functions and the
processes of the bank (Peppard and Ward 2016). Even if the bank does not respond on time,

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there are necessary steps that can be taken. E-banking, credit card service, deposit service and
many more are the main functions of CBA.
Control Problems in the System
The problems that Commonwealth Bank of Australia is facing have created various
modifications in the banking shares of the bank. The growth of any organization mainly depends
on the shareholders, clients and the marketing team of that organization (Pearlson, Saunders and
Galletta 2016).
Process Designing
The inclusion of various clients is extremely important for all organizations. The clients
should be involved with Commonwealth bank and this will help to maintain the willing power to
work and the involvement of the employees of the organization (McKnight et al. 2017). The
process of service is the basic need in this particular case. The organization was started in the
year 1911 and it should have altered the structure of the organization with the innovative trends
in the market. The bank employees are not enough for the bulk quantity of the clients who are
the regular clients.
Customer Relationship Management
Banks deal with clients and it their duty to fulfill the requirement of the clients. Customer
Relationship Management is the characteristic, which refers to the techniques and the various
strategies that an organization use to maintain a good relation with their clients (Madhavaram
and Hunt 2017). The CRM of Commonwealth Bank is not at all up to the mark. They are
maintaining a good relation with their customers. They should focus on the customer relationship
management so that the clients will seek interest in their bank.

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Part 2
Accounting Software Packages
The major challenges that CBA is facing recently can be mitigated or stopped by the
implementation of an accounting software in their organization (Cassidy 2016). Commonwealth
is using the B2C or Business-to-Customers software package. The advantages of B2C software
are as follows:
i) It reduces competition gap
ii) Flexibility
iii) Cost Effective
iv) Eradication of Middlemen
v) Training not required.

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Market Size
Figure 5: Margin of Commonwealth Bank shares
(Source: Commbank.com.au, 2017)
The figure given above represents the fall in the market shares of Commonwealth Bank
of Australia (Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta 2016). Previously, the shares were 283; however,
recently it has gone down to 262.
Market Leaders and Competitors
There are few core competitors of CBA (Appelbaum et al. 2017). They are as follows:
i) NAB Australia
ii) ANZ Australia
iii) ASB Bank

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iv) Westpac New Zealand
v) Bank West
vi) St. George Bank Australia
vii) Kiwi Bank New Zealand (Coviello and Tanev 2017)
Figure 6: Core Competitors of Commonwealth Bank.
(Source: Commbank.com.au, 2017)
The figure given above describes the core competitors of Commonwealth Bank. Seven
banks are the core competitors of this particular bank (Abraham and Dao 2017). However,
Commonwealth Bank is gaining the maximum shares as per the given chart. 20% of the total
shares and clients are taken by it. 16% is taken by ANZ Australia and 13% is taken by NAB
Australia. The rest banks are getting the remaining shares and clients (Ismail and King 2014).
The pie chart clearly defines that Commonwealth Bank is in a winning position and is getting the
competitive advantage than the rest banks and it means that it is the market leader.

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Recommendations
Commonwealth Bank of Australia is going through various problems and issues in their
business. The main problem of this bank is the higher interest rates. It is recommended that the
shareholders should focus on the problem and try to reduce the interest rates so that clients will
again take loans from the bank. The second problem is that people are not investing in the bank
because of the downfall in the shares of the bank. They are scared as they think that they will
lose their money. The managers and the shareholders should solve this problem as soon as
possible so that the clients will again invest in their banks. The third problem is the less amount
of employees in the banks. They are not sufficient for the large amount of clients in the banks.
The bank authority should hire more employees and staffs so that they are able to serve the bank
clients properly. Another problem is the lack of customer relationship management. They should
behave with the clients with respect so that the clients will give a positive feedback about the
back. All these recommendations will help Commonwealth Bank to regain its position in the top
list.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that, Commonwealth Bank of
Australia is one of the leading banks in Australia and New Zealand. In spite of being on the top
four list, it is facing various turmoil in its business. These problems are making the bank less
popular amongst the clients and the shares are going down massively. However, they are trying
to evolve out of the situation by bringing new ideologies and strategies in their business. The
above literature review covers a basic discussion on the structure, errors, inefficiencies and the
process designing of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It further covers the market size, market

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leaders and competitors of the bank. Specific recommendations are also provided to overcome
the risks and challenges of the organization.

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References
Abraham, T. and Dao, V., 2017. An Empirical Investigation of Sustainability Innovation
Systems and the Stages of Sustainability Maturity.
Appelbaum, D., Kogan, A., Vasarhelyi, M. and Yan, Z., 2017. Impact of business analytics and
enterprise systems on managerial accounting. International Journal of Accounting Information
Systems, 25, pp.29-44.
Cassidy, A., 2016. A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. CRC press.
Commbank.com.au. (2017). Personal banking including accounts, credit cards and home loans -
CommBank. [online] Available at: https://www.commbank.com.au/ [Accessed 4 Sep. 2017].
Coviello, N. and Tanev, S., 2017. Initiating a New Research Phase in the Field of International
Entrepreneurship: An Interview with Professor Nicole Coviello. Technology Innovation
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Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E. eds., 2014. Strategic information management: challenges and
strategies in managing information systems. Routledge.
Hallikainen, H., Paesbrugghe, B., Laukkanen, T., Rangarajan, D. and Gabrielsson, M., 2017,
January. How Individual Technology Propensities and Organizational Culture Influence B2B
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Hatton, C., Hatton, C., Kolk, M., Kolk, M., Eikelenboom, M., Eikelenboom, M., Beaumont, M.
and Beaumont, M., 2017. Four approaches for staffing and structuring a product development

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team to identify the crucial unmet needs of B2B customers. Strategy & Leadership, 45(2), pp.25-
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Ismail, N.A. and King, M., 2014. Factors influencing the alignment of accounting information
systems in small and medium sized Malaysian manufacturing firms. Journal of Information
Systems and Small Business, 1(1-2), pp.1-20.
Kavanagh, M.J. and Johnson, R.D. eds., 2017. Human resource information systems: Basics,
applications, and future directions. Sage Publications.
Li, M.H., Cui, L. and Lu, J., 2017. Marketized state ownership and foreign expansion of
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Madhavaram, S. and Hunt, S.D., 2017. Customizing business-to-business (B2B) professional
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McKnight, D.H., Lankton, N.K., Nicolaou, A. and Price, J., 2017. Distinguishing the effects of
B2B information quality, system quality, and service outcome quality on trust and distrust. The
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Nguyen, T.V., Nguyen, N.C. and Bosch, O.J., 2017. Enhancing the competitive advantages of
Vietnamese coffee through the exploration of causal loop modelling in the supply
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Pearlson, K.E., Saunders, C.S. and Galletta, D.F., 2016. Managing and Using Information
Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley & Sons.

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Peppard, J. and Ward, J., 2016. The strategic management of information systems: Building a
digital strategy. John Wiley & Sons.