Commonwealth Bank: Strategic Information System and Accounting

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Commonwealth Bank's managerial accounting practices and strategic information systems. It begins with an external analysis, examining the bank's business background, industry environment, general environment (economic, physical, socio-cultural, global, technological, legal/political, and demographic factors), and competitive environment, including opportunities and threats. The internal analysis then delves into the firm's tangible and intangible resources, capabilities identification, core competency analysis, and the proposal of a suitable information system. The report evaluates the proposed system's potential impact on the bank's operations and concludes with insights into how strategic information systems can enhance decision-making and improve overall performance within the context of Commonwealth Bank's specific challenges and opportunities in the Australian and international financial markets. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wealth of study resources, including past papers and solved assignments.

Managerial Accounting

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Table of Contents
Overview....................................................................................................................................1
Part 1 External Analysis.............................................................................................................2
Business background..............................................................................................................2
Industry...................................................................................................................................2
General environment analysis................................................................................................2
Industrial environment............................................................................................................3
Competitive environment.......................................................................................................4
Opportunities and Threats......................................................................................................4
Part 2 Internal analysis and proposal.........................................................................................5
Firm resources -Tangible and Intangible resources of Commonwealth Bank.......................5
Capabilities Identification......................................................................................................5
Core Competency Analysis....................................................................................................6
Suitable Information System..................................................................................................6
Evaluation of proposed system...............................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7

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Overview
Strategic information system is needed for every organisation whether the business is
small, medium or large. To execute their operations and functions, an organisation needs
strategic information system. It helps in executing the function with quality service so that
customers could be attracted. It helps the organisation to perform in an appropriate manner.
By using strategic information system the organisation meets the target requirements so that
brand image could be improved1. It helps in analysing all the concerns through which
performance could be improved by finding the loopholes so that changes could be made. In
this report the main focus is on the operations and processes undertaken by Commonwealth
Bank. This can be possible by using strategic information system. In this report, the first part
covers the external analysis of the company that includes business background, industrial
background along with general environment analysis. The competitive environment along
with its threats and opportunities are found. The second part deals with the internal analysis
of the company that covers identification of capabilities, core competency analysis and
evaluation of proposed system2. A system is proposed so that suitable information system is
implanted in an organisation.
Strategic information system is used to manage all the information by analysing the
information so that decisions could be taken. It is defined as a system through which business
strategy and structure could be aligned3. It increases the capability so that business can
respond to environmental changes so that controversy could be resolved. In this report,
common wealth bank is considered it is one of eth largest bank in Australia. It is very
beneficial as it changes the way a corporate form competes and focuses on the internal and
external factors of the business. They are concerned to make changes in the existing system
so that competitive advantage could be achieved.
1Gunther Doeker, "The Prerogatives Of The Crown In The Common-Wealth Of Australia
And External Affairs" (2017) 11(4) The American Journal of Comparative Law.
2Milton Harris, "Discussion Of Models In Managerial Accounting" (2018) 20 Journal of
Accounting Research.
3Mahmud Hossain and Pankaj K. Jain, "Regulations, Bailouts And Bank Shareholders’
Wealth: An International Analysis" [2014] SSRN Electronic Journal.

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Part 1 External Analysis
Business background
In this report, the company that is considered is an Australian Bank that is Commonwealth
bank it is located at darling harbour in Sydney. The company has expanded its services in
various parts like Asia, New Zealand, UK and US. It offers financial services for the
customer like retail banking services, institutional and business banking, offering funds and
investment techniques4. They offer services across the globe. The company is situated
globally and having employees approx. 55,000. It is one of the leading banks in Australia and
is also listed in Australian security exchange. It is one of the largest banks in the southern
hemisphere.
Industry
Commonwealth bank is offering financial service in the Australian market, though there are
many other banks offering similar services like Westpac Banking Corporation, National
Australia Bank and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. These are the major banks in
Australia; there are various small banks that are rending similar financial service. Various
foreign banks have made entry in the Australian market5. The competition has increased in
the market due to the availability of various banks. Thus, commonwealth bank worked on
offering service and products in a unique way so that it could be differentiated from other
banks.
General environment analysis
 Economic- The performance of Australian banks were affected after global economic
recession. It affected the income which in turn affected the flow of funds. The whole
banking industry was affected after recession as consumer demand along with buying
4Mahmud Hossain, Santanu Mitra and Zabihollah Rezaee, "Auditing Regulations And Bank
Shareholders’ Wealth: An International Analysis" (2013) 25(2) Research in Accounting
Regulation.
5Haijin Lin and Brian Mittendorf, "Accounting Discretion And Managerial Conservatism: An
Intertemporal Analysis Discussion Of "Accounting Discretion And Managerial Conservatism:
An Intertemporal Analysis"" (2017) 23(4) Contemporary Accounting Research.

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power was reduced6. It can be seen as a global crisis that was faced by entire banking
industry.
 Physical- The physical environment of an organisation affects the business trends.
Commonwealth Bank is one of the largest Australian banks that have captured market
in the global market. It has offered services by analysing the market demand and its
trend so that appropriate services are offered to the customers7. It is considered as the
pioneer of entire keeping money industry of Australia and concerning this, association
is additionally performing in the universal market because of which association needs
to consider the physical factors, for example, society's requests, their patterns so
suitable administrations could be rendered in importance with fulfilment of consumer
loyalty. It identifies the client’s behaviour so that physical environment is not
affected.
 Socio-cultural- With the changing income the lifestyle and demands of customers
have also changed. The buying pattern of customers has been modified now they
prefer online shopping rather than offline shopping. The payment method has also
changed along with buying pattern, nowadays people do not prefer cash payments
rather they look for digital payment options. Thus, commonwealth Bank offer
services as per the customers demand so that performance could be enhanced.
 Global- The Company is widespread in many countries global like in United
Kingdom, United States as well as many Asian countries. Every area has different
demand and requirement according to the culture8. The policies are designed so that
performance could be increased by meeting the demand of target audience.
 Technological- The success behind every organisation is the use of advanced
technology. In Australia, commonwealth bank has enhanced their productivity so that
customers are satisfied. The technology helps in fulfilling all the functions in short
6Malcolm J. McLelland, "Investment Opportunity Sets, Accounting‐Based Regulatory
Contracts, And Accounting Discretion" (2016) 27(3) Managerial Finance.
7E. Škorecová and M. Farkašová, "Social Information In Managerial Accounting And
Managerial Information System" (2017) 53(No. 8) Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská
ekonomika).
8Pagan A, Wilcox D. External Review–Reserve Bank of Australia Economic Group
Forecasts and Analysis. report to the Reserve Bank of Australia. 2015.

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span of time. Previously, all the tasks in banks were completed manually from
withdrawals to deposits. Now, all the functions are made automatic by allowing users
to take benefit of online shopping and payment bills.
 Legal/Political- The legal and political conditions are quiet stable in Australia thus
the functionalities and the work flow is not much affected. The government of
Australia has secured certain amount to deal with bank failures9. The securities of
banks are very important as it keeps confidential and private data of customers. Thus,
according to the banking act it was compulsory that every bank should get a private
licence number so that security is maintained. Thus, in case of Commonwealth Bank
they need to consider all the political factors associated with the regions so that
performance could be enhanced. Meeting legal requirements promote to gain positive
outcome.
 Demographic- Australia have high ratio of immigration thus there are various ethnic
and religious groups of different culture. In this way, it is found that it is vital for
Commonwealth Bank and different banks of Australia so that they can keep money
industry to render benefits according to the intended interest group's requests and
needs. Maturity aggregate individuals are more towards sparing and speculation;
consequently, with the assistance of these administrations, association would have the
capacity to fulfil their administrations which will bring about improving hierarchical
client base and piece of the overall industry in the commercial centre. It is observed
that in the total population the major portion is of the people above 65 years of age. It
is observed that it will increase by 20% till 2050. The Commonwealth Bank has
gained value as most of the population is above 60 years and they believe in saving.
Thus, Commonwealth bank has offered various services so that customer base
demands could be enhanced and market share could be improved.
Industrial environment
 Buyer’s power- The switching over other bank service is very rare in Australia as the
competition is very intense. Every bank is offering unique products and services to the
customer so that customer satisfaction could be gained10. They work on the objective
to keep hold of old customers and design policies so that new customers can be
9Schlagwein D, Thorogood A, Willcocks LP. How Commonwealth Bank of Australia Gained Benefits
Using a Standards-Based, Multi-Provider Cloud Model. 2014 Dec 1;13(4).MIS Quarterly Executive.

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engaged. This is done by improving eth brand image and differentiating it from the
competitors.
 Supplier’s power- The suppliers are enough in this industry as they perform
operations in an appropriate manner. They focus on maintaining good relations with
customers so that trust can be built.
 New Entrants- There are various start-ups and new organisations that are coming up
in the market. Still, it is difficult to replace Commonwealth bank as it has made a
good brand image along with position even in the international market.
 Industry Rivalry – The competition faced by banking sector is tough. There are
various competitors in the market that are offering similar services like Westpac
Banking Corporation, ANZ Banking Group, and National Australia Bank. Not only
large banks but there are various other small banks that are offering similar services.
Thus, due to the presence of such banks the market share of an organisation gets
affected.
 Threat of Substitutes- The new innovation has affected the banking services like
availability of wallet options, various payment options so that better flexibility is
offered to the customers. The biggest replacement of banking industry is mobile
wallets that have affected market share.
Competitive environment
There are various competitors of Commonwealth bank; some of the primary competitors are
Westpac Banking Corporation and ANZ Banking group. It is true that these small
competitors will not be affect Commonwealth bank but still they affect the market share in
some amount. ANZ and many other banks have captured customers by innovating new
functionalities11. If comparing the revenue the ANZ’s revenue of ANZ banks is $14.6 billion
whereas Commonwealth Banks’ revenue is $23.1 billion. There is a huge difference in the
revenue margins and this is due to the presence of Commonwealth Bank in international
market. Both these companies have made good position in the market as they serve customers
with innovative and unique measures. They have tried to capture market share by gaining
10Willcocks L, Reynolds P. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia–strategizing from outsourcing to
the cloud part 1: perennial challenges amidst turbulent technology. 2015 Jan 1;4(2):86-98.Journal of
Information Technology Teaching Cases.
11Buckby S, Gallery G, Ma J. An analysis of risk management disclosures: Australian evidence. 2015
Oct 5;30(8/9):812-69.Managerial Auditing Journal.

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competitive advantage. The competitors try to copy the strategies so that they can capture
large audience.
Opportunities and Threats
There are huge opportunities for Commonwealth Bank as it has made its place in
international market by offering their services globally. The opportunities are widely
available as they have made their place in the global area12. Apart from that, the company has
gained brand image as it uses innovation technology so that they services could be expanded.
With the increasing demand, the GDP has also been boosted by generating employment
opportunities13. Contenders and the methodologies received by them are the greatest dangers
for Commonwealth Bank and in connection with this; each contender is presenting novel
administrations for the target of snatching the piece of the pie of Commonwealth Bank. Aside
from this, developing interest of web based saving money administrations, presentation of
portable instalments and wallets are other enormous dangers for Commonwealth Bank14.
The threats that are faced by Commonwealth bank are due to its competitors as they are
capturing the market share by grabbing the customers. The online banking services have
affected the profit margin of the company. Apart from tat, maintain security is one of the
threats as nowadays payment methods are changed. The other threat is increasing
cybercrimes that causes security issue while making online transactions.
Part 2 Internal analysis and proposal
Firm resources -Tangible and Intangible resources of Commonwealth Bank
The major behind the success of an organisation is their resources. There are various tangible
and intangible resources that help an organisation to meet the market demand by using the
resources effectively. These resources support the organisation to fulfil their demand by
matching with the defined policies and procedures. If discussing about Commonwealth bank,
it was found that this bank was found in 1911 but it was a government bank initially. But
12Ariesta RW. The Analysis of Bank Financial Performance Using Altman (Z-Score) to Predict
Bankruptcy (Study on Listing and Delisting Bank in Indonesian Stock Exchange). 2015 Oct
9;26(1).Jurnal Administrasi Bisnis.
13Wanna J. Policy analysis at the federal government level. (2015) Oct 14:71-86.Policy analysis in
Australia
14Schlagwein D, Thorogood A, Willcocks LP. How Commonwealth Bank of Australia Gained Benefits
Using a Standards-Based, Multi-Provider Cloud Model. (2014) Dec 1;13(4).MIS Quarterly Executive.

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later this converted into a private bank and now it is one of the largest banks in Australia. The
customers are satisfied due to the services the bank offers and good brand image even in the
international market. The bank is widespread over many branches, in general it has approx...
1000 branches worldwide with about 52,000 employees. Commonwealth Bank is one of the
behemoth players of universal managing an banking industry and the real purpose for
hierarchical achievement is their assets. There are different unmistakable and impalpable
assets accessible with the association through which they can coordinate with the global
measures and strategies of keeping money industry. The company has made good brand
image and has a strong financial background15. They offer retail services, institutional as well
as insurance and various funding services. Along with this, organization has talented and
skilled employees which are the essential element of organizational success. All the available
resources are used completed so that effectiveness could be improved. It assures that optimize
use of resources take place.
Capabilities Identification
The brand image in built in the market due to the services it offers to the customers. The
quality of service s quiet effective and is one of the reasons behind the success. The
workforce of commonwealth bank is highly skills and they work in an away so that objective
could be achieved16. The role of employees is to gain competitive advantage so that they can
capture target audience. Apart from that, separate teams are developed for so that they can
deal with all the technical as well as marketing barriers. The employees make sure that they
keep on updating about the new techniques so that customers become aware about them. It
focuses on innovating new ideas so that customers can be retained. They focus on hiring
talented and skilled workers so that they can execute functionalities in an appropriate manner.
The advanced technology is used by the organisation so that their operations could be
completed effectively17. The banking industry is one of the growing industries thus
15Ariesta RW. The Analysis of Bank Financial Performance Using Altman (Z-Score) to Predict
Bankruptcy (Study on Listing and Delisting Bank in Indonesian Stock Exchange). (2015) Oct
9;26(1).Journal Administrasi Bisnis.
16 Indonesia IC, Indonesia IC, Director P, Indonesia I, Branch IC, Kushan R, Branch JC, Asia DS.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
17 Faúndez J, editor. Good government and law: Legal and institutional reform in developing
countries. ; 2016 Jul 27. Springer.

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identifying the new opportunities will helps the business to make changes. The market is
analysed on the behalf of the competitors so that changes could be made.
Core Competency Analysis
The success of Commonwealth bank is due to supply chain management. Supply chain
management assures that services are delivered to customers in a short span of time with
effective quality. Supply chain management improves organisational performance by
delivering best quality services to the customer. The other competency is customer
satisfaction that is one of the major concerns of every organisation. Commonwealth bank has
given priority to customers by focusing on the actions so that customs requirement can be
fulfilled. Innovation helps an organisation to gain customers by capturing their interest.
Customer satisfaction is fulfilled by grabbing their interest and future
The other major success factor of Commonwealth bank is gaining brad value. The good
brand image automatically improves the sale and profit margin18. Brand value is also
improved by promoting the services through various platforms like advertising the products
and promoting it target audience19. The goal behind these policies is capturing target audience
so that effective brand image could be created.
Suitable Information System
It is suggested that, Commonwealth bank should make new set of rules so that objectives
could be met. The organisational performance is improved by understanding the basic
requirements and working accordingly20. For improving the performance it is recommended
that they should analyses all the requirements so that decision could be made. Analysis is
done by understanding the strategies of competitors so that changes could be made
accordingly. The competitive advantage is gained if organization adapts easily all the new
software for providing more effective services to their customers. It’s not only about adapting
to new technology but make sure that a flexible system is developed.
18Otchere I, Chan J. Intra-industry effects of bank privatization: A clinical analysis of the privatization
of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. (2013) May 1;27(5):949-75.Journal of Banking & Finance
19 Gollan R. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia; origins and early history. (2016) Canberra,
Australian National University Press;
20Schlagwein D, Thorogood A, Willcocks LP. How Commonwealth Bank of Australia Gained Benefits
Using a Standards-Based, Multi-Provider Cloud Model. 2014 Dec 1;13(4). MIS Quarterly Executive.

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Evaluation of proposed system
It is important to evaluate the proposed system so that performance and efficiency could be
boosted up21. It also helps in finding out the loopholes so that changes could be made
accordingly. The main goal of an organisation is to make sure that all the operations are
completed in an appropriate time with best quality. In the banking industry it is important to
follow proper rules and regulations so that the entire objective is met. The objectives will be
attained if a well-defined strategy will be followed22. The strategies are changed according to
the demand of customers. The proposed system suggested that brand image can help the
organization to attain its goals23. It helps in capturing the target market which will ultimately
support the organization to boost up its performance.
21 Arnscheidt J, van Rooij B, Otto JM. Lawmaking for Development. Explorations into the Theory and
Practice of International Legislative Projects. 2016 Jan 1. Leiden University Press.
22 JM. Otto. Lawmaking for pment. Explorations into the Theory and Practice of International
Legislative Projects. 2016 Jan 1. Leiden University Press.
23Kassens-Noor E, Kayal P. India's new globalization strategy and its consequences for urban
development: the impact of the 2010 Commonwealth Games on Delhi's transport system. 2016 Jan
2;21(1):34-49.International Planning Studies.

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Conclusion
In the report, the discussion is carried out on an Australian bank that is Commonwealth bank.
It is suggested that every organisation requires strategic information system so that goals
could be achieved. They focus on capturing the audience by gaining the competitive
advantage. In this report, the basic components are studied so that performance of the
company can be improved. These factors help in identifying the area where changes could be
made. The objective was to gain competitive advantage and target audience so that profit
margins could be increased. This report also covered the internal and external analysis of
Commonwealth Bank. It helps in identifying the business background and the industry in
which it operates. Apart from this, major focus of the report was study competition between
Commonwealth Bank and its primary competitors i.e. ANZ Banking Group. Thus, all the
capabilities are identified by analysing the current situation and models are developed so that
changes could be made. To overcome the issue of competitors, innovative ideas are
developed so that customers could be captured. A new system was proposed so that changes
could be made easily and improvement can be done. This report helped in understanding the
scenario of the company by finding the internal and external analysis.