Improving accounting information system of universal vietnam steel building company limited

Information Technology ProceduresPeople Accounting information Accounting data Internal control Software... Chief accountantChecking documents directly from general accountant before giv

Thethesisproposaltitle:IMPROVINGACCOUNTING

INFORMATIONSYSTEMOFUNIVERSALVIETNAMSTEELBUILDINGSCOM PANYLIMITED

Thepurposeoft h i s t h e s i s i s t o a s s i s t UniversalV i e t n a m SteelBuildingCompanyLimitedinidentifyingandresolvingpotentialproblemofaccountingdepartment

Theinitialsymptomsofthecompany’saccountingdepartmentcomefromtherecordofyearlymeetingofBoardo f Directorw i t h a c c o u n t i n g department,t h i s documentsmentionedfollowingsymptoms:( 1 ) Negativecashfundi n accountingreports;

( 2 ) DuplicatepaymentinAccountsPayable;(3)Wrongliabilitiesinliabilitiesreport;(4)Lateinpaymentforsupplier;

(5)Forgottopayinsurance4monthsforinsuranceofficea n d (6)Taxpenalty.Fromt h e i n i t

i a l symptoms,Ia p p l y t h e processofProblemidentification–Solutiondecision–

Organizationofaction(P-S-O)toidentifyproblems,findsolutionsandcontributeactionplantoimproveabovesituation.Fistly,Iidentifyc u r r e n t problemsbyusing necessaryaccountingtheoriesasabasictoconductin-depthinterviewwith5peopleswho areworkinginVienamheadoffice.Theinterviewfoundouttwoproblemsinaccountingdepartment,thereare

(1)Poorinmanagingaccountinginformationand(2)Poorinaccountinginternalcontrol.Fromthat,Ievaluatetofindoutt h e potentialproblemisPoorinmanagingaccountinginformationw

h i c h influencingsignificanttocompany’saccounting

process;Secondly,informingtheoriestotakeintoa c c o u n t t h e causesofpotentialproblem,i n c l u d e : ( 1 ) lacko f c l e a r l y a c c o u n t i n g p r o c e d u r e ;

(2)overlappinginaccountantposition;

(3)poorintheleadershipofBODa n d (4)poori n a c c o u n t a n t ’ s com pe ten ces Fromthese causes,b y evaluatingcurrent situationinthecompany,IfoundoutthepotentialcauseisLackofclearly

accountingprocedure.Thirdly,I p r o p o s e possiblealternativesa n d selectt h e mostappropriatealternativeforsolvingtheproblemofthecompany;Lastly,Iplantheeffectiveactionsforimplementingtheselectedalternative-

organizetheprocedureofaccountinginformationsystem

PARTI–INTRODUCTION

AlthoughUSBuildingsisnotthefirstpre-steelbuildingcompanyintheVietnamesemarket,USBuildingsalwaysstrivetodevelopsustainablyandtogetherwithVietnam"Towardsthefuture".USBuildingshasbeenandwillcontinuetoprovidehighqualityproductsandperfectafter-

salesservicetobringthehighestsatisfactiontocustomersasw e l l ascontributepositivelytothedevelopmentofthepre-steelbuildingindustryandV i e t n a m country

Sinceitsfounding,USBuildingshasgrownsteadilyandcontinuously,notonlyintermsofproductionscalebutalsosales.Atpresent,USBuildingsholdsthepositivepositioni n thepre-steelbuildingmarketinVietnam.USBuildings'scumulativesalesareover

2.000.000tons,andtheproductshavealargemarketshare.From5employeesinthefirstday

of establishment,u pt o nowt h e n u m b e r o f employeeso f the c o m p a n y hasreachedaround30peoplesworkinginthreecountries,there areVietnam,ThailandandCambodia

UntilDecember31th,2017,thecompanyhas9completedprojectsand5projectsareinprocess.Thetotalincomefrombeginning

untilnowisaboutVND34,000,000,000andt h e profitgainedisVND8,000,000,000

Inadditiontothebusinessactivities,USBuildingsalwaysstrivestocontributepositivelyi n t

o t h e Nationalbudgetb y completingwellt h e t a x paymentaswella s contributingtopromotingthesustainabledevelopment ofVietnam’scommunityandsocietywithmanylong-term,practicalandmeaningfulactivities

Throughoutthehistory

ofestablishmentanddevelopment,withthecontinuouseffortsofallUSBuildingsemployees,suppliersandpartners,USBuildingshasachievedgreatachievementsandcontinuouslygrowing,fulfillingitsmissiontocustomers,contributingsignificantlytothepre-steel

buildingindustryandVietnamsociety

ThemissionofthecompanyistobeoneofthebestorganizationsinPre-EngineeredSteelBuildingindustry,f o c u s onb o t h productq u a l i t y a n d customer’sb

e n e f i t T h e prioritymissiono f t h e c o m p a n y istoprovidethemoste x c e l l e n t soluti

Graphic 1:Internalstructure inUniversalVietnamSteelBuildingsCompany

Theinternals t r u c t u r e ofU S Buildingsisf a i r l y simple,becausemostmanagementfunct

ionsfocusonabusinessmanager.Thisstructureissuitablewiththecompany

ine a r l y stageo f developmentbecausei t i s compact.T h e poweri s focusedonleader,ther

efore,t h e decisionscanbemadea n d implementedimmediately.Currently,U S Buildingsis

inprocessofrecruiting manyotheremployeesandrecontributeinternalstructurewiththekeyaresharingresponsibilityintotheotherpersonsforthe long-termdevelopment.

2 Companysymptoms

Foroneyearofoperation,U S Buildingsfacedwi th manydifficultproblemscom in g fromtheexternalenvironmentsuchasfindingmarketsegment,attractingcustomersanddevelopingtheirproducts.Besides,theinternalfactorsalsoinfluencedsignificantlytot h e operationofthecompany,therearerecruitingsuitableemployees,makingrationaldecisionsin businessandmanagingdepartments.T o evaluatet h e resulto f c o m p a n y activitiesthroughoneyearofoperation,BoardofDirectororganizedayearlymeetingw i t h alldepartmentsfocusingonevaluatingbusinessactivity,employee’scompetencea n d performanceofeachdepartment.Throughtherecordofmeeting,Isummarizedtheimportantrecommendsofaccountingdepartmentasbellow:

Inpreviousyear,accountingdepartmenttakeasignificantroleinto

thedevelopmentofU S Buildings,provenbythepositiveperformancesinresolvingtimelyaccountingtasks,supportingpassionatelyt h e otherdepartmentsa n d keepingi n touchw i t h potentialcustomers,suppliersandgovernmentauthorities.However,theoperationofaccountingdepartmentisunabletoavoidmistakesaffectednegativelytotheactivityofcompany,t h e meetingevaluatedandidentifiedthenegativesymptomsofaccountingdepartmentn e e d

t o improvewhichweresummarizedasfollowing:

(1) Negativecashbalancewasshowedinaccountingreports

Obviously,thebalanceofcashaccountcan’tinanegativenumberonaccountingreport,however,thefinancialstatementofyear2017showedanegativecashbalanceandthecashaccountinthegeneralledgerhasacreditbalance.Thecreditornegativebalancei n thegeneralledgercashaccountiscausedby(1)recordinginexactlycashtransactionsi n thegeneralledgercashaccount;(2)theamountreceivedisnotrecordedwhilethepaymentisrecorded;

(3)theaccountantsrecordedtransactionintheaccountingbookswithoutc o i n c i d i n g w i t

h t h e a c t u a l i n c u r r e d amountduet o missingd a t a o r losso f receiptsandexpenses;(4)missingthecomparisonandcontrollingincashbalancei n period.Thebellowtableshowsthedifferentbetweencurrentcashbalanceinbalancesheetandactualcashbalanceininternalcashbook:

Item Balancesheet Cashbook/bankrecord Different(+/-)

(2) )Double payment foroneinvoiceofsupplier

Inyear2 0 1 7 , t h e accountingdepartmento c c u r r e d onecaseofdoublepayment.Indetails,onJuly10th,2017,thecompanypaidforT a n CoJointStockC om pan y withamountVND23,000,000forInvoiceNo.0000181issuedonJuly3th,2017.However,onNovember23th,2017,TanCoJSCcontinuedto

requestofpaymentforinvoiceabove,a c c o u n t i n g departmentpaidagainandleadstodoublepayforinvoiceNo.0000181ofT a n CoJSC.Somedaysaf ter s e c o n d l y paidd a t e , U S BuildingsaccountantcheckedliabilitiesanddetectedthatthecompanypaidtwiceforTanCoJSC.Thissituationiscausedb y(1)uncheckingofaccountantwhenpayingforsupplierofpaymentaccountant;

(2)poorincontrolpaymentinformationofaccountingdepartment.Fromabovecase,wecanseethatUSBuildingsisineffectiveinmanagingliabilitiesresultsinlossofcompanyfund.Currently,accountingdepartmentjustfocusonpaymentliabilitiesbasedonrequiresofotherdepartmentsandmanageliabilitiessporadicallyandd i s j o i n t e d , therefore,thebalanceofliabilitiesisinexactly

(3) )Wrongliabilities inliabilitiesreport

AtDecember31th

,2017,somesuppliersincludePhanLongLtd.,Vina-JapanLtd.,HongP h u c Ltd.,T a n CoLtd.,ThepBaVinaLtd.,sentthethecomparisonofliabilitiestoUSBuildingsandrequiredtoprovideliabilitiesbalance.However,thecurrentnumberofliabilitiesbalanceofe a c h supplieri n c o m p a n y reportsi s d i f f e r e n t w i t h thenumber

whichw a s givenb y suppliers.T h e differentofsupplierliabilitiesw a s s h o w e d a s following:

Suppliers Supplier’sdata USBuildings’sdata Different (+/-)

higherthant h e a c t u a l payment.Ifpayinghigher,itresultsinlossofcompanymoney,inwhichifpayinglower,i t leadstodisputingwithsuppliers.Toimprovet h i s situationaccounting department

shouldrecheckallthecontractvaluewithsuppliers,checkthedatafrombankrecorda n dactualcashbookto verifythe actualliabilities.

(4) Lateinpaymentforsupplier

Manycaseso c c u r r e d i n Year2017w i t h payinglate,payinglatec r e a t e d negativerepercussionstotherelationshipbetweenthecompanyandsuppliers.ThebellowdatashowedtheageofPhanLongLtd.andpenaltyfrompayinglateatDecember31th,2017w h i c h calculatedfromsuppliers:

InvoiceNo Amountofl

iabilitie s

Dayofpayingl ate

Penalty intere st

Amountoflatep enalty

(5) Forgottopayinsurance4monthsforinsurance office

Recently,thecompanyreceivedfrominsuranceofficethenotificationofpayinglateinsuranceofemployees4 months:September,October,Novembera n d D e c e m b e r D e t a i lofthenotificationasfollowing:

DebtnotificationofPhuNhuaninsuranceoffice

TSsample)inDecember2017,tothepresenttimetheinsurancedebtamountofUSBuildingsasbellow:

(6) Taxpenalty

TaxpenaltyinYear2017camefromdeclaring

andpayinglatepersonalincometax.Indetails,thecompanydeclaredPITofYear2016,Quarter1,Quarter2ofYear2017lateover100days,itcreatedthepenaltyamountasbellow:

sa n d customers.Inr e a l , somedomesticprojectsn e e d t h e informationo f a c c o u n t

i n g report,iftheinvestorsseeanypenaltyin accountingreport,the operationwiththemwillbenarrowed

opportunityforco-Fromtheabovesymptoms,Irealizedthattheaccountingdepartmentofthecompanyh a s t h

e problemi n managingt h e a c c o u n t i n g informationsystem.Obviously,ift h e companyweregoodinmanagingaccountinginformation,thefinancialinformationoft h e companymustbeaccurately.H o w e v e r , t h e abovee v i d e n c e s showedust h a t t h e c u r r e n t financialinformationisinaccurateanduselessformanagerinmakingdecision.Therefore,innextparts,I willuset h e o r i e s andresearch to findoutactualproblemsrelatedtoaccountingsystemtoimproveabovenegatives

PARTII–PROBLEMIDENTIFICATION

Fromthesymptomswhichmentionedinpreviousitems,Irealizedthatthesesymptomsa r e justthetipoftheicebergseenfromthesurface.Inordertohavinganoverviewofa c c o u n t i n gdepartment’sproblem,I conductthein-depthinterviewswith5membersbelongto

USBuildingsincludeDirector,Chiefaccountant,onesale,oneengineer,onep u r c h a s e rofthecompany.Theseinterviewshelpmelookuptheothersymptomsaswella s verifythepossibleproblemsin accountingdepartmentofthe company

1 Theoreticalbasis

TherearethereviewsofliteraturesrelatedtoaccountinginformationsystemwhichI

w a s usedin thesurvey:

Anaccountinginformationsystem(AIS)isasystemofcollecting,storingandprocessingfinancialandaccountingdatathatareusedbydecisionmakers.Ana c c o u n t i n g informations y s t e m i s generallya c o m p u t e r -

b a s e d methodfortrackinga c c o u n t i n g activityinconjunctionwithinformationtechnologyresources.Theresultingf i n a n c i a l reportscanbeusedinternallybymanagementorexternallybyotherinterestedpartiesincludinginvestors,creditorsandtaxauthorities.Accountinginformationsystemsaredesignedtosupportallaccountingfunctionsandactivitiesincludinga u d i t i n g , financialaccountingandreporting,managerial/

managementaccountingandtax.Themostwidelyadoptedaccountinginformationsystemsareauditingandfinancialreportingmodules[1]

andprocessesf i n a n c i a l a n d accountinginformation.T h e systemg e n e r a t e s reportst h

a t areusedt o makedecisionsregardinghowanorganizationistoberun.Thesereportsarealsousedb y outsiderstoevaluatelendingandinvestmentopportunitieswiththefirm.Thekeycomponentsofthe systemare:

Theaccountinginformationsystem isa setofinterrelatedactivities,d o c u m e n t s , andtechnologiesdesignedtocollectdata,process,andreportinformationtoadiversegroupofinternala

O'brien&Marakas[7]statesthatthecomponentsareinterrelated,allitemsworkingtogether(interrelated)t o achievea commong o a l b y acceptinginputsa n d produceoutputsthroughatransformationprocessthatorganized

Information Technology Procedures

People

Accounting information Accounting data

Internal control Software

putersa n d telecommunicationsequipmenttostore,retrieve,transmitandmanipulatedata.Thismayalsobedescribedasanythingthat

rendersdata,information,orperceivedknowledgei n anyv i s u a l formatthroughanymultimediadistributionmechanism

Software:Accountingsoftwaredescribesatypeofapplicationsoftwarethatrecords a n d

processesa c c o u n t i n g transactionsw i t h i n functionalmodulessucha s a c c o u n t spayable,accountsreceivable,generalledger,payroll,andtrialbalance.Itfunctionsasa naccountinginformationsystem.Accountingsoftwarecanhelptoincreasethea c c u r a c y ofyourrecordsbyreducingoreliminatinghumanerrorsin calculation

2 Contentofin-depthinterviews

Basedonthe

theoriesofaccountinginformationsystemwhichwasshowedinpreviousitems,Iconductedthein-

depthinterviewsaboutaccountingsystemi n UniversalV i e t n a m SteelBuildingCo.,Ltd,t

3 TranNghePhong 29 Sales

4 NguyenXuanKhanh 31 Engineer

Table5–Listofmembersjoinedin-depthinterview

2.2 Interviewguide

Interviewguidew a s builtbasedont h e o r i c a l basisabouta c c o u n t i n g system,w h i c h

showedi n A r t i c l e 1,PartII,includes1 0 questionsrelatedt o 4 basicfactorso f a c c o

Internalcontro

l

-D o e s yourc o m p a n y havetheinternalcontrolsi n a c c o u n t i n gdepartment?

Canyoulistsometypicalexamplesofinternalcontrolsinyourcompa

Verifyproblem

questions

-Canyougivemesomeunsatisfactionswhichyoufacewhenyouworkin (/with)accountingdepartment?

Which of potential problem in accounting department do you think affecting greatly to the business?Which causes of above potential problem do you think?

Can you give some solutions in order to improve the current accounting system?

2.3 3Resultofinterviews

Thec o n t e n t ofinterviewsw a s t r a n s f e r r e d i n t o transcripts( S e e i n A p p e n d i

x 2)t o simplizet h e synthesiso f interviews.Fromt h a t , I summarizedt h e significantpoint

accountreceivablesas wellasa c c o u n t payables.Inadditional,t h e companydidnotreconcilet h e balanceo f cashi n bankbetweeni n t e r n a l recordandbankstatement.Therefore,t h

e currentinformationi n f i n a n c i a l statementsa re i n c o r r e c t a n d doesnotreflectaccuratelythefinancialsituationofthecompany,leadtothemanagercan’tmakedecisionbasedoncurrentfinancialinformation

Whenitcomestocontrollingactivities,BoardofDirectordidnothaveanycheckinginperiod,sothat,theycan’tcatchthefinancialsituationofthecompanyintimetomakedecision.Thisleadtolooseinmanagementandlostcontroloffinancialinformation,ift h i s situationoccursinlongtime,thecompanywouldbedifficulttocontrolfinancialinformationaswellaswouldspendmuchtimeand resourcestorecoverthe accountinginformationsystem

Aboutstoragedocuments,thecompanysavedocumentsbasedonthehabit,didnothaveanymarkinga n d linkingbetweendocumentsa n d a c c o u n t i n g records.T h e storagedocumentsituationismessyandcleanliness.Inotherwords,thecompanyalwayssavest h i s typeofdocumentintootherfilewhichsavestheotherones.Therefore,itisdifficultt o lookfordocumentsandalsoeasytolossvouchersanddocuments

3 Verify thepotentialproblem

Throughtheresultofin-depthinterviewandsupportedtheories,wecanseethecurrentsituationofaccountinginformationsystemd e p e n d i n g onfactors:thepeople,theprocedures,thesoftwareandtheinternalcontrolsandsecurity.Fromthat,wefoundoutt w o possibleproblemexistsinthecompany:(1)Poorinmanagingaccountinginformationa n d (2)Poori n accountinginternalcontrol.Comparew i t h thec u r r e n t situationofthecompany,twomentionedproblemeffectequallytothecurrentsituationi n accountingdepartmentofthecompany.Poorinmanagingaccountinginformationmaket h e a c c o u n t i n g d a t a inaccuratea n d inadequacyaffectn e

g a t i v e l y todecisionmaking,budgeting,planningandsuppliercommunication.InwhichPoorinaccountinginternalcontrolalsoaffectdirectly

totheeffectiveofaccountingsystem,thesecuritiesa n d t h e a c c u r a c y of a c c o u n t i n g information.However,i n t h e scopeo f t h i s thesis,I chooseproblem (1) Poor in managing ac counting information as a potential problem

accountingdepartmentandclosewithcurrentsymptomsofa c c o u n t i n g departmentofUSBuildings.Therefore,inthescopeofthisthesisIwillfocusonchosenpotentialproblemtofindoutthepossiblecausesandfindoutthereasonablesolutionstoinnovateandimprovetheaccountinginformationsystem

PARTIII- CAUSESVALIDATION

Asmentionedinpreviouspart,thepotentialproblemof

accountingdepartmentisPoori n managinga c c o u n t i n g information.Therefore,t h i s partfocusonf i n d i n g outt h e possiblecauseswhichcontributedthispotentialproblem.AggregatingfrominterviewsinPartII,Isummarizeandgiveoutthepossiblecausesrelatedtoproblemasfollowing:

(2)Overlappinginaccountant position

Inaccountingdepartment,theoutstandingofemployeesisshownasfollowinggraphic:

Chief accountant

Checking documents directly from general accountant before giving for Director; Directly manage General Accountant

Consult Director in management and investment decision

General Accountant

Checking documents directly from suppliers, customers, staffs

Conduct all the works related to accounting and give the neccessary data when required

The detail works include:

Record transactions

Cashier work

Tax declaration

internal accounting report

Graphic3:Thestructure ofaccountingdepartment andresponsibilities ofea

chposition.

Currently,theaccountingdepartmenthastwopersons.Therearechiefaccountantandg e n

e r a l accountant.ChiefaccountantisalsoViceDirectorofthecompany,whoadvicest o Directo

a c c o u n t a n t whomdoesallw o r k s r e l a t e d toaccounting,fromr e c e i v i n g documentsfromotherdepartmenttorecording,reportingandstoragedocuments.Becauseg e n e

r a l a c c o u n t a n t doestoomuchworks,therefore,resulti n overlappingandhandlingworksineffectively

(3) Poor intheleadershipofBOD

TheleadershipofBoardofDirectoraffectsignificantto

theperformanceofaccountingdepartment.McShaneandGlino[14]defineleadershipastheprocessofinfluencing,motivatingandenablingotherstocontribute toward the effectivenessandsuccess oforganizationsofwhichtheyaremembers.Leadersapplyvariousformsofinfluenceto

ensurethatmembershavethemotivationandclarityofrolestoachievecertaingoals.Leadersalsoarrangetheworkenvironment,suchasallocatingresourcesandalteringpatternsofcommunication,soemployeescanachieveorganizationalgoalsmoreeasily.Leadershipistheabilitytoinspireconfidenceandtomotivateindividualsinachievingorganizationalgoals.Leadersinfluencepeopleto dothings

throughtheuseofpowerandauthority.Aneffectiveleadermakesapositiveimpactont h e organizationintermsof

productivityandmorale[15].Yukl[16]definesleadershipi s theprocessofinfluencingotherstounderstandandagreeaboutwhatneedstobedonea n d howt o d o it,a n d t h e processo f facilitatingi n d i v i d u a l a n d collectiveeffortstoaccomplishsharedobjectives.Thedefinitionincludeseffortsnotonlytoinfluenceandfacilitatet h e c u r r e n t workoft h e g r o u p ororganization,buta l s o toe n s u r e t h a t i t i s preparedto meetfuture challenges.Le ade reffectivenessisoccasionallymeasuredintermso f the leader’scontributiont o the qualityofgroupprocesses,asperceivedbyfollowersorbyoutsideobservers.AccordingtoHouseetal

[17]leadershipistheabilityofanindividualtoinfluence,motivate,andmakeotherpeopleareabletocontributefort h e sakeofeffectivenessandsuccessoftheorganization.Schermerhornetal.[18]defineleadershipastheprocessofinfluencingotherstounderstandandagreeonwhatneedst o bedoneandhowtodoit,andistheprocessoffacilitatingindividualandcollectiveeffortstoachievecommongoals

AccordingHellriegelandSlocum[19],leadershipistheprocessofdevelopingideasandvision,executetheideasandvisionalongwithmembersofotherorganizationsandtomakedifficultdecisionsa b o u t humanandotherresources.Therea r e fourtypeso f dimensionsintoleadershipstylesareasfollows:

(1)thedirectiveleaderletssubordinatesknowwhatisexpectedofthem,schedulesworktobedone,andgivesspecificguidanceonhowtoaccomplishtasks;

(2)thesupportiveleaderisfriendlyandshowsconcernfort h e needsofsubordinates;

(3)theparticipativeleaderconsultswithsubordinates andusestheirsuggestionsbeforemakingadecision;and(4)theachievementorientedleadersetschallenginggoalsandexpectssubordinatestoperformattheirhighestlevel[20]

(4)Poorinaccountant’scompetences

DavidMcClelland[ 2 1 ] a s a psychologisti n t h e fieldo f competence,definedcompetencyisapersonalcharacteristics,motive,behaviororknowledgewhichprovent o boostexcellentjob.WhileSpencerandSpencer[22]definedcompetencyasAcompetencyisanunderlyingcharacteristicofanindividualthatiscausallyrelatedtocriterion-

referencedmeansthatthecompetencyactuallypredictswhodoessomethingwellorpoorly,asmeasuredonspecificcriterionorstandard

Daset.al[23]statedthatCompetencyisoneofthemostessentialconceptsforbusinesst o Achie

dayjobresponsibilitiesperformancefromtaskmanagementtorecruiting,fromtraininganddevelopment

Inadefinitiondiscussedaboveweconcludethat thereare twotypesofcompetence:(a)i n d i v i d u a l competencies(knowledge,skillsa n d abilitiesoft h e individual);a n d theorganizationcompetence(thecollectivecharacterattheorganizationallevel).Ennis[24]definedthecompetencya s

t h e capabilityo f a p p l y i n g oru s i n g knowledge,skills,abilities,behaviors,andpersonalcharacteristicstosuccessfullyperformcriticalworktasks,specificfunctions,or,operat

ei n a givenroleorposition.F r o m the definitionaboveitcanbeconcludedthatcompetenceisacharacterormotivebothindividualandorganizationstoachievesuperiorjobperformance.Therefore,thecompetenceofaccountantsiscompetenciespossessedbyaccountantsinthiscaserelatestotheprocessingoffinancialreportingaswellasaccountinginformation

 VERIFYPOTENTIALCAUSE

Basedonabovepossiblecauses,Idesignedasmallsurveytodefinethepotentialcauses.Followingare the outstandingofsurveywhichIconducted

- Methodofsurvey:

Method of data collection :Iusedquestionnairetosurveyparticipants.

Method of data analysis: I createdthequestionundertheintervalscale,therefore,tosimplifytheanalysis,Icollectedthesurveyresultsof12participantsbymanualmethodi n anExcelfile.Then,wecalculatedthemean,standarddeviationandCoefficientofVariation(CV)ofea

- Contentofsurvey:Idesignedthequestionnairewhosecontentsareshowedasbellow:Canyouevaluatetheinfluencelevelofpossiblecausestotheprobleminaccountingdepartment?(From1to5correspondtothe increase ininfluencelevel)

Possible causes\ influence level 1 2 3 4 5A.Lackofclearlyaccountingprocedure

Fromthetable,IcalculatedthemeanandstandarddeviationofeachpossiblecauseA,B,Cand

D.Thetableshowedusthatthehighestmeanvalues4.25belongingtothecauseA L a c k

o f c l e a r l y accountingp r o c e d u r e ,t h i s numberpresentedt h a t t h e participan

tshavet h e highagreementint h e causeA.Inw h i c h , th e peakofstandarddeviationi s 0 74belongingtothe causeB.Overlappingtaskina c c o u n t a n t position,w h i c h showedthatthewidedifferentbetweentheanswersofeachparticipant

Fromtheabovefigure,Thecause-Lackofclearlyaccountingprocedurehasthehighestmeana n d h a s lessfluctuationi n standarddeviation,i tmeanst ha tmosto f c o m p a n y membersthinkthatthemajorcausesresultsincurrentpotentialprobleminaccountingdepartmentofthecompanycomefromLackofclearlyaccountingprocedure.Therefore,t h e r e i s n o doubtt h a t among4 possiblec a u s e s , t h e p o t e n

t i a l cause o f a c c o u n t i n g department is Lac k of clearly accounting procedure

Theshortageofclearlya c c o u n t i n g procedureaccountedforawiderangeofinfluenceproportionintocurrentcircumstanceinorganization

Throughtheprocessoffindingoutthepotentialcausesofpotentialproblem,Isummarizedt

he overallofsymptom,problemsaswellascausesinthe finalcause– effectmapasfollowing:

Inaccuratefinancialinformationsu chasbalanceofcashonhand, inbank;balanceof receivables, payablesandadvance;

-

-Inaccuratefinancialstatements->Managercannotuseformakingdeci sion

-Savedocumentsbasedonhabit, withoutlinkingwithreports->

Easytolossdocuments

NGUYENTHINHAM

Potential problem Potential cause

Negative cash fund

Lack of clearly accounting procedure

Missing in recording transaction Poor in

managing accounting information

Double payment

Unfollowing liabilities Late payment for suppliers

Poor in the leadership of BOD

Poor in accounting internal control

Forgot to pay insurance 4 months Late in paying tax to tax authorities

Poor in accountant’s competences

Tax penalty

23

Graphic 4: Final cause andeffectmapinaccountingdepartmentofUniversalVietnamSteelBuildingCompanyLimited

(1)Thecompanymustorganizetheaccountingstructure

withtheinterfaceb e t w e e n financialaccountingandmanagementaccounting.

Insimpleterm,thecompanyshoulddividetheaccountingdepartmentintotwoparts:

(1)f i n a n c i a l a c c o u n t i n g a n d ( 2 ) managementaccounting.T h i s divisionshouldbeimplementedinordertoseparatingclearlytheresponsibilityof

eachparts,sothateachpartwillfocusontheirtaskstogethighesteffectiveinwork.However,twopartsshouldbecombinedtogethertoavoidoverlappinganddelayinginprocessingandsupplyingofinformationforotherparties

(2)Thecompanyshouldestablishthesystemofrotationaccountingvoucherb e t w e

e n eachdepartmenttoservetheprocessofmanagementaccountingaswella s finan cialaccounting.

voucherwhicharespecializedforeach periodofaccountingprocess Ineachform,th e companyshouldgivesomecompulsoryitemssuchaspreparedby,reviewedby,confirmedby.Inadditional,thecompanyshouldmarkvouchersinorderandlinkwiththeperiodicreportstoavoidloss

NGUYENTHINHAM

ofvouchers.Foreachprocessofrotationaccountingvoucher,thecompanyshouldissuet h e proceduresandinstructionsi n ordert o unifyingt h e u s i n g o f t h e s e a c c o u n t i n g vouchers.

(3) Thecompanyshouldbuildt h e systemo f accountingaccounttowardsproviding managementinformation.Inotherwords,t h e accountofmanagementa c c o u n t i n g s

houldbeformedtotrackeachentityfollowingtherequirementofmanager.InVietnam,TheMinistry ofFinanceissuedt he basicsystemofaccountingaccount, basedonit,thecompanyshoulddetailtheavailableaccountingaccountsinthedirectionofmanagementrequirements.Forexample,thecompanyshoulddetailtheadministrationexpensesintotwosub-

accountsinordertoabletotrackfixedexpensesa n d variableexpensesw h i c h a r e suitable

w i t h t h e requirementsofmanagers.Ift h i s methodwas con du cte d, themanagingofaccounting informationwouldbeimproveda n d t h e companywouldoptimizein usingtheaccountinginformation

(4) Thecompanyshoulddesignthereportstowardsprovidingmanagementi n f o r

m a t i o n Alltypesofreport,includedetailreports,generalledgers,balancesheet,income

statement,ect.ofthesystemoffinancialaccountingaremeaningfulforuseinmanagementaccounting.T h e formo f managementreports y s t e m i s notmandatorya c c o r d i n g t o

g i v e n formsw h i c h issuedb y Government,basedont h e managementpurposeofexecutives,thecompanywillestablishthesuitableformsofreportserverformonitoringandprovidinginformationtomanagers

(5) Thecompanyshouldcategorizetheexpensesaccording to behavioroft h e

m Itmeans,besidesthedetaileddivisionofaccountingobjects,thecompanyshouldc l a s s i f

y theexpensesintovariableexpenses,fixedexpensesandmixedexpenses.Formixedexpenses,thecompanymusttofollowanddivideintosmallpartsforeachobjectw h i c h areresponsibleforexpenses.Inaddition,dependingonthepurposeandrequirementofeachdecision-makingofmanager,theexpensesmustbeclassifiedas

controllableexpensesanduncontrollableexpenses,opportunityexpensesa n d sinkingexpenses

(6)Theco m p a n y shouldo r g a n i z e ther e p o r t i n g systemw h i c h i s u sed for managementaccountingalso.Thesystemofmanagementreportshouldbedesignedi n a fl

exible,non–

u n i f o r m a n d compliantmannersimilarw i t h f i n a n c i a l reports.However,thesereportsarestillwithintheinternalcontrol.Fromthecharacteristicsofbusinessandtherequirementsofmanager,thefollowingtypesofreportsarerequired:

(1) Thedemandofinformationandreportingfortheplanningfunctionofmanager;(2)T h e demandofinformationandreportingforthecheckingfunctionofmanager;

(3)Then e e d s ofinformationandreportingserverforthedecision–

makingfunctionofmanager.Atthesametime,thecompanyshouldorganizetheapplicationofinformationtechnologya n d a c c o u n t i n g softwaresot h a t i t c a n s q u i c k l y analysis,processinformation,reportintimeand ensuretheusefulnessofaccountinginformation