In our society today, computer technology plays an

important role in many form of business, especially in the field of accounting.

As technology advances, not only does the use of computers penetrates individual's

everyday life, it also helps to mange and improve many business operations from

service, manufacturing to retail.

Ken, an accounting graduate, works as an accounting clerk

at Advance Manage, a service operation located in Markham, Ontario.

The small business is in the form of a partnership, and has only 5 employees.

Advance management mainly provides service for property owners who are

seeking proper management for their estate such as small plazas and condominiums.

Since, Ken is aware of the importance of computer skills in the job market. He devotes

many time self-studying his PC at home. With his expertise in bookkeeping and his

adequate knowledge of computers, he finds that computerized accounting is easy to

work with and is very timesaving.

With computer technology changing at such fast pace, many businesses

try to keep up by upgrading computer system constantly in order to stay competitive

in the example of Advance Management; the computer equipment they have are quite advance.

For example, they own 3 computers of which one is solely far accounting purposes.

The system includes a CPU Pentium II with 300 MHz microprocessor, a 64 MB SD Ram

on board, a 56 K modem, a 32+CD-ROM, and also a 4.3 GB Hard Disk. These high quality

equipments are brought recently and they have already contributed a lot in improving the

business' operation by making better works done more quickly.

Advance management also has its own great software to match with its advance

computer system. The software is specifically design for the use of property managing and

is called AFEX. This accounting software for property management has been in used for

almost a year and is a very helpful in working with the company's accounting routine. The

company uses the accounting software to a great extent. All Account Receivables, Account

Payables, payrolls and financial statements are done conveniently, on the computer. For Account

Receivable, by entering all information (ex. Account number, name, addresses, rental payments,

and lease term) into the database, an account receivable ledge is being formed. As each center's pay

his/her rent monthly, the amount is automatically debited into the individual's rent receivable account.

The spreadsheet form of software shows update amount outstanding, amount and date paid, and

time remaining on lease term of each renter accurately.

For the account payable, information on the vendor's must be inputs into the system for the

creation of the Account Payable ledge. Upon receipt of invoices or statements, Ken, the accounting

clerk, credits the amount into individual vendor's account. When making payments, cheques

are printed up and the system computes the correct balance of cash and Account Payable accounts.

The program also allows the monthly payroll schedule to be calculating accurately. Just by having

all employees' info like name, working hours, wages etc enter into database, payroll can be done with

the guide of the program.

This special software has many advantages. According to Ken Wong, the system is good

for its specialty in the field of managerial accounting. He uses this program mainly because it's easy

to use and it's effective and efficient in organizing and calculating rental income and maintenance expense.

The multi-function of the advance system is also an important factor for the company to use the software.

Although the system has many useful functions and advantages, there are still needs for improvements

. For instant, Ken is not completely satisfy with the level of manual works involve with the accounting procedures.

He suggests a higher degree of automatic money transferring, possibly having the centers and vendor paying and

receiving payments through computerized banking system. This might save Ken's time having to organize and cheques.

Also, a system that can organize and identify other maintenance charge is also useful since these charges make up most

of the expenses for the company. In the hopes of making all these improvement on the computer system, the company

plans to upgrade the system step-by-step, by spending more resources on the technology as to create new ways to save

time and manpower.

Although Advance Management is a small business, it makes efficient use of the advance technology

and has ambition to discover more. Computers have great impact on the profession of accounting. With the rapid

growth of technology today, there's no doubt that computer will become a common asset in all professions.