This article analyzes the role that information technology has taken in the areas of Accounting and Tax.
Currently the Accounting and Tax area has taken an important turn in the use of information technology, because previously accounting was carried out without any type of computer package, and now we can find accounting packages developed especially for these areas.
Focusing on the tax area, in recent years there has been a greater concern in the business environment to correctly comply with its tax obligations, to fix this situation in Mexico, a good tax payment mechanism has been created, through the Internet or via telephone.
Likewise, paper returns are being avoided, since it is believed that paying taxes by electronic means has reduced errors.
Finally, the challenge for accountants and tax advisers is to be part of this change, taking a key role within organizations and supporting decision-making processes.
1. Introduction
The impact that technology has had on the accounting area is beyond doubt. Information technologies operate as an engine of change that allows responding to new information needs
Today, information technology has created important movements within companies. This has been thanks to the advances we have, to the implementation of new systems and better technologies, as well as to the efforts of the people who have dedicated themselves to innovating new products and services within the information area.
Faced with the changes and uncertainty in which we live, every company must be prepared to face these as they arise, and even anticipate them, so as not to be left behind and remain competitive in the industry in which it operates.
I am currently working in the prosecutorial area, and I have observed that there is a lot of difference to what it was previously.
Before accounting was done without any type of computer package, everything was in pencil and with many work papers. Now, the work of the accountant has become more efficient and his role has become of greater importance within companies, making decisions based on the financial information they obtain; all this thanks to the use of information systems.
Accounting being one of the first areas to be modernized, there are currently highly developed accounting packages on payment control, payroll, accounts receivable, etc. that have helped the accountant to facilitate the work that he performs and the time that he used to take to prepare the financial statements will be the time that he currently takes to analyze them and make decisions for the company.
Also, there are accounting packages for calculating taxes, IMPAC, ISR, VAT, etc. that have greatly facilitated the tax area, in order to reduce errors and improve the results that must be given according to tax laws
2. Basic concepts
What are information technologies for?
Imagine that we lived in an isolated world, without any information other than that which is transmitted orally, from parents to children, from boss to employee.
Just for a moment, think that at the dawn of the 21st century, there were no newsreels, newspapers, magazines, gazettes, or any other type of information medium, no, not the Internet. Surely you are thinking:
Primitive? Impossible? Unimaginable? Well, this is precisely what may be happening in your company or business, if you do not have enough - and adequate - information channels, both inside and outside of it.
Information technologies are the engine of change that leads to a new post-industrial era that threatens to render obsolete all business structures that do not know how to adapt.
It is the basic tool to transform data into useful information, arranged at the right time and place for decision making.
What is an accounting system?
An accounting information system follows a basic model and a well-designed information system, thus offering control, compatibility, flexibility and an acceptable cost / benefit ratio.
The accounting system of any company regardless of the accounting system you use, must execute three basic steps:
a) Record of financial activity
b) Information classification
c) Summary of information
The accounting process includes more than the creation of information, it also involves the communication of this information to those who are interested and the interpretation of the accounting information to help in making business decisions.
Evolution of technologies in the accounting area
The way of presenting the reports has evolved with the changes in the systems, as seen in the following table (Figure 1):
Figure 1
The following table (Figure 2) shows the evolution of technologies in support of the accounting area:
Figure 2
Information Technology in Accounting
The following graph (Figure 3) analyzes the use of information for decision-making in the different areas of the business:
Figure 3
In each historical period, accounting as an information system has adapted to the informational needs of its users, but its development has been limited by technological resources. Accountants wonder what information users demand.
Accounting systems are used both by internal users, such as a manager, and by external users who could be authorities (SHCP).
Previously, company managers demanded monthly balances, which were very expensive since manual accounting was kept; however, nowadays any program allows you to make virtual accounting closings by pressing a key. As we see, it is very important for the accountant to know the technological advances at all times.
Information technology in the Tax area
The work carried out by tax advisers is having a very positive influence on the tax situation of companies, and the future demand that they will have to meet will be greater quantitatively and more complete from a qualitative point of view.
This is due to the new technologies that have been implemented for the dissemination of information and the facilitation of the payment of taxes.
In Mexico, the Tax Administration System (SAT) has designed a computer system called eSAT, an efficient and innovative solution to make new electronic services available to taxpayers, which allow them to comply with their tax obligations in a direct and rapid way., simple, safe and comfortable
Via Internet
The DeclaraSAT Online is a support system that operates directly on the SAT website, calculating and sending the return for the 2003 fiscal year, for taxpayers with income exclusively from salaries, salaries with accumulation of interest from the financial system and income exclusively from the rental of a house.
It is necessary to previously have your confidential electronic identification code. To file your annual return through the DeclaraSAT online, you must perform the following procedure:
- Access the DeclaraSAT online system Provide your RFC and CIEC code Select the tax regime by which you will submit your annual return Capture the data requested on the program screens Verify that the tax information generated is correct Submit the return. Instantly receive the acknowledgment of receipt.In the event that there is a tax charged, you must make your payment through the portals of the authorized banking institutions, providing for this purpose the date of presentation and the transaction number indicated in the acknowledgment of receipt.
If you had no problem completing all of the above steps, you have successfully filed your annual return.
Otherwise, you can request free advice either via the internet, by telephone, or within each of the SAT facilities.
Via telephone
There is also another way to pay taxes, by phone. The Central Taxpayer Assistance Administrator of the SAT operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
The system has three general sections that include voicemail, permanent indicators and annual declaration; the latter allows making the provisional and annual calculation of the taxes for the year for natural persons.
You need to have the withholding record and deduction vouchers at hand, and then you must type the amounts on the phone.
The system asks you for the year of the fiscal year to be declared in four digits, you must enter the total income received in the fiscal year, the exempt income, the proportion of subsidy determined by the employer, the total of personal deductions and the withholdings of ISR or payments provisional during the year.
In the case of amounts, it must include two figures corresponding to cents and the percentage of the subsidy must be four digits. Once the data is captured, you will hear a message with the calculated tax and if it is for or against.
The recording tells you if you want to receive the document via fax, for which it requires entering the telephone number in 10 digits, including the password.
The system notifies you that it has processed your request and is waiting for your fax line. Also, in case the line is busy, it will be tried later. The document that is received is a sheet with the data that must be emptied in the corresponding tax form to present the
Annual statement
What is the real and measurable contribution of information technologies to companies?
The concrete value that information technologies provide is Efficiency. The key point to verify and demonstrate that technology contributes to business development is when it becomes a measurable variable, that is, when it allows business management processes to maximize the profitability of its operation and minimization in percentage terms and real figures. of your operating, administrative and productive expenses.
Now, the way in which this Efficiency is deployed in companies that have IT solutions is geometrically ascending to the ability that the solutions implemented in their management processes have been developed based on the real and complete knowledge of their basic needs and to measure of this.
Thus, and based on our experience in the development of our specialty, we say that IT solutions generate efficiency for companies because they allow them to achieve profitability, accuracy and immediacy in decision-making within their organization.
And vis-à-vis the outside world (that is, regarding the relationships of companies with their business partners such as suppliers, customers, allies, competitors and prospects), technological solutions allow real integration thanks to the responsiveness of the company before the requirements of the aforementioned public, since they achieve a significant comparative advantage with respect to if there were no IT solution.
Conclusions
We can realize that nowadays there is a great need to be within the reach of information systems, as well as to have knowledge of it and to be able to relate them to any matter, and in my case, to the tax and accounting area.
The emergence of information technology and technological tools has modified the accounting and tax administration processes of companies and has forced them to develop new strategies, not only to adapt to the demands of technology, but also to achieve best results.
In recent years there has been a greater concern to correctly comply with tax obligations.
That is why, through the use of information technology, it has helped us to reduce errors, to comply with tax laws, to do things differently and save time.
It is worth mentioning that to make the correct use of these technologies, it will hardly be done if you do not have the tax knowledge.
The advance in the use of technology does not imply that those who today require the services of a tax advisor, stop doing so. What must be done and continue to be done is the use of this technology for calculations, since the client will realize its existence, and therefore, will demand it.
Therefore, to be at the forefront of technology, the accountant and tax advisor must master four basic aspects:
1) Essential knowledge of accounting and tax
2) General culture
3) Organizational and business knowledge
4) Up-to-date knowledge of information technology
Without these 4 basic aspects, the accountant and tax advisor would not be successful, since it is essential to have a general culture, knowledge of accounting, business and information technology. Imagine that you own a business and have had accounting problems, so you need to hire an accountant.
Logically, you will prefer to hire someone who is prepared, with a lot of experience and who knows how to use information technologies to carry out your accounting quickly and effectively, and thus see the possible causes of the accounting problems that your company has.
Bibliography
"The tax advisor must use the technology as the client will be increasingly aware of its existence." To be an entrepreneur.
"They reinforce the mechanism for inspection." The North. Infolatina. (March 11, 2004)
Navarrete Carrasco, Roberto Clemente. What are information technologies for?
"Information technologies in the accounting area". Author: Jesús Arturo Treviño. Brenix-Contact of Unión Empresarial. Infolatina. (September 02, 2002)
"What is e-SAT?" Page of the Tax Administration System.
Medina, Carlos. Technology plus company equals development. Management and Business in Latin America.
"Calculate taxes by phone." The North. Infolatina. (April 24, 2004.
