Currently the business world is advancing by leaps and bounds, and this overwhelming movement goes hand in hand with the changes that arise in technology, the new demands for information, the social, cultural and economic changes existing in this new environment.
All this highlights the new orientation that accounting and accounting professionals must follow, since accounting is perhaps one of the activities, not to say the most important, within the field of business, given its nature of informing about the increase in income. wealth, productivity and the positioning of companies in competitive environments.
The importance of accounting information systems lies in the usefulness they have both for decision-making by company partners and for external users of the information.
The new demands for information open up the field for the introduction of new concepts that can enhance the company within the market if it is given proper management, recognition and measurement.
Among the new concepts that arise as a consequence of a constantly changing environment we have:
Intellectual capital that has just been making its way into companies, is becoming increasingly important as an instrument capable of raising the recognition of other economic entities and attracting the gaze of potential investors, given the confidence that it can generate in them.
To give proper use to these intangibles that were previously not recognized in the Financial Statements, it is necessary to carry out investigative processes that provide us with the information required to give due treatment to these new concepts and how to demonstrate their importance in creating value, converting each member of the company in a fundamental part of the entity's strategy for the creation of said value, because as Dr. ALFONSO A. ROJO RAMÍREZ tells us:
"The intellectual capital of the company is the strategic relationships with suppliers and customers, the efficiency of internal processes, quality systems, technological means, human qualities, and so on. As elements that generate value, they must be taken into consideration in the analysis, which requires evaluating them properly and integrating them into the strategic planning of the company. "
Therefore, one of the challenges of accounting in today's world, apart from continuing to rely on normal accounting, which in itself raises the validity of accounting information, must find and apply new elements that allow it to reflect everything in a comprehensive manner. what happens in the company evidencing it in the financial statements and in the respective reports.
One effect of these new changes in the presentation of information is that it stands out among other companies.
Information systems have played an important place in the market as an element of control and organization, however it should not be limited only to that function, since we find ourselves in the need to seek the explanatory power of information systems in behavior of users of business information, thus not only looking for a technical management in the company but taking all the components of the company both tangible and intangible that allow us to compete in an environment that is becoming stronger and more aggressive.
The introduction of new concepts in our profession goes hand in hand with the analysis of the impact of new technologies and the incorporation of the risk associated with an era of rapid change that we will analyze below.
In general, the strategic information systems that are created to manage the information of competitive companies are fundamentally based on the information highways and the management of the Hypermedia Balanced Scorecard that large companies in the world manage, since these are those that have developed them and have taken it as a fundamental tool in the construction of strategies for the different stages that support the company in the current changing world, such as decision-making in sales, senior management, product innovation, the constructions of new components that lead to success.
Focusing more on each of these points, we can say that information systems that are managed strategically will be useful since companies will become a mixture of technical, business and knowledge skills.
The proper use of the Si has been developing since computer computers began to be implemented in the technical support of companies to turn their data into something agile and orderly; For this reason, different ISs have been created that adapt to the characteristics and purposes to be achieved in the environments in which companies operate and comply with the information that satisfies customers, suppliers and shareholders, such as agility and validity of the data being processed.
According to Álvarez (1995: 27-31), the information systems of companies are made up of four subsystems that are: SIAD (Information subsystem for senior management), EIS (Information subsystem for executives), MIS (Information subsystem for executives). management) and SIC (accounting information subsystem); which are fed by all the relevant data and reports, both internal and external, whether financial or non-financial
In these SI, the technological advances that have occurred in communications must be taken into account. For this, three basic elements are highlighted for companies that want to be within the circle of the great leaders in production, costs and management of their businesses; These elements help the successful performance of these and are: The Internet, the Intranet and the Extranet, which represent substantial advantages for the companies that implement it, because it contributes to the expansion of these in the face of adversaries, addressing high standards of quality and competitiveness.
On the other hand, management control in current organizations refers to business control systems according to Anthony (1965) states that it was a process by which management ensures that resources are obtained and used efficiently and effective in order to achieve the objectives of the organization.
This concept must be rethought since it does not meet their expectations, therefore they replace it with the balanced scorecard that, as its name says, integrates different concepts that help the efficient control of companies since it represents an ideal instrument in the process of communication of the mission and strategy used in the appropriate decision-making configuration.
In addition to all this, companies do not budget for risks that in the present or in the future may cause damage to the company and incur expenses that significantly affect the organizational structure of the company, but if, on the contrary, insurance policies were acquired, this would transform the Conventional mentality that is being handled and we would enter to manage all kinds of risks.
The points adopted to carry out good risk support are:
- Identification of exposures to losses Measurement of exposures to losses Assessment of the different methods to manage risk Risk impact Risk transfer Monitoring of results In order to implement this model we assume that there are conservative accountants who do not admit any inclusion of risks in accounting.
Others substitute the historical model including risks and looking for a correlation oriented to the business needs.
Let's look at how risks affect reporting.
The traditional approach is to look back, do not analyze future uncertainties.
That is why the true risk profiles of some non-bank corporations are unclear from their reports.
Any risk-sensitive accounting system would have to make a compromise between accuracy and sophistication, and applicability and aggregation of the other.
Analyzing it from the point of view of the companies that operate in the Colombian environment, we can affirm that these tools are not used since these companies are not classified as large companies but as small companies managed directly by their owners who do not have a competitive vision or They only have in mind to make profits without using the different means such as the previous ones since they consider them an unnecessary expense they do not see them as an investment that can lead to the generation of better profits since establishing correct information systems and a Good integrated scorecard can save many processes and improve the quality of your products and services.
