Riordan Finance and Accounting

Romney, M., & Steinbart, P. (2012). Accounting information systems. (12th ed., p. 143). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

After reviewing the Financial Report from The Leslie Fay Companies from 1987 to 1991, I made ratios of Balance Sheet and Income Statement to start with audit planning, which could help us make comparison directly. Also, the calculation of ratios in liquidity, activity, profitability and solvency contains in my report. The purpose of analytical procedures is to detect “red flags” within the financial and non-financial information. For the financial part, firstly, I made year-to-year comparisons from 1987 to 1991; then, I did going concern analysis that to compare the data from The Laslie Fay Co. with the industry standard

As in any other investment, the upgrade of the “bookkeeping” system in the Books’R’Us scenario will be associate with concerns about cost, return of investment, security, workforce accessibility and limitations, complexity of the project. Overall issues that may arise during the implementation phase, such as roles and responsibilities, execution times, maintenance of the system and turnaround in efficiency that will create profit for the company are key responsibilities for any designer. With that in mind a few very important questions that we need to ask before we jump into the design phase are security level desired by the owners and what is the security clearance that each employee will have, what complexity level the owners would be comfortable with and what design will be easy for them to maintain and navigate more efficiently. As the design begins, the owners would greatly benefit by assisting in a quick interview about the database layout and the breaking down of the logical units, what they consider priority data and need to access multiple times a day.

There are several stakeholders at Riordan Manufacturing to gather requirements from to provide a clear picture of the final project. The first stakeholder to gain input would come from the Chief Operations Officer, he was the requestor of the system upgrade, is responsible for the budget, which includes payroll. The Chief Legal Officer oversees the legal aspects of the human resources programs. The individual human resources managers within the individual facilities are the stakeholders who recruit and handle benefits for employees. Each facility has an accountant that oversees payroll and bonuses as well as the payroll specialist (Apollo, 2011).

Riordan Manufacturing is a large company with facilities in several locations around the world. Riordan Manufacturing is an international plastics manufacturer that currently employs 550 people and operates at around $46 million in sales("Riordan Manufacturing", 2013). As a result of its size, Riordan must have a system that is able to keep track of important information such as employee names and other confidential data. This information should be able to be accessed from other locations as well as the home office. There are other functions that a new and improved HR system could benefit such as inventory tracking or the shipping or reception of products. These

Riordan manufacturing is a very large company with facilities in many locations around the World. With any company with this size Riordan must have a system in place that is able to keep track of significant amounts of information. Such as Employee names, time sheets and a variety of other important information. This system should be able to have a central location so that stores all of this information and can be accessed not only by the corporate office but at each location as well. There are many functions that a new and improved system should provide. Such as inventory control, tracking of shipments into and out of the warehouses, and the receiving of such items to our costumers. These requirements are essential to the growth of Riordan Manufacturing.

The implementation portion of the Riordan project could in fact, prove to be one of the most challenging parts. However, this could be the part that is worth all of the effort. There will have to be a team of experienced developers in various different Information Technology fields to see the implementation portion stage through to completion; this cannot be known as a “one-man show.” Several of the departments within the Riordan organization will have to be given priorities when it comes to implementing the new human resource management system. Since this type of system has been deemed automated and is on an Information Technology platform, the

Riordan Manufacturing is in need of updating their decrepit HRIS system to stay profitable. This system will move from the legacy system, integrated with the financial system, into a new standalone system used to integrate all of the HR tools within the system presently.

Riordan Manufacturing COO Hugh McCauley is requesting the implementation of a modern, state-of-the-art information system to integrate all existing HR tools into a single application. To achieve the desired goal, a very detailed investigation needs to be performed, studying the actual processes that Riordan Manufacturing currently uses. Also, a series of stakeholders will provide the adequate feedback trough a series of face-to-face interviews and meticulous observation of their respective working environments. These tools will help create a system that will maximize time

Examining the data for profitability shows a company is in a position to continue to do well in the future. Being a manufacturer of goods for other manufacturers is a good position to be in during economic lulls. By offering product to multiple manufacturers, we are not locked in to one product in one market that could be a potential liability due to market fluctuations. Comparing out debt to our assets shows that we are a financially flexible company that lenders will look favorably upon should we need to borrow money in the future. In conclusion, it would appear that Riordan Manufacturing is a dependable company with good financial strength and flexibility. This is a company that appears attractive to both lenders and investors, current or future.

Riordan Manufacturing should switch to using Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a Customer Relationship Management program that focuses on customer records, sales, marketing, help desk, inventory and customer order management, make financial data available for planning and regulatory compliance, automate routine functions so employees can focus on critical tasks, help minimize the costs and complexities of administering salaries, benefits recruiting and performance management, provides greater visibility into aspects of performance factors such as profitability and potential issues, and meet industry-specific needs with functionality for upward business processes (Microsoft, 2013). Specific parts of the software, such as human resources (for payroll, etc.) can be added on an as-needed basis.

Each entity within Riordan Manufacturing has its own finance and accounting systems that provide input with the intent to consolidate at the corporate office in San Jose, California. Each branch of finance and accounting has a general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, order

QuickBooks and Sage 50 Accounting are both great options for small business accounting. These programs help manage business finances which can drastically save time that may have been spent creating Excel spreadsheets and more. However, while both programs are sufficient for small businesses, the programs differ based on what they can offer your company.

Accounting Information Systems The Crossroads of Accounting and IT by Donna Kay, Ali Ovlia Instructor’s Solutions Manual

Information systems changed forever the way accounting tasks are processed. The days of green paper pads are gone, and instead businesses have a centralized place where all accounting transactions are entered and saved. No more looking for paper