System Investigation

The bookstore chain has been decreasing in profit in the US over the past 20 years. Most of the books retailers are shutting down their operations and only a few are still operating in the country. Barnes and Noble has become the largest bookseller in the book retailers industry. The firm has integrated its business philosophy into web presence though eBook marketplace. This business strategy assisted the firm to be able to reach a large scale customers and remain as a strongest competitor in the book retailing market.

SMW’s current accounting information system is a cutting edge relational database system through Microsoft Access with internal controls set to adequately prevent and detect errors and fraud. This relational database system tracks sales orders, shipments, accounts receivable, cash receipts, purchases, accounts payable, cash disbursements, inventory levels and other relevant accounting information. The system’s output is compliant with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The database processes currently in use at SMW are described below.

Operations is separate from the accounting department. The employees in operations handle promoting the products. Also, Operations is in charge of making the products. The company’s accounting system is handled in-house by the cashier and the bookkeeper and by the accounting firm hired to handle the businesses’ financial reporting. The cashier handles all sales through the register. The register is balanced against the drawer each night by the bookkeeper and a deposit made the same day. The bookkeeper gives the accountant the drawer receipts and bank receipts for journal entries and later reports. The accountant checks all cash received and payments made against bank statements and collected paperwork. There is not a single person assigned to do all duties.

Strategic planning is a critical element of an organization’s annual business plan. A strategic plan consists of a number of components. In addition to analyzing a company’s strengths and weaknesses, a strategic plan also includes implementation and control techniques. While this may seem easy enough, implementing a strategic plan into an organization can be challenging. Barnes and Noble, like a number of corporations are seeking ways to improve productivity and profitability. This essay will identify business alternatives for the bookseller which will enable them to diversify their product offerings.

Inventory is the biggest investment of the business and the performance of the inventory can determine whether the store succeeds or fails. We have chosen a different supply strategy as a method to save on cost. This method will require our publishers to ship books directly to the store which will save on our shipping expenses.

The purpose of this course project is to address the ongoing issues surrounding my companies, REI (Recreation Equipment Inc.,) inventory management issue and to see if we can find a software program better suited to the companies needs. The goal is to find products quickly and efficiently. Customer satisfaction is key to driving sales and profit in any company. As a result a software upgrade is certainly needed in order to compete with other companies in the same industry.

The company I have chosen to investigate for this assignment is Barnes & Noble, Inc. Originally founded in Illinois, USA, in 1873, this business has risen to become a Fortune 500 company. This bookstore chain boasts over 600 physical locations (cite source) in the United States, as well as a strong online presence. The success of its stores, and of its subsequent web and mobile applications, is proof of its dedication to offering a wide range of quality products and providing an excellent customer experience at all times.

An initial evaluation of accounting and inventory systems for all the Riordan Enterprise locations is required. We need to know what software is currently in use and how effective it is. If our evaluation determines that, the existing software is not performing all of the needed requirements it will be necessary to upgrade them as well. Next, we will need to evaluate their existing hardware to determine its integrity. If the hardware is also outdated, another evaluation will be necessary to determine what will replace it. If the evaluation of the hardware determines that the existing equipment is adequate, then we can proceed with the software upgrade. The request specifically asks for a complete system that is faster and interrelated into all of the locations. After the evaluations are complete a list of additional hardware will be generated and a timeline of what to be installed / upgraded where.

Handheld mobile computers are efficient, have the ability to scan and allow for accurate, real-time data and inventory control and can be used throughout the supply chain process to enable instant inventory adjustments. Bar-coding is essential for just-in-time systems. Using scanners with a handheld PC will decrease the number of errors that occur from manual entry of data for inventory purposes. (ecampus.phoenix.edu, November 2009)

Barnes and Noble Incorporated is currently the largest book and media-content retailer in the United States. Founded in 1873 in Wheaton, Illinois by Charles Montgomery Barnes, who had started it as a family business, it has since evolved into the biggest book marketplace of our time. Although Barnes and Noble has had a long-run of success, it is currently near the edge of bankruptcy. It’s lack of sales and the shift of interest in reading physical books has forced most book retailers to “close-up shop”, with Barnes and Noble being next on the list. Therefore, Barnes and Noble is not worth investing in, because of its loss

In today's time the accounting and book keeping ranges from the old way of paper and pen to extremely large accounting data base systems for the major companies and organizations around the world; although either system could be used but

Apart from my professional commitments, exalting success stories of E-Commerce platforms propelled me to go for my own online shopping venture “BookJugad”. The idea was to sell used internationally-authored books in good condition at the cheapest price. We established an end to end business

2-B&N and the book publishers are changing their business models to deal with the Internet and e-book technology by B&N developing its own e-readable devised called Nook. In order to meet demand and supply, they started to be actively in control of its supply chain by developing,

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

Better World Books (BWB) was founded in 2002 as a B corporation, meaning it targets successful performance in three fundamental areas: financial, social, and environmental endeavors. BWB has grown successfully since its creation as a small, socially motivated firm to one of the larger, more successful corporations of its kind. Despite the impressive and inspiring performance and growth through creative expansions, BWB acknowledges the changing conditions of the used book marketplace and is pleased to outline a brief review of current strategy and recommendations for supporting operations moving forward.