Internet-Based Accounting
During the last five years, considerable developments have taken place on the Internet. The technology has changed from being a simple tool for disseminating information into a platform for commercial activities and an instrument for delivering services virtually.
The capabilities of the Internet are being tested in every manner and for different reasons. Hence, it is not surprising that it is now being adopted in the delivery of accounting services such as e-accounting.
E-accounting is a solution that involves the application of Internet-based accounting technologies to the financial management functions of a business. As it is delivered through the Web, businesses can process or view their accounts any time, from any corners of the globe. This means that users can access their financial data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week simultaneously from different locations.
Internet-based accounting provides businesses flexibility in implementing the solution and in managing their accounting functions. This is because e-accounting can be implemented in two models, namely internal management and hosted applications. In the first model, a company manages and maintains the Internet-based accounting application within its own computer network. Its financial data is also stored in house, protected by firewalls and other Internet security solutions.
Under the hosted application model, on the other hand, the accounting solution is maintained by a third party. In essence, this is like outsourcing the IT functions of a company's financial management department. The company still maintains control over its data, however, but is using other's IT infrastructure to process and manage it. By leasing e-accounting application, companies do not have to bear the cost of maintaining and managing IT personnel and resources. Both models are designed to be easily customised to suit every business' needs, so regardless which one among them a company use, good result can still be achieved.
