Management Accounting Functionality in SAP Solutions – Implications for Research and Practise

Since the start of the new millennium, management accounting researchers have investigated how Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPS) or the implementation of such systems influences management accounting (practises) and/or firm performance. More recently, the empirical focus of such studies has shifted towards the SAP ERPS, the world-market leading enterprise system (Columbus, 2014). Despite this focus, none of these studies has ever described the management accounting functionalities of SAP ERP, let alone acknowledging that, over the past decade, SAP has substantially expanded its solution range for management accounting, in particular with the acquisition of BusinessObjects in 2007. Today, management accounting functionalities are dispersed across a wide range of SAP ‘solutions’ beyond the core SAP ERP, including cloud solutions, and even for SAP customers it is difficult to reconcile which software component contributes the various ‘solution for management accounting’. We argue that research on the impacts of such systems on management accounting practises and performance requires a detailed understanding of the management accounting functionality provided by such systems – across all modules and add-on components. Our archival and expert-interview based study aims to provide such insights by systematically analysing the current SAP software solutions range to locate management accounting tools and to map those tools with the broader body of knowledge of management accounting practises. Key findings of our study are that the SAP software range provides support for almost all common management accounting practises and that for some of these practises SAP users are provided with a range of tools providing similar functionality (e.g. SAP SEM, SAP Strategy Management, and SAP BusinessObjects Strategy Management). Further to that, the SAP software range provides management accounting functionalities such as “Grenzplankostenrechnung” (GPK), which is a core element of the German tradition of “Controlling” (Becker and Messner 2005), and has so far only attracted limited attention in the international management accounting community. The SAP tools for management accounting are partly embedded in the standard SAP ERP package, but many of them come as complementary or supplementary extensions or as part of data warehouse based Business Intelligence components (incl. BusinessObjects components). Considering the large range of management accounting components and the many adoption options provided, we expect heterogeneity amongst SAP user organisations in terms of system support for management accounting. In stage two of the broader research project, we will conduct a field study to verify this prediction and investigate the implications for managerial decision making and performance management. We contribute to academic research by providing a systematic mapping of management accounting practises and the extensive SAP solutions range, thereby enabling researchers to conduct better informed empirical research in SAP environments. We also contribute to management accounting practise by deciphering marketing-driven SAP publications and mapping management accounting functionality with actual software components

Equipment Data Collection...Simplified

PresentationLack of Equipment Data is a fundamental barrier to understanding asset performance inside of and outside of ERP solutions. Defining the solution is highly dependent on the organization’s existing IT infrastructure, the effectiveness of implementation of these solutions and continuing support to keep data accurate. The costs of the solution can vary by one or more orders of magnitude depending on the organizational goals and value propositions communicated to management. This presentation will address this topic and describe three levels of solution: • Non-Integrated/Unstructured Data – Field Data Collection Tools w/o Comparative Reporting in SAP • Integrated/Structured Data– Intergraph / SAP/ Comparative Reporting • Integrated/Structure Data + Data Governance For Master Data – Intergraph MDG Master Data Governance SAP Solution We will discuss a Multi-generation approach and benefits associated with each generation. We will show a product in each space that can accomplish the above stated objectives

SAP-Related Education - Status-Quo and Experience

Integrating Enterprise Systems solutions in the curriculum of not only universities but all types of institutes of higher learning has been a major challenge for nearly ten years. Enterprise Systems education is surprisingly well documented in a number of papers on Information Systems education. However, most publications in this area report on the individual experiences of an institution or an academic. This paper focuses on the most popular Enterprise System - SAP - and summarizes the outcomes of a global survey on the status quo of SAP-related education. Based on feedback of 305 lecturers and more than 700 students, it reports on the main factors of Enterprise Systems education including, critical success factors, alternative hosting models, and students’ perceptions. The results show among others an overall increasing interest in advanced SAP solutions and international collaboration, and a high satisfaction with the concept of using Application Hosting Centers

The real SAP® Business one cost : a case study of ERP adoption in an SME

This paper reports on a UK based service management Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) that invested into SAP® Business One. The action research case study highlights the real cost and difficulties faced in moving to the one single SAP system and the process that was followed in order to identify third-party vendors that can integrate or customise SAP® Business One. This paper highlights the additional costs required to ensure a ‘fit-for-purpose’ solution to close the gap between strategic needs and the existing SAP Business One solution. The gap itself is illustrated by highlighting 10 key functionalities expected by the given service management SME. The actual implementation cost of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) was found to be approximately double the initial SAP costs. The real costs involve time for, among other things, process reengineering, strategic decision making, software add-ons, staff-training, project-management and software maintenance

Benchmarking performance management systems

The Balanced Scorecard and associated performance management approaches, has become a widely practiced and popular management reporting method in recent times. Moreover, enabling technology, which assists in the delivery and personalisation of corporate performance information, is having a deeper and more rapid impact than ever before. This paper presents a brief comparative benchmarking study of leading enterprise performance management systems. Also, the author discusses the merits of bespoke internet technology development and out-of-the-box portal functionalities. An analysis of key business drivers and implementation risks of such approaches is highlighted via a case study example, and concludes the paper

Work Organisation and Innovation - Case Study: ROFF, Portugal

[Excerpt] Founded in 1996, ROFF is a Portuguese firm dedicated to the implementation of SAP solutions. Since its early days, the company has grown significantly and currently employs just over 500 people. It has offices in Lisbon, Oporto and Covilha in Portugal, in Luanda (Angola), Paris, Stockholm and Casablanca. The company has also developed projects in many other European countries as well as in other African, South and North American countries and China. More than 50% of the sales turnover is based on international projects. In 2011 ROFF had consultants operating in 44 different countries. ROFF’s main direct competitors include firms like Accenture, Deloitte and Cap Gemini

The Future of Social Marketing

{Excerpt} Social marketing is the use of marketing principles and techniques to effect behavioral change. It is a concept, process, and application for understanding who people are, what they desire, and then organizing the creation, communication, and delivery of products and services to meet their desires as well as the needs of society, and solve serious social problems. Organizations have never had such powerful information and communication technologies with which to interact with clients, audiences, and partners; explore, find, capture, store, analyze, present, use, and exchange information dataand information about them; and tailor products and services accordingly. Along with that, never before have end users expected to interface so closely with organizations and with one another to define and shape what they need. In its highest form, marketing is now considered a social process, composed of human behavior patterns concerned with exchange of resources or values.It is no longer a mere function used to increase business profits

The impact of enterprise application integration on information system lifecycles

Information systems (IS) have become the organisational fabric for intra-and inter-organisational collaboration in business. As a result, there is mounting pressure from customers and suppliers for a direct move away from disparate systems operating in parallel towards a more common shared architecture. In part, this has been achieved through the emergence of new technology that is being packaged into a portfolio of technologies known as enterprise application integration (EAI). Its emergence however, is presenting investment decision-makers charged with the evaluation of IS with an interesting challenge. The integration of IS in-line with the needs of the business is extending their identity and lifecycle, making it difficult to evaluate the full impact of the system as it has no definitive start and/or end. Indeed, the argument presented in this paper is that traditional life cycle models are changing as a result of technologies that support their integration with other systems. In this paper, the need for a better understanding of EAI and its impact on IS lifecycles are discussed and a classification framework proposed.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Grant Ref: (GR/R08025) and Australian Research Council (DP0344682)