Assessing the Carbon Footprint of Paper vs. Electronic Invoicing

In this paper, we assess the carbon footprint of paper versus electronic invoicing practices. Based on expert interviews and a case study, we develop process charts for each process (paper vs. electronic, outgoing vs. incoming) and pinpoint the main differences between the paper-based invoicing and electronic invoicing. Our findings indicate that moving from paper-based invoicing to electronic invoicing decreases the carbon footprint of one invoice (lifecycle) by 63%. The greatest effect comes from the elimination of unnecessary manual work, while material and transportation are significant factors as well. This is due to the fact that invoice data in structured, electronic format enables the automation of invoicing in greater extent than paper-based invoicing or electronic invoicing in non-structured format (such as PDF-files). This further underlines the benefits of electronic processing of invoices in addition to the processing cost savings

Assessing the electronic invoicing potential for private sector firms in Belgium

Governments around the world identify the advancement of electronic invoicing in businesses as crucial for tackling administrative burdens. This paper examines, for the first time, the potential cost savings of e-invoicing in Belgium. Our analysis shows that the total cost of invoicing for Belgian private sector businesses in 2014 amounted to €3.47 billion (0.96% of GDP) and could be reduced to €1.46 billion (0.38% of GDP) if all invoices were sent digitally. Furthermore, an analysis of both barriers and enablers of e-invoicing reveals significant concerns that remain regarding the safety of e-invoicing, although a majority of private sector businesses clearly identifies the potential efficiency gains. From our contingent valuation survey among 683 Belgian businesses, we learn that the average willingness to pay (WTP) for the required investments for implementing digital invoicing amounts to €2,380. However, the potential annual cost savings of digital invoicing for the average small business in our sample is over €7,000. Additionally, our linear regression models indicate that the WTP is positively impacted by the perceived time and reduced risk gains of digital invoicing

Why Are Electronic Invoice Processes Risky? - Empirical Analysis and Discussion of Risk Factors

Electronic invoice processes are characterized by various software solutions, legal uncertainty, heter-ogeneous demands, lack of know how, and information system infrastructure incompatibilities. Due to this complexity and the uncertainty that companies face, a holistic map of risk factors of e-invoice processes is required. Companies must be conscious not only about potential opportunities but also about potential risks before they change their business processes and their information systems’ archi-tecture. Potential risk factors are identified theoretically and empirically evaluated with a quantitative expert survey that investigates risk probabilities and potential losses associated with these factors. The empirical analysis reveals that the investigated factors are valid and reliable. After conducting an ex-plorative factor analysis, 37 statistically significant risk factors are grouped into ten risk dimensions: process organization, standard, environment, project management, strategy, acceptance, system, pro-cess execution, security, and change management

Yksinyrittäjien taloushallintokäytännöt sähköisen taloushallinnon kontekstissa

Self-employment has been growing steadily in Finland, meaning that individual entrepreneurs have become an important customer segment for many service providers. Thus it is becoming a more significant user group for software companies who design and develop accounting-related software as well. This thesis studies the accounting-related practices of Finnish individual entrepreneurs, especially in the context of electronic accounting, or E-accounting. Specific focus is placed on entrepreneurs who utilize the services of external accounting firms, meaning that they have outsourced at least some of their accounting-related tasks. The objective of the research is to conclude insights of this particular user group, which could later be applied in the design phase of accounting software. The research was conducted with a qualitative approach using such methods as semi-structured interview as well as contextual inquiry. Furthermore, user feedback by individual entrepreneurs regarding a particular accounting software (Finago Procountor) was collected and analyzed. The results indicate that individual entrepreneurs have varying professional and educational backgrounds, which also makes their accounting-related skills and practices highly variable. Regardless of their background, typical work-related challenges faced by entrepreneurs include financial instability and time management. This makes it vital to design accounting software with user-centered design methods; by providing an optimal user experience and usability, the entrepreneurs can perform relevant accounting-related tasks effortlessly and also consider the software worth its costs. While individual entrepreneurs have varying skills and backgrounds, they tend to outsource the same accounting-related tasks to their accountants, leaving the entrepreneurs themselves with such tasks as invoicing, receipt handling and monitoring of their financial status. Therefore when designing an accounting software specifically for such entrepreneurial users, these tasks should be placed under more focus. Furthermore, the results indicate that the perceived complexity of current E-accounting solutions together with the experienced lack of time leads to the entrepreneurs handling their accounting-related tasks separately from their core business activities, meaning that accounting-related tasks are not well integrated into the everyday work of entrepreneurs.Itsensä työllistäminen on yleistynyt tasaisesti Suomessa, minkä vuoksi yksinyrittäjistä on tullut tärkeä asiakassegmentti monelle palveluntarjoajalle. Näin ollen yksinyrittäjien merkitys on kasvanut myös käyttäjäryhmänä yrityksille, jotka suunnittelevat ja kehittävät taloushallinnon ohjelmistoja. Tämä diplomityö tutkii suomalaisten yksinyrittäjien taloushallintokäytäntöjä, erityisesti sähköisen taloushallinnon kontekstissa. Varsinainen painoarvo on niissä yrittäjissä, jotka käyttävät ulkoisten tilitoimistojen palveluita ja ovat täten ulkoistaneet ainakin osan taloushallintoon liittyvistä toimenpiteistään. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kerätä tähän käyttäjäryhmään liittyviä havaintoja, joita voitaisiin myöhemmin hyödyntää taloushallinto-ohjelmiston suunnitteluvaiheessa. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisella lähestymistavalla hyödyntäen tutkimusmenetelminä esimerkiksi haastatteluja ja kontekstuaalista havainnointia. Lisäksi yksinyrittäjiltä kerättiin ja analysoitiin käyttäjäpalautetta eräästä taloushallinnon ohjelmistosta (Finago Procountor). Tulokset osoittavat, että yksinyrittäjien monimuotoinen ammatillinen sekä koulutuksellinen tausta tekevät myös heidän taloushallintokäytännöistään ja siihen liittyvistä taidoistaan vaihtelevia. Taustastaan riippumattomasti yksinyrittäjien työssään kohtaamat vaikeudet tyypillisesti liittyvät epävakaaseen talouteen ja ajanhallintaan. Tästä syystä taloushallinto-ohjelmiston suunnittelu käyttäjälähtöisin menetelmin on erityisen tärkeää; ohjelmiston tarjotessa optimaalisen käytettävyyden ja käyttäjäkokemuksen yrittäjät pystyvät hoitamaan taloushallintoon liittyvät tehtävänsä vaivattomasti, ja täten pitää ohjelmistoa kustannustensa arvoisena. Vaikka yksinyrittäjien taidot ja taustat vaihtelevat, heillä on tapana ulkoistaa samankaltaisesti taloushallintoon liittyviä toimenpiteitä kirjanpitäjilleen, jättäen yrittäjille itselleen vastuualueiksi esim. laskutuksen, kuittien käsittelyn ja taloudellisen tilanteensa seuraamisen. Siksi taloushallinto- ohjelmistoa suunnitellessa näihin osa-alueisiin tulisi kiinnittää erityistä huomiota. Lisäksi tulokset osoittavat, että nykyisten taloushallinto-ohjelmistojen koettu monimutkaisuus yhdessä koetun ajanpuutteen kanssa johtavat siihen, että yrittäjät hoitavat taloushallintoon liittyvät tehtävänsä erillään muusta työstään, jolloin taloushallinnon hoitaminen ei ole täydellisesti integroitunut yksinyrittäjän arkeen

E-INVOICING AND E-GOVERNMENT – IMPACT ON BUSINESS PROCESSES

Electronic invoicing (eINV) presents a possibility to use information communication technology for both the automating and redesigning business processes. Therefore, several initiatives at European level have been raised in order to facilitate the eINV environment. From the 1st of January 2015, eINV has become compulsory for the Slovenian public sector and companies with a registered office in Slovenia providing public services. However, since not every “e-initiative” is successful, the paper examines the effect of using eINV on business process performance. The paper therefore analyses whether eINV is streamlining administrative procedures, enhancing security and cutting costs. Moreover, it also analyses whether business processes were merely automated or also redesigned. Even though at the moment the regulation only concerns public sector, it may also present a large incentive to eINV in the private sector and therefore it is important to outline both its advantages and its pitfalls

Obstacles of XML-based electronic accounting reference

Research objectives The use of electronic accounting reference in its newest form, constructed from the viewpoint of unified practices, seems to have fallen short. Because no proper research has been conducted to depict the reasons that effect on the adoption of electronic accounting reference, this thesis aims to find answers through the following research question: What reasons hinder the adoption of electronic accounting reference for incoming invoices in Finnish companies? Research model In order to depict reasons for the lack of adoption, the Fit-Viability theory, created by Liang and Wei (2004), is utilized in the thesis. The theory recognizes that fit- and viability-related issues have an impact on the adoption of technology. The Fit-related issues analyze the manner in which the technology meets its demands set by the task that needs to be done. The viability-related issues, in turn, analyze organization’s readiness to adopt the technology in question. Research methodology The thesis includes an empiric case study in addition to the theory. This empiric case study focuses on four Finnish companies, and how their representatives have answered to a questionnaire, constructed with the help of Fit-Viability theory. Based on the analysis, the state of electronic accounting reference is depicted, and is placed to a four-field matrix created by Liang and Wei (2004). Based on the location in the matrix, suggestions how to improve the adoption of the electronic accounting reference in the future are made. Main findings The reasons for the lack of adoption are not unambiguous. Companies do see electronic accounting reference as a good investment, but the implementation demands resources, and companies need to make prioritization decisions amongst different options. Furthermore, as the electronic accounting reference-related claims received mixed answers in most of the cases, using resources to introduce the electronic accounting reference alone, most likely does not seem as a beneficial investment compared to other, less ambivalent, investment options. Companies’ answers’ calculated averages also suggest that the lack of adoption is explained with fit-related factors, and more specifically, technology-related factors. Additionally, the results indicate that “best practices” for invoice handling processes should be introduced. However, based on the limitations of this study, a broader research on the need for “best practices” should be conducted

The factors impacting the diffusion of innovation in digitalising accounting

THE FACTORS IMPACTING THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION IN DIGITALIZING ACCOUNTING Objectives of the study The goal of the study was to find the factors impacting the diffusion of digital accounting and electronic invoicing. Previous studies have focused on the attributes of the innovation and studied innovations with the assumption that they are efficient. This study has taken into account also the impact of actions as well as internal and external factors and brought in the considerations of the diffusion of inefficient innovations and divided the factors into motivations and hindering and supporting factors. Research method and data The diffusion of digital accounting is viewed as a change process. The study method consisted of 12 semi-structured interviews with experts on digital accounting from six listed companies who already are starting to send and receive electronic invoices. This was supported by observations made in meetings of the FIA project, where several important external parties involved in the diffusion process like operators, solution providers and other facets promoting e-invoicing, were represented. The results from the interviews were connected to the observations and compared to existing research and viewed in the light of the existing theory. Findings The impacting factors are not limited to the attributes of an efficient innovation even though it has been the focus of existing research. The most important motivations are the perceived efficiency of the innovation and harmonisation. The efforts for standardisation, co-operation networks and the development of accounting systems and organisation were found to be the most important supporting factors whereas problems in standardisation and finding efficient SME solutions as well as change resistance and the lack of a responsible authority and competing non-digital solutions were seen as the worst hinders for the diffusion

Are design networks shaped by their own outcomes? coordination processes between actors and artefacts

This paper sets the basis for a research project focused on collaborative social network’s genesis and dynamics. It introduces a research framework for the empirical investigation of a network focused on the design of a shared artefact, the so-called Web services Architecture . Our hypothesis is that network artefact’s characteristics, seen as the final outcome of a collaborative process, influence and drive the genesis and the structure of the social network that is designing it. We embraced this view in order to avoid a limitation of the traditional perspectives that consider the network structure as exogenous and stable. We consider the reciprocal influence between the artefact and the social network structure, with a phase in which the desired artefact may shape the network genesis and a phase in which the emergent network’s structure may drive the artefact design