Architectures for Financial Consolidation: A Comparative Study

Although financial consolidation systems may share such similar components as algorithms and data structures, many systems designers are unfamiliar with the corresponding attributes of different consolidation architectures. As a result, some designers fail to select the best consolidation architecture for their clients. This article examines and analyzes corporate financial consolidation in five firms and illustrates how to match the correct system to the organizational structure of your firm.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

MEASURING OFFICE COMPLEXITY

An "office" can be described in terms of at least four different (but related) sets of descriptors: the physical, the social, the organizational, and the work-related. This paper focuses on work-related aspects of offices, and presents two measures of complexity in office work. The first measure, operational complexity, gauges the average difficulty, in terms of the cognitive resources required, to perform a "chunk" of office work. Independent of this, sequential complexity measures the potential number of task sequences which could be used to accomplish a given chunk of work. Sequential complexity increases as does the number of "special cases," "special cases of special cases," etc. for which the chunk of office work need be performed. In other words, it focuses on the complexity of interrelationships between individual office tasks, while operational complexity is concerned with the complexity of the individual tasks themselves. We then combine these measures into a an aggregate measure of overall complexity, combined complexity. The application of these measures is illustrated, using descriptions of order entry processes, for two hypothetical firms, employing job shop and assembly-line technologies, respectively. While these three measures hardly comprise an exhaustive catalogue of complexity in the "office" (or even in office work), we believe they provide a useful basis for both practical application and further theoretical extension.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

CONSTRUCTIVE IMAGES AND DIAGRAMS: THEIR ROLE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

In order to promote more creative solutions to Information Systems (IS) design problems, this paper identifies four roles that images or diagrams can play in the IS development process. These roles are characteristics of the interaction between the image and its creator or viewer, rather than of the diagram itself. One of these roles in particular, the constructive role, can do much to support the generation of creative designs, to the benefit of both systems developers and their clients. The goal of constructive systems thinking is to enhance the creative solution of IS development problems, and it cannot be reduced to a specific, highly structured technique. We can, however, outline a general approach to building constructive images: 1. Create a set of candidate analogies, elaborate them, and evaluate the degree to which each guides design of the target system. 2. Evaluate how completely this working set of analogies in forms the important aspects of the target system, and create additional analogies to fill any major gaps. 3. Over the relevant scope of each analogy, research its structure and dynamic interactions. Use these as templates within which to model the target system. 4. Validate this design and its functional implications with the system client, adjusting it as required. 5. Complete the design by removing details specific to the analogous system and adding those relevant to the target system.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

MAPPING OFFICE WORK TO OFFICE TECHNOLOGY

have achieved success with respect to describing what happens in the office, they have contributed far less with respect to prescribing how computer-based technologies can support the office. Here we present TEMO (TEchnological Mapping of Office-work), a procedure which aids the analyst in determining the feasibility of supporting a given office task and suggests which specific software packages might improve performance of that task. In order to illustrate the procedure's application, we present a case in which TEMO is applied, in step-by-step fashion, in order to assess the feasibility of automating a simple set of tasks and to assist in the selection of an appropriate software package. Directions of continuing work in the procedure's extension, enhancement, and evaluation are also described.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

CONSTRUCTIVE IMAGES AND DIAGRAMS: THEIR ROLE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

In order to promote more creative solutions to Information Systems (IS) design problems, this paper identifies four roles that images or diagrams can play in the IS development process. These roles are characteristics of the interaction between the image and its creator or viewer, rather than of the diagram itself. One of these roles in particular, the constructive role, can do much to support the generation of creative designs, to the benefit of both systems developers and their clients. The goal of constructive systems thinking is to enhance the creative solution of IS development problems, and it cannot be reduced to a specific, highly structured technique. We can, however, outline a general approach to building constructive images: 1. Create a set of candidate analogies, elaborate them, and evaluate the degree to which each guides design of the target system. 2. Evaluate how completely this working set of analogies in forms the important aspects of the target system, and create additional analogies to fill any major gaps. 3. Over the relevant scope of each analogy, research its structure and dynamic interactions. Use these as templates within which to model the target system. 4. Validate this design and its functional implications with the system client, adjusting it as required. 5. Complete the design by removing details specific to the analogous system and adding those relevant to the target system.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Architectures for Financial Consolidation: A Comparative Study

Although financial consolidation systems may share such similar components as algorithms and data structures, many systems designers are unfamiliar with the corresponding attributes of different consolidation architectures. As a result, some designers fail to select the best consolidation architecture for their clients. This article examines and analyzes corporate financial consolidation in five firms and illustrates how to match the correct system to the organizational structure of your firm.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

THE CONSTRAINTS AND ASSUMPTIONS INTERPRETATION OF SYSTEMS DESIGN: A DESCRIPTIVE PROCESS MODEL

The largescale ineffectiveness of current systems development methodologies may be attributed to the inaccuracy or inadequacy of their underlying assumptions concerning the systems development process. In this paper, we propose a descriptive, alternative model of the Information Systems (IS) design process. This model emphasizes the importance of constraints in defining the feasible design space, and of assumptions as a vehicle for discovering constraints. Moreover, rather than assuming that design activities occur in a logical and prescribed sequence, as the current dominant model, the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) does, the Constraints/Assumptions (C/A) Model focuses on the interdependent nature of design activities. The importance of developing and validating alternative models of the system design process is evident from three sources. First, there is the paucity of empirical research on systems design, which we attribute to a scarcity of theory to guide such research. Second, educators evince serious doubt as to our ability to educate students in this process. Third, the widespread inability of professional systems designers to develop systems on schedule, within budget, and providing the full set of specified functions is disconcerting, if not appalling. Previous research suggests that superior designs are produced when both clients and designers regard the IS design process as a learning experience, and work to educate each other. The Constraints/Assurnptions Model further elaborates this mutual learning thesis, by differentiating what clients learn from designers and what designers learn from clients. The C/A Model asserts that, at any stage in the design process, two dialogues occur simultaneously. The client/designer dialogue elaborates the design space, i.e., a set of constraints on the design process specifying required performance and function, the organizational and political climate, the resources available for developing and operating the system, etc. The designer/team dialogue, on the other hand, focuses on the generation of a working solution to the design problem, its validation with respect to technical feasibility and its congruence with the acceptable design space, and its elaboration into an implementable design. Both the design space and the working design are inputs to each dialogue, and their interdependence results from each dialogue's ability to modify only its own product.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

MAPPING OFFICE WORK TO OFFICE TECHNOLOGY

have achieved success with respect to describing what happens in the office, they have contributed far less with respect to prescribing how computer-based technologies can support the office. Here we present TEMO (TEchnological Mapping of Office-work), a procedure which aids the analyst in determining the feasibility of supporting a given office task and suggests which specific software packages might improve performance of that task. In order to illustrate the procedure's application, we present a case in which TEMO is applied, in step-by-step fashion, in order to assess the feasibility of automating a simple set of tasks and to assist in the selection of an appropriate software package. Directions of continuing work in the procedure's extension, enhancement, and evaluation are also described.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Case Reports1. A Late Presentation of Loeys-Dietz Syndrome: Beware of TGFβ Receptor Mutations in Benign Joint Hypermobility

Background: Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) and dissections are not uncommon causes of sudden death in young adults. Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a rare, recently described, autosomal dominant, connective tissue disease characterized by aggressive arterial aneurysms, resulting from mutations in the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) receptor genes TGFBR1 and TGFBR2. Mean age at death is 26.1 years, most often due to aortic dissection. We report an unusually late presentation of LDS, diagnosed following elective surgery in a female with a long history of joint hypermobility. Methods: A 51-year-old Caucasian lady complained of chest pain and headache following a dural leak from spinal anaesthesia for an elective ankle arthroscopy. CT scan and echocardiography demonstrated a dilated aortic root and significant aortic regurgitation. MRA demonstrated aortic tortuosity, an infrarenal aortic aneurysm and aneurysms in the left renal and right internal mammary arteries. She underwent aortic root repair and aortic valve replacement. She had a background of long-standing joint pains secondary to hypermobility, easy bruising, unusual fracture susceptibility and mild bronchiectasis. She had one healthy child age 32, after which she suffered a uterine prolapse. Examination revealed mild Marfanoid features. Uvula, skin and ophthalmological examination was normal. Results: Fibrillin-1 testing for Marfan syndrome (MFS) was negative. Detection of a c.1270G > C (p.Gly424Arg) TGFBR2 mutation confirmed the diagnosis of LDS. Losartan was started for vascular protection. Conclusions: LDS is a severe inherited vasculopathy that usually presents in childhood. It is characterized by aortic root dilatation and ascending aneurysms. There is a higher risk of aortic dissection compared with MFS. Clinical features overlap with MFS and Ehlers Danlos syndrome Type IV, but differentiating dysmorphogenic features include ocular hypertelorism, bifid uvula and cleft palate. Echocardiography and MRA or CT scanning from head to pelvis is recommended to establish the extent of vascular involvement. Management involves early surgical intervention, including early valve-sparing aortic root replacement, genetic counselling and close monitoring in pregnancy. Despite being caused by loss of function mutations in either TGFβ receptor, paradoxical activation of TGFβ signalling is seen, suggesting that TGFβ antagonism may confer disease modifying effects similar to those observed in MFS. TGFβ antagonism can be achieved with angiotensin antagonists, such as Losartan, which is able to delay aortic aneurysm development in preclinical models and in patients with MFS. Our case emphasizes the importance of timely recognition of vasculopathy syndromes in patients with hypermobility and the need for early surgical intervention. It also highlights their heterogeneity and the potential for late presentation. Disclosures: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes