Value of Information Technology and Management Information System - Research Paper Example

On the other hand, Accounting is an important aspect of all companies. Unlike IT and MIS, Accounting has been in existence for the longest time. This mainly addresses the financial state of a company. It involves bookkeeping, which involves bank statements, company ledgers, and the overall tracking of finances in the company, including money in, money out, and business assets.

Today, there is a high level of interaction between different disciplines. Similarly, the fields of accounting, IT, and MIS show a high level of interaction, as the field of accounting adopts the skills and knowledge of IT and MIS in its processes. Nonetheless, the nature of IT and MIS make them applicable in diverse disciplines. This paper, therefore, will focus on the value of information technology and management information systems in the field of accounting.

The field of accounting today has become dependent on information technology and management information systems, as it adopts various elements in these, to enhance the efficiency of its processes. In information technology, there is a myriad of new integration approaches, as well as effective methods of managing data. Therefore, the use of information technology translates into increased efficiency in data retrieval and storage, and overall management of data in accounting. Therefore, this aspect of information technology is valuable in accounting, since it makes the different procedures and processes in accounting to be simple and leads to increased and focused use of computed information in the field. Therefore, about efficiency in accounting, information technology has played a major role in achieving this. Nonetheless, with the advancements in information technology, it is expected that the field of accounting will as well adopt the new techniques in information technology, and therefore, increase its efficiency.

Information technology has also led to the transformation of the field of accounting into a paperless phenomenon. Today, there is no more use for paper and pencils. Information technology highly adopts different equipment, which has also been adopted in accounting. For instance, there is the use of computers, faxes, and scanners, among other IT equipment in information technology. Most of this IT equipment is as affordable, thus available in the accounting section of most companies. Nonetheless, these have resulted in increased efficiency in accounting procedures. 

As observed, information technology utilizes various software. This software can also be adopted in most accounting processes. For instance, accountants use the program referred to as “spreadsheet” today to help in reporting and calculations in the field. Apart from the spreadsheet program, there is much more software, which is accustomed to accounting, and help in accounting procedures. Nonetheless, these are affordable and easy to use. This different software makes the work of accountants easier. Therefore, accountants use these to pay different types of bills in the company, recording all the transactions they have made, and use them in financial reporting, as well. Nonetheless, the use of these IT programs ensures that all accounting data is well organized and stored in a central area for easy access.

Security of data is paramount in accounting. Accounting deals with highly sensitive company data and information, which must be well kept and protected from unauthorized access. In the past era, when technology had not evolved as it is today, accountants used papers to record information, which was then stored in large files. This way, the security of the data could be easily compromised, since it is easier for a person to access files and folders and read the data therein. However, the adoption of information technology has changed all this. Today, with the adoption of IT in accounting, the security of company accounting information is guaranteed.