Accounting Information System is a system to collect, process, store and report data and information about organisation that is used by decision makers. It is a computer-based storage for tracking activity and information technology resources.
With the development of IT accounting system, industry is embracing cloud computing. Cloud system give opportunity to the people who work inside of the AIS. While users must stick to security systems, versatility permits adaptability of operations for staff. A business appreciates enhanced profitability utilizing a cloud design for AIS, and it could make open doors for a business geographically.
Cloud computing is a secure data centers and storage of servers, it can be accessed by users via their internet browser. Cloud applications using the huge data centers and powerful serves to expand their accessibility, it will convenience and easily for users to transmit the important data and accounting information system through their mobile devices or computers, when they have the internet and standard Web browser via the internet cloud applications anytime or anywhere. Cloud computing have unlimited processing and storage capacity, it able for an unlimited number of device to access cloud, however not affected its performance. Cloud computing are five key features, including service-based, scalable and elastic, shared, metered by usage, and use internet technologies.
In additional, cloud computing applications comprises the combination of functional service models, such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) (Wikisites.cityu.edu.hk, 2011). Firstly, IaaS arrangements provide users with physical or virtual assets that fulfill the requirements of the user applications as far as CPU, memory, operating system and storage. IaaS is typically charged on a utility premise contingent upon the utilization of the resources.
Then, PaaS conveys cloud-based application development instruments moreover benefits for testing, disposing, cooperating, organizing, and maintaining applications. It shrouds all the multifaceted nature of dealing with the basic equipment, gives every one of the offices required to bolster the complete lifecycle of building and disposing web applications and services absolutely from the Internet. With PaaS, users can grow new applications or services in the cloud that don't rely on upon a particular stage to run, and can make them generally accessible to users through the Internet.
Moreover, SaaS is a model of software to deployment by provider deliver as a services, allowing users can use internet browser to access the application when their necessary. The SaaS model is precondition on "one-to-many" or multi-customer delivery model whereby an application is shared between customers, giving opportunity to formulate the system to the requirements of every customer.
There are three different types of cloud computing, including private, public and hybrid clouds (Steadfast.net, 2013). Private cloud is a company’s data center, it provides services only to users inside the company or its partners. It able provides more security, flexibility, provisioning, scalability, and automation to users, so they can effective to use functions in an existing data center. Cloud computing also have the potential to give the company control their infrastructure and computational resources. All cloud models have a similar advantage, however private cloud only have a big advantage that is data security and privacy better than public cloud. Otherwise, cost of private cloud is expensive than public cloud. So this is usually not an option for small and medium-size companies.
Public cloud is an application through the internet connection, it provides users to update their computing resources online for the public and allows users to access all kind of important resources on cloud. Provider will cover application, hardware and bandwidth cost, user need to pay-per-usage model and only costs are based on the capacity that is used, it is an inexpensive to set-up and the best of scale to users. However, public computing have some limitations, may not be suitable for every organization. Examples of public cloud includes Google App, Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft BPOS, Sun Cloud and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) (SearchCloudComputing, 2009).
Hybrid cloud includes both private (internal) and public (external) cloud application. Ordinarily a business may run an application principally on a private cloud, but depend on a public cloud to oblige spikes in utilization. Hybrid clouds offer the expense and scale advantages of public cloud, while likewise offering the security and manage of private cloud, it is very suitable for e-commerce. Abode Creative Cloud and Sage 200 online are using hybrid cloud (Business 2 Community, 2014).
What are the benefits of the cloud computing allows most company or organisation decided turning it software to achieve savings time, money and reduce trouble? Nowadays, cloud accounting gradually replace traditional accounting, there are some benefits for users, including flexibility, reducing cost, highly automated, provide storage, immediate fixes or others.
Most of the company and people love to use cloud computing because it is a software of flexibility, users can access store data any location in the world, but that’s only required the internet connection and need a devices, such as smart phone, computer, laptop or other application devices. Employee can be more flexible in their work, solving the problem of barriers and regional restrictions, our world is becoming smaller and smaller. Cloud computing provides high automated, business and organisation no need to purchase update software, they can effective to use functions in an existing data center and devote more time to focus on core business, reduce unnecessary human resources.
In additional, cloud computing will easy to attract the small and start-up businesses with limited cash flow. Because cloud computing service provider will handler the new hardware and software, and the cost of system upgrades to business, they only need to pay-per-usage that greatly to reduce cost and best of scale to them. For accounting information system, cloud computing allows the integration of document scanning likes involves, and automatically sent to the accounting system every day, where accountants can check and confirm the entry. This can significantly reduce processing costs, and reduce the cost of book keeping services, savings accountant time and business money.
Moreover, cloud computing also can expand team-wide availability and provided immediately fixes. Employee and accountant can update accounting information anytime and pass through internet to realize real-time information, they no need to gather in one place to discuss and take turn to reviewing important document. Cloud computing can scale their IT business to allows employees can more efficient to do their work and complete the task within the expectations. When the software have any problem, users just need to wait patient and provider will fixes the bugs immediately. These are important for the company and users.
Furthermore, users can online storage file, information and data in “cloud storage”. Enterprises can depend their amount of business to decide chosen different kinds of cloud application and different plan of data and usage. Cloud application will automatically backs up locally storage data, is mean all of the information is safe at all time, when occur the accident, such as fire, flood or other, cloud-based service provider will help the company restore their data, recovering their business and running rapidly to minimize the effect and impediment to their customers.
Nevertheless, cloud computing still facing some problem which caused some of the company hesitate whether to use it or not, such as privacy, security and downtime. Files, data, email, social networking records of users all stored at cloud hosting, most of the company and organisations are looking forward to take better hosting service, which provides guarantee and privacy policy. Additionally, security is a big concern to company, your cloud information is available from anywhere on the internet, implying that if a data breach occurs by hacking, a displeased employee or indiscreet username/password security, your business data can be influenced. Besides that, network connection is very important in cloud application, if the network is down, cloud services are down as well, it will affect the work efficiency of employee.
Finally, although the cloud computing have a small portion of shortcoming, but its benefits also cannot be ignored, most or the company and users all choose it so far to date. It offers existing functional for users such as accountant to transmit important information anytime and anywhere, they can complete tasks efficient regardless of location, while significantly reducing operations, equipment cost and human resources. In additional, cloud computing offers various cloud services, so that users can find the selection of best suited to their business.