Scattered data is a cancer, curable if noticed early

Scattered data is a cancer, curable if noticed early.

Set of facts when systematically arranged and classified becomes information.

Every business had evolved from a small size to mid or large size groups. Initially when businesses are of small size, they choose low cost accounting software like Tally, Busy etc. And eventually they hire low cost accountants who are more concerned about punching of records, creating systematic master is neither their priority nor their capability. They create masters as & when they need a new ledger. Slowey a mash up masters get bundled up.

Year on year, business grow multifold & convert from a small scale to mid-size & slowly to a large group, a large accounts & finance team is created, need arises to capture all the processes & documentation through system which creates the requirement of shifting from normal accounting software to an integrated ERP.

Once the business purchases the new ERP systems, need arises to Migration of data & Implementation of ERP.

Now the worst part of the story begins, imagine you had a scattered small wardrobe fully occupied, and given a large cabinet with more drawers and asked to shift the stuff from small to large, as a common human being there are two possibilities of our action: -

1.  Either we will just pick up the bunch of stuffs from old one, and place in few related marked drawers in a pile in the new one. Yes, we will ensure that all the items had been shifted. Result, we will shift all the stuff from old wardrobe to new, but whenever we need any item, we again had to shuffle the entire drawers & wardrobe to get it. And situation get worse as the stuff quantity increases. “A fine glass vase goes from treasure to trash, the moment it is broken.”

 Or we will first scatter all the items of old wardrobe, remove unused items, then arrange & categorize the usable items in a systematic   order, and make an index of all the categories. Then make a study of new wardrobe, how it is structured, what is new in it, how I can   use its drawers to make my life simple etc. Then I shift the usable items as per index to new drawers. “A place for everything and   everything in its place.”

You might be thinking, what kind of stupid story, Rukmani is telling us. But trust me, as per my study, more than 75% of organizations, do their Migration of data & Implementation of ERP in above First Method.  They just pull out the trial balance from old system & move it new system on as is where is basis. The only concern for them is that none of the ledger should be left & trial balance should match in the new system.

Now as a Finance leader or finance team member or even any other departments like sales or purchase team member, imagine how you are facing everyday problems in MIS, vendor reconciliations, customer reconciliations, any ad hoc information retrieval, quality of your financial statements, your time wastage on reconciling the same information with many person, reliability of information you get from system. So, wake up, at least now.

It’s never too late to turn things around. You are the only obstacles - Jane Fonda.