Information Systems Control Journal, Volume 4, 2000

Financial Information Systems Manual 1999 Edition

Book Review
Reviewed by Sarathy Emani, CISA

This manual, by Sam W. Barcus III and Stewart McKie, covers the requirements, design, implementation and management of financial information systems. The information presented comprises the research and perspectives of numerous professionals.

This manual is divided into four parts, each of them having several chapters.

Part A provides an overview of several types of financial information systems, a discussion on the role of financial information systems in the management of a business and the changing role of the chief financial officer (CFO).

Part B reviews the five accounting transaction systems that comprise the core of a financial information system: the general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll/personnel and fixed asset account systems.

Part C covers financial planning and control, financial information presentation, financial modeling, capital budgeting, activity-based costing, knowledge-based systems and multi-currency systems.

Part D addresses key issues in systems implementation, including long-term systems planning, process re-engineering, client/server, selection and installation of a financial information system, methods and styles of systems training, the importance of internal and general IT controls and the development of disaster recovery plans.

The 1999 updates include travel and entertainment expense management and reporting systems, client/server computing, systems preparation for the year 2000 and the impact of the euro.

The intended users of this manual are information systems directors, financial systems analysts, chief executives, chief financial officers, treasurers, controllers, management accountants and budget directors.

This coverage is exhaustive, making this an extremely useful handbook which enables the finance executives to understand and recommend the appropriate information systems to maximize operations of the organization. Its topics include the most current technologies such as COM, though in a short form. By doing so, the financial information systems are explained both in the light of earlier concepts and technologies with updates of the latest concepts and technologies.

However, there are two important issues that are worth noting.

Firstly, updates will keep coming, and someone should keep track of them to ensure the completeness of the manual at any point in time. Even so, these updates are valuable additions due to the timeliness and dynamic environments addressed. On a slightly negative note, significant monitoring efforts to always stay current will be necessary.

Secondly, it has been my observation that many organizations are going for outright purchase of financial packages, rather than attempting to learn much from such manuals. Even for people with this type of inclination, this manual can be a guideline to analyze commercial packages before making a purchase. Those organizations performing in-house development for financial information systems can definitely use this manual.

Sarathy Emani, CISA
has a graduate degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from JNT University and a post-graduate degree in Industrial Engineering from the National Institute for Training in Industrial Engineering, Bombay. Currently, he is the head of the Process and Quality Management Board at Cognizant Technology Solutions. He is also a member of the Publications Committee and evaluates many books for inclusion in the ISACA Bookstore.

Ordering information for this book can be found in the ISACA Bookstore.