The changing role of the Management Accountant in successful/unsuccessful implementations The role of the Management Accountant is very different in successful implementations as compared to unsuccessful implementations. ‘if you are successful and you build the foundation on which the Management Accountant can build, then that is very vital. I think the Management Accountant now, given a successful ERP system behind him, can get into the business and actually do the job. If he has to remain inside Finance, picking the bones out of an unsuccessful ERP system and putting that together, then he is struggling.’ Recommendations for Management Accountants The following summaries the responses to the questions (listed below) about recommendations for Management Accountants involved in the implementation and use of ERP systems.(a) What skills would you recommend for Management Accountants that have recently implemented ERP systems? l Analytical skills l Communication skills l Understanding the business ‘Where is the money going to?’ ‘Where would I spend it?’ ‘Where the business is going?’ ‘Where the business makes money?’ ‘Where [does the business] get the biggest benefit? Presentation skills l Entrepreneurial salesman skills The Management Accountants must be able to communicate with the Management team and explain the financial data, and the impact and consequences of the financial data. ‘So the skills are very much communication and very much business sense and understanding.’(b) What is the best practice for a Management Accountant working with this type of system? Attend customer and/or business meetings and demonstrate what a Management Accountant does and how he performs. The Management Accountant in an ERP environment needs to inform customer and business meetings. ‘People in a business will treat the financial department the way that the financial department presents
|
