imilar to the business processes covered in THE “ORDER-TO-CASH” PROCESS: PART I, MARKETING AND SALES (M/S); THE “ORDER-TO-CASH” PROCESS: PART II, REVENUE COLLECTION (RC) THE “PURCHASE-TO-PAY” (PTOP) PROCESS; INTEGRATED PRODUCTION PROCESSES (IPP), the business reportingprocess (BR) is an interacting structure of people, equipment, methods, and controls designed to accomplish both operations and information process functions. Unlike other business processes, the BR process has fewer operational functions; it focuses mainly on information functions. While the other processes perform important functions related to their “work” of providing goods and services to customers, the processing and communicating of information is the work of the BR process.
Periodic financial reports are one of the many kinds of reports that result from the BR process. Their importance lies not only in their critical value for internal decisions, but also in the fulfillment of regulatory and other fiscal requirements. The major source of data for financial reporting is the general ledger (GL). Because financial reporting is so vital to every firm, the general ledger updating and reporting process will appear in detail in the following sections. This detailed example illustrates the issues and complexities of the more inclusive BR process, which itself relies on the general ledger as well as many other database updates first covered in THE “ORDER-TO-CASH” PROCESS: PART I, MARKETING AND SALES (M/S); THE “ORDER-TO-CASH” PROCESS: PART II, REVENUE COLLECTION (RC); THE “PURCHASE-TO-PAY” (PTOP) PROCESS INTEGRATED PRODUCTION PROCESSES (IPP).
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Review Question What, in your own words, is business reporting? |
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What are the important Information Systems functions of the business reporting process?
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Review Question What are the primary functions the business reporting process performs? |
Before beginning your exploration of the BR process, it may be useful to revisit Figure 1.6 and think about the competing values of information. Ponder these values as you explore the various types of internal and external information that organizations have and choose to make available to decision makers.
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