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Software Industry Business Systems |
Sandon Associates
Business Process Engineering A business process is a set of tasks or activities to achieve a business objective or produce a specific output. Workflow is the definition of who within the organization must perform these tasks and activities, insuring the next person get the task, and monitoring who currently has the responsibility. Typical business processes could be processing a customer order, creating a budget, hiring a person or developing a new product. As a business grows and expands, it is frequently necessary to review various business processes to improve them. Perhaps there are problems with the labor required, quality, accuracy or timeliness. What worked when a company is small may begin to fail as the company grows. There is also an increasing need for improved audit controls and accounting accuracy. Business Process Engineering, or Business Process Design is a methodology to improve the current system. The first step is to understand the current process and the needs, concerns and requirements of the users. Involving current users in changes is desirable, because they will most likely have to implement the new changes. It is also necessary to define the longer-term business objectives, such as increasing volumes, new products or integration with business partners. The business philosophy of delegation vs. central control, flexibility vs. tight rules needs to be established. Business Processes frequently go across department boundaries, so it is desirable to have users and management from the various departments involved in the design. Frequently the changes are implemented with some technology solutions, so the Information Technology or Management Information Systems department should be involved. In some situations, it may be sufficient to tune up the current process, remove a bottleneck, or change approval authority. In other situations, it may be necessary to completely redesign the workflow and processes. There are tradeoffs to each that need to be evaluated before proceeding with changes. Sandon Associates has extensive experience in accounting, financial and information systems to be able work with the users and management in redesigning business processes to meet the business objectives. |
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