1.1 Background Of The Study
In Nigeria today, especially in her major cities, business accounting system has become a household name. However, many of them are far below the international recognized standard but have the potentials to grow both in depth and light of product assortment, sales, services and profit margin. Accounting system, although it does not have its origin in Nigeria, is still regarded by many Nigerian as a place where specialized goods and services are sold and purchased.
In Nigeria, computers are now being increasingly used their impact on the socio-economic educational and scientific sector it being greatly felt and recognized contrary to popular belief that a computer is not really a very sophisticated machine operated upon by highly skilled personnel that it is only a large calculator capable of performing arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. However, the main difference is that unlike a calculator, it can store large volume of information for future use. It is twice faster than any ordinary calculator. It can perform millions of computations in just a few seconds.
The speed of the present data computer is measured in micro seconds. A computer is admitted fit to handle any information and hence its basic operation that performs some basic operations to that information and produces result accordingly to predetermine program. The desirable characteristics of a computer are its speed, storage capacity, accuracy and consistency.
Computer are used in all network of life, they are used for management application in business to maintain customers’ account, in engineering officer for design of building or machine computers, in airport for reservation, in electricity and telephone to road bills and take inventories. In order words, the use of computer should be adopted in our day to day activities especially in inventory taking so as to have and keep an accurate account and records of items for future purpose and also to ease the stress of writing out the items or goods in a book during inventory taking.
Business is a word that is commonly used in many different languages. The concept and activities of business have increased in modern times. Traditionally, business simply meant exchange or act of buying and selling of goods and service that satisfy the needs or wants of the market or people. Today it has more technical definitions. One definition of business is the production, distribution, and sale of goods and services for profit. To examine this definition, we look at its various parts.
According to Orji (2016), production is the development and creation of goods and services using resources to stimulate exchange. It is the physical output of a manufacturing or service company. One example is the conversion of iron ore into metal car parts. Next, is these products needed to be moved from the factory to the market place. This is known as distribution. Third, are the sales of goods and services, Sales are the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. Goods are products that people either needs or wants. Service is intangible commodity.
Business then is the combination of all these activities, production, distribution, and sales. However, there is one other important factor. This factor is the creation of profit or economic surplus. Profit is the money that remains after all the expenses are paid. Creating an economic surplus or profit is therefore, a primary goal of business activity.
One of the most important sections of a business system is the accounting section which is the focus of this project. The financial accounting module deals with cash/bank, receipt/payments etc. The accounting section is directed with the responsibility of ensuring that there are proper and prudent financial records of all activity carried out within the business. Efficient accounting system in business enhances the continuity of the business and facilities business activities. This will eliminate errors, time wastage, and rigorous work involved in manual method. Computerization of business accounting system involves the bringing of Computer upon the activities of an account in business. This project, our interest will focus on the computerized business accounting system as concern Sony Electronics Enterprise Lagos in particular.
Some of the problems observed in the existing system are:
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
To design and implement a computerized business accounting system with the following objectives;
1.4 Significance of the Study
The significance of this project is aimed at improving the business accounting process of Sony’s Electronic Enterprise Lagos, through the use of Computer, thereby leading to the facilitation and enhancement of its accounting section.
This study is focused on the accounting section of business. It is regarded as being important because it gives the general interpretation of the activities done by a business financially.
In any depth of the importance of a computerized business accounting system, it is important that every aspect of accounting system be put into consideration starting from inventory stage, book keeping, journals, ledgers, cash receipt and cash payment disbursement, debtors, creditor and pre-payment, fixed assets, stock control, wages and salaries, sales and purchase. Therefore, this research is limited in space to only sales and purchased account.
In the course of carrying out this research work a number of problems were encountered.
The limited knowledge of Visual Basic programming was great challenge to this project. However, more research was made to complete this project successfully.
1.7. Definition of Terms
Accounting: Accounting or accountancy is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non-financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations (Needles, & Marian, 2013).
Analyst: This is a person or professional who studies the problem encountered by a system and creates means of solving them by introducing a better system.
Business: this is the activity of making one’s living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). Simply put, it is “any activity or enterprise entered into for profit (Needles, et al., 2013).
Company: this is a legal entity made up of an association of people, be they natural, legal, or a mixture of both, for carrying on a commercial or industrial enterprise.
Computer: Computer is an electronic device operating the control of instructions stored in its memory that can accept data (input) manipulate the data according to a specified rules (processing) produces result output and stores the result for future use.
Creditor: this is an entity, a company or a person of a legal nature that has provided goods, services, or a monetary loan to a debtor.
Data processing: is defined as the entire process of converting or manipulating data into definite meaningful information (Okoye & Adigwe, 2013).
Data: It is the facts collected for decision making they are facts that are kept to be processed to get more information.
Database Management System (DBMS): it is software which controls the flow of data and checks and checks on how data are stored.
Database: is an organized /unique collection of related files. It is a collection of schemas, tables, queries, reports, views and other object.
Debtor: this is an entity that owes a debt to another entity. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person.
Demand: It is the amount requires by sales or production
Design: is the art or process of designing how something will look, work.
Documentation: material that provides official information or evidence that serves as record; written specifications and information that describes the product.
Electronic Data Processing Equipment (EDP): it is a machine that performs the work of data manipulation.
Information: is a processed data that can be read and understand.
Inventory: List of goods
Invoice: It is a piece of legal paper smarting the intake or transfer of a certain material in and out of a store or warehouse.
Management Information System (MIS): Information system that generates accurate timely and organized information so that manager and other user can make decision, solve problem supervise activities and track progress.
Security: This helps to prevent unauthorized users from illegally accessing certain data within the database, it protects your data/ files.
Software: These are set of logically related instructions given to the computer to perform some specific task.
System: Is the collection of hardware and software, data information procedure and people.