Introduction
To improve efficiency and reduce business costs, companies and organizations use analysis tools. Organizations are supposed to use the right analysis tools in the right circumstances. To get the right analysis tool, organizations should pay attention to the needs of the business and look for the best analysis tools that fit the required conditions. Given that specific analysis tools perform different functions in an organization, some companies use a combination of analysis tools, depending on their needs. The use of the right analysis tools will compensate inexperienced managers.
The help of analysis tools in certain situations
Analysis tools work in specific situations depending on their purpose and design; they can only be of importance in specific situations. Moreover, analysis tools can use only specific data to perform specific functions. The tools can only help in routine and daily activities, but not in solving new problems.
How analysis tools are of help to finance or accounting arms of a company more than to operation managers
Help to the accounting department
The finance and accounting arms of a company provide financial information that forms the basis of decision-making. Accounting involves analyzing, reporting, and recording business information and data. Analysis tools are important in accounting for data recording, analyzing and reporting (Songini, 2004, p 12). The accounting department in a company cannot be effective without the use of analysis tools and accounting tools. Using accounting analysis tools, operation managers make business decisions based on statistics and the performance of the business. Past financial information in every company is important in measuring business performance and inexperienced managers might lack the information necessary for measuring business performance.
The preparation of financial information in a company helps the management to make wise decisions. Business owners use available accounting tools to assess and analyze the success of their operations. Financial statements have been the most convenient accounting tool used by companies and business owners in making decisions and planning budgets. Balance sheets are some of the financial statements used by companies and businesses. Every financial statement has different details that are useful to the company and other interested parties in the company. Financial accounting information comes from the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statements. Financial statements cover most of the transactions in the company. Some of the specific information included in the financial statements is assets, liabilities, sales, revenues, and cash flow transactions (Godwin, & Alderman, 2010, p. 344) and inexperienced managers might lack such classified information concerning a company. The purpose of this information is to give managers and other decision-makers a chance to review their spending. Managers and business owners are also able to use financial information to determine the profits and losses of the business in particular periods. With financial information, the managers are able to plan for future incomes and expenditures.
Other accounting tools used in businesses that can compensate for inexperienced managers include financial ratios, investment analysis, and management analysis. The accounting department in a company uses analysis tools to compile the accounting information needed. Recording, analyzing and reporting of the information data need specific analysis tools for efficiency and accuracy. Computers, being one of the analysis tools, help the accounting department greatly because the computer is able to process input and give output without making any changes something that an inexperienced manager cannot deliver competently.
Help to operations managers
In a company, making decisions is an important task for operations managers and it requires a lot of thinking. Decision-making involves solving complex and difficult problems through procedures set by the company. Successful operational managers use different criteria and different information to make all types of decisions. Operational managers in some of their functions cannot use analysis tools such as computers because they require a lot of thinking, a function that is impossible using analysis tools. Operational managers in their decision-making functions are able to learn from their mistakes which makes them gain experience and skills on how to deal with such situations in the future. Analysis tools are not able to learn from past mistakes and they are less useful to operational managers in such situations. They give the output depending on the input and they are not able to make any changes. Sometimes, operational managers face complex problems in making decisions. Some decisions they make require them to manipulate and change their environment. Only people, not machines, can do manipulate and change the environment surrounding them.
Wrong data
According to Premo and Andrews (2010), every analysis tool consists of several processes that give the desired results (p. 493). Data collection is the first process and people usually do it. The input of the data to the computer is the second process and it depends on people also. The computer does the processing part and produces the output which depends on the input. The main work of a computer is to process the input data and to give the output without making any changes to the output. If the data entered is wrong, the computer will not detect that there is wrong data and it will proceed with processing and give a wrong output. Wrong data input gives wrong output and correct data input gives correct output.
Conclusion
Using the right analysis tool will compensate inexperienced managers only if the data input is correct. Operation managers are not able to use analysis tools in all their functions since some of the functions are complex for machines. The accounting department in a company gets more benefit with the use of analysis tools, than the operation managers.
References
Godwin, N, H., & Wayne, A. (2010). Financial ACCT student edition. The United States of America: Cengage.
Premo, W., & Andrews, H. R. (2010). Organizational Lifestyle Analysis Tool. Journal of Individual Psychology, 66(4), 490-696.
Songini, M. L. (2004). Business Objects Sets Sights On Integrating Analysis Tools. Computerworld, 38(2), 11-14