Systems vary according to needs
A WIDE RANGE of software is used by accountants in Hong Kong, according to Antony Lee, market analyst, Asia-Pacific software research at IDC.
'[Programs] for SMEs are Peachtree, DacEasy, Sage Accpac, System Union SunSystem V4 & V5. The leading system on the mainland is Kingdee. More comprehensive systems include Armitage KONTO 21, part of the AIMS suite, which is an ERP (enterprise resource planning) application, and Microsoft Dynamic Suite, a low- to medium-range ERP. Systems for larger companies include Oracle, SAP and JD Edwards ERP systems,' Mr Lee said.
'One reason it is not practicable to standardise on a small number of applications is that customisation is generally required with any package,' Mr Lee said.
'Most companies employ system integrators to customise the software for workflow and accounting practices and product categories, so the application may be 80 per cent original and 20 per cent customised in most cases,' he said.
Peter Koo, a partner in accounting firm Deloitte, Touche Tohmatsu, said larger companies had highly customised in-house solutions based on SAP, Oracle and JD Edwards, the ERP market leaders in the mainland and Hong Kong.
'UNICODE enables software vendors to change the language more easily than before. These large systems have many modules, and if you implement them all - a strategy known as the 'Big Bang' - it will cost a fortune. So many Chinese companies do not need all the modules,' Mr Koo said.
The market leader for accounting packages in Greater China is Kingdee Software.
Three years ago, the company launched custom versions in languages for Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Kingdee Asia-Pacific general manager and vice-president Liang Zeng said: 'Our software has middleware that provides a flexible platform for modifications to meet local requirements, and we have UNICODE, which facilitates creation of language versions.
'For accountants who need to run multiple books, the Kingdee database can be partitioned, so that the same corporate data can be used to drive different reporting versions of the same accounts,' Mr Zeng said.
'To support compliance, accountancy packages need access control, security, a common viewpoint of corporate data and risk management.
'Accountants do not want to be bookkeepers, but demand business intelligence modules that put multidimensional analysis into the operational efficiency of the company,' he said.
