Australian SME Business News and Accounting Articles

What initially started as a simple tool is now becoming a very popular accounting software for businesses as it offers businesses a way to save money. Companies are already doing their working practices in ways that suit the cloud computing technology.

Eighty percent of the 900 organizations surveyed by KPMG are saying that they have plans of adopting the cloud computing technology. Ten percent of them are already using the accounting software at present.

Basically, cloud computing is “the process of sharing IT resources to achieve more power and productivity with fewer costs and roadblocks”.

Cloud computing is a new accounting software that deploys information in the “clouds”. This helps a business save space as they no longer need many computers to store data and information. The data are stored in a data center and web servers provide the information.

However, much as it is considered advantageous, there are users still who fail even after they have used an online accounting software. In order for a successful cloud accounting operation to happen, then the following factors have to be considered.

While majority are convinced of the advantages of cloud computing to companies, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are giving their thumbs-up to the new accounting software for business.

According to the research conducted by Xantus, an independent management consultancy, 23 percent of CIOs are presently using the technology as reported by ComputerWeekly.com.

In addition to that number, the accounting solution will be adopted by another 53 percent in the next 12 months.

However, there are still a number of companies that are unsure of the benefits of cloud computing which makes them hesitant to use it.

While so many companies today have adopted the use of cloud computing, they are forgetting an essential thing to do—creating back-ups. Data that are sent to the clouds have to be adequately backed up.

This is according to Andrea Simmons, a writer for the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.

Just recently, Amazon Web Services had a huge outage after its European cloud services were knocked out by a lightning strike in Dublin, Ireland last August. As a result, Springpad, one of its products, was out of use for two days.

There has been a recent advice for those companies that intend to adopt the cloud computing technology, an online accounting software. By doing so, businesses will be doing their share for the environment.

It has been found that using this new technology is a guaranteed way to slash carbon emissions. This is according to the new research of the Carbon Disclosure Projects as reported by the IBTimes.

The report, entitled Cloud Computing: The IT Solution for the 21st Century, has stated that there can be a cutback of 85.7 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide output in the US alone.

After receiving criticisms against her government, Prime Minister Julia Gillard vows to bring new flexibility into the tax system.

Just last night, Julia Gillard made more changes to business tax rules in response to calls for the reduction in company tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent.

Although Gillard did not give specific details as to the changes, she wants delegates during next month’s two-day forum in Canberra to discuss options for a tax system that would better support businesses.

According to Gillard during the Australia Industry Group dinner in Canberra, the aims of the changes include "removing distortions, lifting barriers, delivering flexibility ... (and) encouraging enterprise."

Problem on accounting and budget processes hits Newcastle Knights’ Ausgrid Stadium.

According to a Newcastle local tabloid newspaper, the Newcastle Herald, Ausgrid Stadium, formally known as Newcastle International Sports Centre --- a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and the home ground of the Newcastle Knights (National Rugby League) and the Newcastle United Jets (A-League) teams and owned by the New South Wales government and administered by the Hunter International Sports Centre Trust --- has been having significant problems during a scheme.

The said problems is said to relate primarily to a series of errors that has been made in the accounting and budget processes --- which is said to have been resolved with an engagement of a specialist technology, particularly a software for accounting.