Codestone

Category: Accounting software

Organisations with a responsibility to manage public money could be among those with plenty to gain from investing in accounting software.

One advantage of doing so may be the increased potential to cut out administrative errors that can result in financial losses.

Macomb County in the US is a recent victim of such an incident, as it is now coming to terms with a $1.7 million (£1.1 million) hole in its budget caused by an accounting failure, reported the Detroit Free Press.

The error began in 2006 and was caused by the misplacement of $5 million of cash. It was not spotted during subsequent annual audits.

Commissioners attending a Finance Committee meeting in the county voted to terminate the contract of the accounting firm they had employed.

Michael Andrew, chairman of KPMG, recently told the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong that he believes ten steps are needed to trigger a rise in standards in the auditing sector.

Posted by Jack Gilbert