DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTERIZED ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

By

Author

Presented To

Department of Computer Science

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTERIZED ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (A CASE STUDY OF FINE BROTHERS & CO LTD ABAKALIKI)

A PROJECT WORK

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to design and implement a software system that will automate the processes involved in account management, particularly in Fine Brothers Abakaliki. Manual accounting systems are characterized by human errors, including mutilation, omission, duplication, miscalculation, etc, as well as wastage of time and energy, data loss, and so on. Moreover, extra cost is incurred in running manual accounting systems because of the need to buy big registers and writing materials from time to time. To solve all these problems, the researcher has developed and tested a computerized account management system for the case study company, Fine Brothers Abakaliki. This system will eliminate all errors associated with the existing manual system like mutilation, duplication, etc; it will further automate most processes like report generation and mathematical calculations. Observational technique was used to make findings about the existing system. Based on the information gathered from the exercise, the new system was analysed. The project design was done using Object-Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology (OOADM); UML diagrams such as use case diagram and class diagram were used. Microsoft Access was used to design the database; necessary relationships were established between the database tables using foreign keys. The project was implemented using VB 6.0 to send and receive data and information to and fro the database. Input forms were designed to collect users’ input while output could be received in different forms like data report forms and message boxes. The project could only run on Windows PCs, with just a minimal configuration (Windows XP, 1gig RAM, 40gig HD, 1.4GHZ processor) or higher. Proper documentation of this project was also kept. The researcher concluded that implementing this account management system will increase the organizational performance and productivity of Fine Brothers Abakaliki and like companies. He therefore encouraged the implementation of the software in Fine Brothers and like companies. Finally, he recommended regular maintenance of the system to ensure efficiency

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Certification Page

Approval Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Abstract

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

11 Background of the Study

12 Statement of the Problem

13 Objectives of the Study

14 Significance of the Study

15 Scope of the Study

16 Limitations of the Study

17 Definition of Terms

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

21 Introduction

21 Financial Transaction

211 History of Financial Transaction

22 Account Management System and its Importance to Businesses

23 Manual vs Computerized Accounting

231 Manual Accounting

232 Computerized Accounting

233 Manual Accounting vs Computerized Accounting

24 The Advantages of Using Computerized Accounting Software

25 Fine Brothers Abakaliki: a Brief Description, History

and Review of its Current Accounting System

26 Summary

CHAPTER THREE: SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

31 Introduction

32 Analysis of the Existing System

321 Limitations of the Existing System

33 Analysis of the Proposed System

34 Design Methodology Used

341 Use Case Diagram

342 Class Diagram

35 Database Design

351 Data Organization

352 Table Relationships

353 Data Storage

354 Data Retrieval

36 User-Interface Design

361 Input Form Design

362 Output Form Design

CHAPTER FOUR: IMPLEMENTATION

41 Introduction

42 Architecture of the System

43 Procedural Design

44 Development Environment

4 5 Deployment Environment

46 Documentation

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

51 Summary

52 Conclusion

53 Recommendations

References

Appendix I

Appendix II

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig 3411 Use Case Diagram for Computerized Account Management System

Fig 3421 Class Diagram for a Computerized Account Management System

Fig 3511 Data Dictionary for a Computerized Account Mgt System

Fig 3521 Relational Database Tables for a Computerized Account Management                        System

Fig 361 Main Menu for the Computerized Account Management System

Fig 3611 Input Form for the Computerized Account Mgt System

Fig 3621 Output Box (Message Box) to Confirm that a Record Has Been Saved                       to the Database in the Computerized Account Mgt System

Fig 421 Context-Level Data Flow Diagram Describing the Architecture of the                System

Fig 431 A Flow Chart Describing the Procedural Design of the Account Mgt                  System

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

11 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Every business company deals on either sales of products or services or both Whichever the case may be, business transactions take place Business transaction is more than buying and selling of goods; it also includes rendering of services and more According to Doyle (2014), business transactions are the interactions between businesses and their customers, vendors and others with whom they do business This explanation implies that exchange of messages, items, and ultimately money, for the purpose of business all constitutes business transaction

Business transactions by companies could be in form of sales, expenses, bonuses, discounts, and so on Proper records of such transactions need to be kept Keeping such records constitutes accounting

Reynolds (2009) defined Accounting as "the systematic recording, analysis and appraisal of financial data which results from activities undertaken in pursuit of the objectives of a firm" Thus, accounting systems monitor revenues and expenditures and quickly establish the firm’s position at particular lines Furthermore, firms need to know the values of their fixed Assets (Land, buildings, vehicles, plant and equipments), and current assets (stocks, debtors, work in progress, and cash in hand) Because every transaction contributes to an increase or decrease in assets, it must therefore be recorded accurately and stored in easily retrievable form From the going, accounts should show areas of inefficiency, and reveal the exact cost of all the firms’ activities, as accurate and detailed accounts will make policy formation easier and facilitate the well organized implementation of corporate plans

Accounting has also been seen by Meigs (2005) as consisting of gathering of financial and other economic data Just as physical measurements are provided by the metric system, economic measurements are provided by the accounting system, and are stated in financial terms These economic measurements are put together in reports that carry the information essential for planning activities, control of operations, and for decision making by business units

Thirdly, accounting provides financial reports that are needed by outside persons who invest in business units, lend money to them, or extend credit to them It also furnishes reports to be used by government agencies which regulate businesses and by tax authorities such as internal revenue authorities which must ensure that the correct amount of tax is collected When the unit of consideration is a non-profit organization (such as school, hospital, church or other charitable group), its members and those who contribute to it need to know for what purposes and in what proportions their money is being used These important pieces of information are furnished by accounting, thereby making accounting a very important aspect of every business

Thus, accounting can be referred to generally as a set of rules and methods by which financial and economic data are collected, processed, and summarized into reports that can be used in making decisions, relating to the accomplishment of organizational goals

The major role of financial accounts is the preparation of profit and loss account and the balance sheet The methods used by a business to keep records of its financial activities and to summarise these activities in periodic accounting reports comprise the accounting system

Fine Brothers & Co Ltd Abakaliki, like every other profit companies, runs an accounting system Only a few of these companies run computerized accounting systems; the others rely on manual accounting systems

The advantages of computerized account management systems over manual ones are innumerable Manual accounting systems involves hiring an accountant who keeps the company’s accounts, using books and other writing materials while a computerized account management system entails the use of computer programs to keep and maintain a company’s accounting information Manual accounting systems are characterized by human errors, including mutilation, omission, duplication, miscalculation; wastage of time and energy, data loss, and so on On the other hand, according to Francis (2014), computerized account management systems are automated, accurate, and fast Computerized systems can be used to generate reports easily; errors can be corrected easily; data can be backed up on external devices or on the cloud; duplications are automatically detected and data manipulation (especially numerical figures) is easy Recently, computerized decision making tools have been developed to aid managers in decision making and forecasting, using computerized accounting information

To solve the problems posed by manual accounting systems, the researcher has embarked on this project which is aimed at designing and implementing a computerized account management system, using Fine Brothers & Co Ltd Abakaliki as the case study company When implemented, this project will help the company to overcome all the challenges posed by their manual accounting system, including mutilation, omissions, duplications, miscalculations and so on

12 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Manual accounting systems are characterized by human errors, including mutilation, omission, duplication, miscalculation, etc, as well as wastage of time and energy, data loss, and so on

Human beings cannot afford writing without errors, so; mutilations are bound to occur when using manual accounting systems Also, an accountant can easily forget certain debts, dates or schedules while using the manual system of account management Furthermore, he can duplicate entries; this will, of course, lead to imbalance account at the end of the day; loss of job or taxing of the accountant involved could be the ultimate price Moreover, when an accounting book is lost, the whole data is lost; creating a back up on the manual system is very difficult Extra money is also spent is also spent to purchase various accounting books and writing materials

To solve all these problems, this project is thus necessary

13 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this study is to design and implement a computerized account management system for Fine Brothers & Co Ltd Abakiliki

The specific objectives of this study are:

i                   To eliminate human errors involved in manual accounting like mutilation, omission, duplication, forgetfulness, and so on

ii                 To reduce the cost of running accounting systems

iii              To save time and energy via automation

14 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This project will be of immense benefit to the management of Fine Brothers & Co Ltd Abakaliki and similar companies as it will help them in decision making and forecasting The staff, especially the accountants, of Fine Brothers and similar organizations will find this project helpful as it will help them to keep accurate financial accounts devoid of mutilation, omission, duplication, miscalculation, and so on The customers of Fine Brothers and other companies that will use this project will be able to sort out their transaction issues easily due to proper record keeping that will be made possible by this new system

Moreover, government revenue generation agencies and tax companies will benefit from this computerized account management system as it will give them access to accurate and trusted financial statements of Fine Brothers and other companies and thus help them to tax these companies

Furthermore, any student carrying out a research on same or similar topics will find this project report a useful material for such purpose

Most importantly, this project will form an inevitable requirement for the award of Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Computer Science

15 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study covers the design and implementation of a computerized account management system for Fine Brothers & Co Ltd Abakaliki For the purpose of this study, the manual system used by the above-named company was observed over the period of this study, from late 2014 to mid 2015 Unified Modeling Language (UML) was used for the design while Visual Basic 60 and Microsoft Access database were the basic tools used for the implementation

16 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Due to other academic activities, short time frame, economic crunches and other constraints, this study was limited to the design and implementation of a computerized account management system for Fine Brothers & Co Ltd only; other companies were not necessarily taken into consideration for want of time and money Moreover, Visual Basic 60 and MS-Access which are just basic tools for software development were used because of the constraints stated initially For want of time also, only the basic tools needed to enter, store, manipulate, update and generate reports were added to the software system

17 DEFINITION OF TERMS

ACCOUNT: Account can be defined as record or statement of financial transactions

ACCOUNTING:  Reynolds (2009) defined Accounting as "the systematic recording, analysis and appraisal of financial data which results from activities undertaken in pursuit of the objectives of a firm"

SYSTEM: A system is a collection of different but related components that work together to achieve a common goal

ACCOUNTING SYSTEM: The methods used by a business to keep records of its financial activities and to summarise these activities in periodic accounting reports comprise the accounting system An accounting system includes every tool and even persons involved in the recording, storing, maintaining and reporting of a company’s financial transactions

MANAGEMENT: Management is the art and science of planning, directing, organizing and controlling the affairs of something or somebody

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT: Account management involves the application of management principles in keeping account It means the planning, controlling, directing and organization of a company’s financial activities It also encompasses decision making based on the accounting information of a company

COMPUTER: Nwachukwu (2007) defined computer as an electronic machine capable accepting data as input, processing it, giving out information as output and also storing such data and information for future use

COMPUTERIZATION: Computerization is the application of computer in perf