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Accounting and Financial Policy on Victoria's Public Hospitals

From 1 July 2004, the Department of Human Services (DHS) of Australia's State Victoria mandated that all Victorian health services implement a common chart of accounts for financial reporting to DHS. The common chart of accounts utilises standardised names and codes, and provides rules to assist in implementation. Implementation by health services aims to support management best practice in health sector reporting, through consistent reporting formats, benchmarking and improved data tracking. Health services are also required to implement any amendments to the common chart that may be introduced from time to time.

The key objective of the common chart of accounts is to provide the basis of financial performance measurement of health services to ensure effective governance and accountability.

The requirements of the common chart of accounts apply to all public hospitals, denominational hospitals and multi purpose services. This site is particularly relevant to finance staff, board members and chief executive officers.

The AIMS site aims to provide easy access to resources, which will support health services to meet the requirements of the common chart of accounts. The site also aims to assist health services to address any major accounting and external reporting issues.

The major benefit to health services from implementing the chart of accounts is the ability to standardise and streamline reporting processes. This is expected to create process and technology efficiencies for reporting activities and therefore reduce time, effort and costs to health services.

Over the past decade, Victorian health services have gradually progressed from manual monthly data transfers to electronic reporting, and more recently to web-based real time reporting to DHS. The F1 return is the conduit for this. The F1 provides for inclusion of data from the income statement, balance sheet, performance indicators, statement of cash flows, notes and comments by the CEO or CFO.

Since the introduction of the common chart of accounts in 2004, DHS has been progressively working with health services to support their implementations of the common chart of accounts.

For more info visit the official AIMS site on the link:


http://www.health.vic.gov.au/accounts/index.htm/

Modern trends on financial reporting

The so-called big four global accounting firms, together with two of the major second tier firms, have recently proposed that the current historic reporting of corporate financial results, quarterly or half yearly, should be replaced by real time reporting.

Moreover, they argue that financial reporting should be augmented by disclosure of a wider range of non-financial performance data. Reporting should adopt current technology using deep data mining, data tagging, and internet availability and access

Information should be available to a wider range of stakeholders beyond employees, shareholders, and employees, such as suppliers, consumers, public and special interest groups. Those seeking access should be able to personalise data.

In specific terms the major accounting firms advocate:

• Real time reporting rather than periodic historical financial reporting.
• User customised statements in place of standardised accounting statements.
• Publication of measures of innovation and customer/service satisfaction to supplement historic income statements.
• Looser but broader assessment of the value of intangible and other assets to supplement balance sheets.

For more info read the artichle "The real time reporting utopia" by Bob McDowall on the link below.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/20/realtime_reporting_utopia/

Research Topics on A.I.S.

Below are listed some interesting research topics on Accounting Information Systems.

• The degree of Information Systems defusion at varius Business Sectors on different type of firms
• The impact of ERP on cost accounting and management reporting
  
• CEO and CFO Perceptions about AIS impact on firm performance and financial reporting
• The implementation of the REA model on accounting practice
• Moving towards to a real-time , web-based financial - accounting reporting model
• The efficiency and effectiveness of continuous electronic audit data
  

Accounting Information Systems

Accounting Information Systems (A.I.S.) are the modern tools available to the managers of organizations in their effort to make the right decisions and to select the best choice among alternatives.