Financial accounting is a key part of a company’s financial management strategy, concerned with the administration and maintenance of financial assets. Having accurate, timely and necessary information is key. A financial manager looks at the available data to judge the performance of enterprises. This data comes from accurate everyday accounting, as well as appropriate data presentation.

Everything accounted for
You need to record and aggregate the financial impact of transactions in accordance with the defined classifications (account codes, transaction codes etc.). You need to produce financial accounting reports in accordance with the law. General Ledger functionality does that for you.

Invoices timely paid
Someone has to record and track invoices or payments due to suppliers, contractors or employees, and manage the payment of these items. In addition, purchase withholding taxes should be processed. The Accounts Payable module does all that.

All dues received
You need to record invoices or any other obligations due from customers, and manage the collection of payments to settle these items. Also disputes have to be managed where customers partly pay invoices, and payment statistics on a customer's payment history tracked to aid in credit management. That is the functionality of the Accounts Receivable module.

Asset management
Each asset’s financial value should be tracked in an auditable asset register, which maintains a history of accounting events that occur during the life of an asset (depreciation revaluation, etc.) in accordance with government regulations. The asset’s physical location should also be accounted for. The Financial Accounting module does all that and more.

 

In addition to the core financial accounting applications, organizations may require additional “extended” financial functionality, like project accounting, cash management, reporting and analysis capabilities, etc. The more complex and large a company becomes, and, particularly, the larger the need for standardized processes, the more a company would benefit from an enterprise-class IT solution. The best financial accounting solutions draw on the experience and business processes of many companies for many years, thus doing all the necessary IT prep work for a newcomer business.

 

The market for core financial applications is populated by a relatively few vendors, all of which have mature and proven solutions. Core financial accounting applications are a significant part of the ERP market. These applications provide visibility into an enterprise's financial position through automation and process support for any activity that has a financial impact. These applications also provide financial reporting data as needed by local and international regulations.

In its 2009 analysis of core financial management applications, Gatner analyzed the Microsoft Dynamics® portfolio of business application suites, all of which have core financial accounting applications. Along with the choice opportunities, these solutions offer functionality developed based on extensive worldwide experience that few competitors can match and can still maintain affordability and sustained openness to change.

Microsoft Dynamics® NAV is a suite of business applications that includes both financial accounting functionality and ERP capabilities. Dynamics NAV is targeted at midsize companies. It is available in 28 languages and has localizations for 42 countries. Microsoft Dynamics®AX is like Dynamics® NAV in that it is part of a broader suite, but is more scalable than Dynamics® NAV, so it is targeted at midsize and large organizations. Dynamics® AX can scale up to about 1,000 concurrent users (Gartner estimate), and Microsoft® has benchmarked it for 3,000 concurrent users. It is available in 25 languages (plus variations of some of these), and has localizations for 36 countries. Dynamics® AX 2009 included enhancements to support financial management in multisite, global deployments.

While more midsize companies are starting to consider SaaS-based solutions, says Gartner, those that don't have experience with SaaS-based applications still have concerns about security and integration with on-premises applications. However, as more midsize organizations start to deploy SaaS-based core financial applications, experience from these implementations will help to overcome these concerns. Organizations evaluating core financial applications can evaluate SaaS alternatives, as long as the vendor can provide the geographic and localization support they need.

The financial accounting capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics® software solutions give you a way to raise the visibility of financial metrics and the effectiveness of financial management, financial forecasting and accounting throughout your organization—all using familiar tools and existing skills. Strong financial management, made possible by Microsoft Dynamics®, helps you establish a firm foundation for realizing the potential of your business through strong, manageable growth.