How have technology and accounting software improved financial operations?

"Over the past decade, technology has had a significant impact on the accounting industry. Computerized and online accounting programs now do many different things to make business operations and financial reporting more efficient. For example, most accounting packages offer basic modules that handle general ledger, sales order, accounts receivable, purchase order, accounts payable, and inventory control functions. Tax programs use accounting data to prepare tax returns and tax plans. Point-of-sale terminals used by many retail firms automatically record sales and do some of the bookkeeping. The Big Four and many other large public accounting firms develop accounting software for themselves and for clients. Accounting and financial applications typically represent one of the largest portions of a company’s software budget. Accounting software ranges from off-the-shelf programs for small businesses to full-scale customized enterprise resource planning systems for major corporations. Although these technological advances in accounting applications have made the financial aspects of running a small business much easier, entrepreneurs and other small-business owners should take to time to understand underlying accounting principles, which play an important role in evaluating just how financially sound a business enterprise really is."