Rebuilding the Accounting Systems Infrastructure: A Case Study

Today, a major capital investment decision faces many business organizations. Corporations must decide whether to invest in rebuilding their aging accounting systems or to divert funds to other systems development projects that may have a more immediate, bottom‐line impact. This article addresses many ofthe factors that must be considered by management when evaluating these investment alternatives. It identifies the underlying reasons that can drive the decision to rebuild the accounting systems environment, as well as the challenges that the designer must face when this decision is made. It then presents a study of an organization that has successfully addressed and resolved these issues, identifying the benefits that they have derived with their decision to invest in there building of their accounting systems environment.