EM2807 - Examining Accounts: Computer Generated Records: Support Staff

support staff are important to the operation of the system. It cannot be maintained or made to work without a person or persons inputting information and generally maintaining the hardware / software.

All computer based accounting and bookkeeping systems require the operator to have some knowledge of bookkeeping to operate them correctly.

The success of an accounting system held on computer record depends upon the experience and expertise of both the computer support staff and the accounting staff of a business. An inappropriate choice of software can sometimes be compensated for by experienced staff.

There is a need to ask the person who operates the accounting system how it actually works in exactly the same way as there is a need to ask the bookkeeper, for example, how a sale is recorded in a paper based system.

You should

• engage the help of the local Data Handling Specialist, and
• get them to accompany you if you visit the taxpayer to discuss how the system works.