Tutorial – 10

1. Outsourcing is becoming more and more popular in companies today.

Discuss why a company would want to outsource and how they should
outsource ERP implementation.
A. Outsourcing is becoming more and more popular in companies these days. When
a company decides to sub-contract its functions or business processes to another
company, it is said to be engaged in outsourcing. According to it, off shoring is just one
type of outsourcing. Some companies outsource their whole management and delivery
of their ERP applications, and some companies outsource different parts of the
development and maintenance. They have economic benefits for off shoring these same
pieces of the ERP system. This strategy is so popular especially in small and medium
sized companies which don’t want to invest lots of resources in their ERP system.
2. Compare and contrast traditional outsourcing with the software as a service
model. Under what conditions should a company choose SaaS over
traditional outsourcing?
A. Software as a Service is so called because it is not only for fulfilling the needs, it
also provides additional services. The ease of distribution, the global availability,
the level of agility, as well as the inherent flexibility of SaaS makes it a more
powerful solution when it comes to aligning business and operational needs.
SaaS is more powerful than traditional outsourcing when it comes to providing a
strategy for protecting, managing and assuring a company’s network and IT
infrastructure to exceed the customers’ expectations.
3. Discuss how PAPA principles of ethics can be applied to ERP
implementation.
A. The basic ethical framework described as PAPA (privacy, accuracy, property, and
accessibility) principles. It can be applied to ERP implementation. The data is totally
integrated and can be shared and violated an individual’s privacy. Moreover, the
accuracy of the data can also be a big problem since the data is supposed to be
entered once and then it is replicated to other applications throughout the
enterprise system. So, if it goes wrong, then its damage will be huge. Additionally, if
implemented properly with good controls, ERP systems can safeguard the
individual’s information better than before, but if implemented without proper
controls, ERP can make it hard to safeguard information. Therefore, it can also be the
problem. In an ERP system, the proper access controls must be in place and it can
make easier to control access if done correctly, otherwise make it hard.
4. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is important in a financial environment.
Discuss how SOX affects the operations of an ERP system.
 A. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is important in a financial environment. SOX affect
the operations of an ERP system. Sections 404 and 409 are related to IT controls. Section
404 impacts how internal controls are set up and states that IT systems must have
adequate internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. Section 409 states
that there must be real-time access to operational and financial corporate data. Both
must be kept in mind when implementing an ERP system. The ERP system must be set
up to support SOX compliance in terms of internal controls, timely access to data, and
financial reporting.