Information and Communication Technology

5.1.3.4 Financial Reports

Financial reports of a company may rang e from a simple customer invoice to a complex annual report. Annual reports are normally prepared using data gathered from many sources that might include computer printouts and written reports. Figures should be carefully checked and edited before the fin al report is prepared. Last minute changes are common in such reports. Sometimes, the documents contain wide forms that are beyond the capabilities of many typewriters.

Word processing systems offer a variety of features to facilitate numerical input and alignment of decimal positions. The numeric keypad makes numeric input fast and easy. Horizontal scroll features allow for extra wide formats.

Another feature of WP systems is their telecommunication capability. A WP system can be linked with remote computer systems and the computer outputs can be transmitted directly to the WP system. Operators need not key-in the data and then check for entry e rrors.

WP systems can provide outputs with typewriter quality. Reports can also be stored on floppies for future retrieval and use. These floppies take negligible space compared to conventional files and can be stored or transported easily.

Other importa nt aspects of financial documents are security and confidentiality. These can be effectively ensured by assigning passwords to reports. Only authorised persons know the password thus preventing any unauthorised access to reports.