Read the case study below. Use the notes to write a report in Microsoft Word. E‑mail it attached to a note to your instructor.

NOTE: You must use all of the skills you've learned in all the past lessons. You need such things as a clear thesis statement (meaning a statement of the contents), blocks, openings for the blocks, and headings. If your document doesn't contain everything explained in the previous lessons, we will return it for revision.

This is the list of skills you must demonstrate that you have mastered:

• Follow e mail protocol and etiquette
• Set goals.
• Know your readers.
• Choose strategies based on the goals and readers.
• Use a standard letter or memo format.
• For e mails and memos, always write a clear, meaningful subject line. For letters, use a "Subject" or "Re" line if your company customarily uses it.
• Write a clear, complete introduction.
• For e mails, letters, and memos, write a cordial beginning or buffer.
• State the contents of the document at the end of the thesis.
• For reports, state conclusions and recommendations in the introduction.
• Write the explanations in blocks.
• Keep explanations of a subject together in one block.
• Check each block for focus.
• Check each block for completeness.
• Open each block with a statement of the contents.
• Use headings to open blocks.
• Bold field or data names to identify them as blocks.
• Create lists.
• Open list blocks.
• Mark the list items clearly.
• Keep list items in a single list.
• Keep list items in the same format.
• For reports, present information in tables when possible.
• Use information blueprinting to be explicit.
• Write to build conclusions in the reader's mind.
• For reports, write clear, complete, relevant explanations.
• Use key words consistently.
• Fully explain each new concept word or phrase.
• Use full phrases to define words clearly.
• Write a conclusion that achieves your goals.
• Use paragraphs to organize information.
• Write concisely.
• Combine sentences to show relationships. Separate sentences to make them clearer.
• Write clear, simple, straightforward sentences.
• Write strong, direct sentences.
• For reports, write clearly and simply for non-technical readers
• Use words the reader will understand.
• Use your spell checker and grammar checker.
• Proofread.
• Format the e mail to be readable.

You are in the accounting department of a large firm that needs to upgrade its accounting and finance software. Write a report to upper-level management about what the company must consider as it pursues purchasing the software. The information you have to work with follows.

Write your report in Microsoft Word and submit it to your instructor. Use all the skills in the left column to guide you. NOTE: You must also demonstrate ALL the skills taught in previous lessons. You will be evaluated on every skill taught in the course thus far.

What Our Firm Should Look for in an Accounting and Information System We should be able to see details of the accounts without asking the accounting department, so we can take appropriate action. We have many contract workers who must submit time sheets. We have to be notified by the system when the contract workers do not enter time or have not billed the file by a certain date. We need to receive information that is immediate, accurate, and powerful. We need an accounting and information system with flexibility, growth, and expansion in mind. Basic accounting functions are, of course, a must. All accounting systems must be fully integrated to perform the functions of entering clients, time, and costs, billing, recording receipts, and trust. On the financial side, accounts payable, general ledger, and financial statements are also a must. All transaction entries are expected to update the general ledger on both an accrual and cash basis and our financial statements can be prepared at various levels of income recognition, such as area of practice, location, or section in our firm. For contract workers and billing clients, time and cost worked, billed, collected, and written off must be tracked by the worker, locations, and service. Historical information on budgets, income, and expenditures is preserved; projections and statistical data are prepared by the system. Since we have international work, multi-currency transactions can be tracked. Firms with offices spread throughout the world need a system that can accommodate not only multiple locations, companies, and currencies but also multiple languages. Our system should be able to track not only information about our clients but also information about our prospective clients. A calendar system would allow us to establish events and event reminders for workers on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The system should allow us to track billing and payments as they are sent out and received by the firm. Beyond the basic accounting and information systems we are looking to systems that will provide us with collection modules that allow automated identification, tracking, and collection of outstanding accounts receivable; marketing modules for developing new business and maintaining present client relationships; and imaging processing systems for scanning invoices into the system that can be reproduced later and attached to the client’s bill. Of course, the system has to consider the end users in our company. We want information systems software that is friendly, easy to use, and intuitive. Flexibility in data entry, reporting, and managing information is the key. Since most information is being provided to the accounting department from staff on PCs, security is no longer a yes or no question. The complexity of user access is only surpassed by the complexity of the requests made by the average management committee. Needless to say, Windowless products need not apply. The system’s response is not even an issue — it must be fast. I will not go into hardware requirements in this report—we need the software first; then we can look for the hardware that can handle the jobs it is given. It is a tall order, but one that can be filled with today’s technology and software products that are available and used by many firms. The decision we will make regarding our firm’s accounting and information systems will be around for a long time — make sure we choose systems that will outlast we. In the meantime, check our e‑mail to see if everyone on our team is logging in their time as budgeted.

Use the notes to write a report in Microsoft Word and e‑mail it attached to a note to your instructor.