Introduction
Business professionals have always revealed that effective flow of information within business enterprises is one of the key aspects necessary for their success. Among the different types of information that could circulate within a business enterprise, is information concerning financial data. Financial data forms the basis of decision on the health and progress of a business enterprise (Warren 7). It is therefore one of the most delicate types of information that could be allowed to circulate inside and outside the business enterprise. Because of its sensitivity, its flow is limited with only part of the data being released to the public. This paper is therefore an exploration of the flow of financial information within the Kuali System.
The Kuali System
The Kuali system is a workflow engine in which transactions are channeled through a fiscal officer who performs the duty of having the documents verified. It is used by colleges and universities to meet their financial data management needs (Becker 10). For instance, a college can channel adjustments made on a budget to the principal or any other officer in charge and vice versa. Thus, it is possible to route information to and from any level in the administration. As such, the Kuali system has features that are flexible hence making it possible for its users to upload, download, transact, and carry out any other operations on the financial data.
Information Flows
Using the Kuali system, information on financial data within a business enterprise could take different forms. To begin with, horizontal flow of information entails routing of financial data within people of the same rank in the administration chart. For instance, it could involve distribution of the income statement within the accounting department for analysis and corrections. Vertical information flow on the other hand entails passing of information on financial data from a junior member to a senior member of administration. A good example is that of a university accountant forwarding a budget to the dean for approval or corrections. Downward information flow of financial data is the opposite of upward flow whereby, the information originates from the senior administrative member to a junior administrative member in the organization chart. For instance, it could entail allocation of duty where the dean in the university orders the auditor to compile an internal audit report.
In addition to the aforementioned three types of information flows, information could also be getting into or out of the business enterprise thus having inward and outward flows. Inward flow of information involves having information from the outside environment into the business system. This could take the form of audit reports by external auditors, bank reports, and information on the stock market. This kind of information is essential when compiling the financial data of any business enterprise. The other type of information flow is the outward information flow in which information leaves the business enterprise to the external environment. This is the most sensitive bit of information flows, as the kind of information leaving the business enterprise has to be filtered lest it affects the business’s performance.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is clear that the regulation of information flows within a business enterprise is essential. This is because, if not controlled, unpatented or confidential data could leak to the wrong hands thus affecting the performance of the business enterprise. For instance, if a business client gets the wrong financial data from a business enterprise, it could lead to instances of betrayal of client, which could mean termination of the contract between the two (Demski et al 2). It can thus be concluded that information on financial data is very sensitive and ought to be carefully handled.
Works Cited
Becker, James et al. The Kuali Financial System. 2011. Web.
Demski, Joel. Lewis, Tracy. Yao, Dennis and Yildrim, Huseyin. Practices for Managing Information Flows within Organizations. 1999. Web.
Warren, Hausman. Financial Flows and Supply Chain Efficiency. 2003. Web.