This paper explains how innovation impacted the performance of Fulton & Roark and how the invitation of external accountants determined the company’s necessity for change.
In general, its use of external accountants for auditing was predominantly determined by its expertise in response to the company’s inability to manage its finances due to the absence of a centralized system. In particular, Fulton & Roark had its financial data in desktop accounting software while inventory was in a spreadsheet (Fulton & Roark, no date). The use of external accountants caused additional workforce-related expenditures and unnecessary or repeated operations that complicated the company’s performance and impeded its development when the customer base was expanding.
The current internal situation determined the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that had multiple advantages for the company’s performance. First of all, it allowed centralized processes as sales and marketing, financial management, inventory, and human resources were integrated, could be found in one place, and had shared access. It allowed Fulton & Roark to audit and control their inventory making the work of external accountants unnecessary (Strutner, 2022; Beal, 2018). In addition, the company received an opportunity to improve the quality of its performance as the centralization of various business aspects by the system allowed it to detect multiple inventory errors. Moreover, Fulton & Roark could reduce its workforce-related costs through an ability to control its operational processes minimize the use of external specialists, and increase the company’s profit without extra headcount (Oracle, no date; Clegg, Harris and Hopfl, 2011).
Thus, the use of external accountants determined by a lack of optimization and the absence of a centralized system associated with increased costs formed the company’s necessity to innovate and identified the implementation of the ERP system as the most appropriate option.
Reference List
Beal, B. (2019) Fulton & Roark shakes up personal care with products designed for the modern man. Web.
Clegg, S. R., Harris, M. and Hopfl, H. (2011) Managing modernity: beyond bureaucracy? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fulton & Roark (no date) Web.
Oracle (no date) Fulton & Roark connects mission-critical inventory processes to accounting data. Web.
Strutner, S. (2022) 3 successful ERP implementation case studies. Web.