DATE: March 30, 1999

TO: Larry Clark

FROM: Jennifer Woodward

SUBJECT: Proposal for Technical Report on Windows Environment in Banking/Accounting

Computers have changed the way that we do most daily activities in our life and banking is no exception. With computers we have completely reinvented the way we bank, handle money, and work with numbers. By implementing the use of computers we not only speed up once slower processes, they are performed more accurately than ever before. They help catch minor discrepancies that can snowball and leave trails to people who are trying to fudge numbers on purpose. I feel that computers will only become more valuable to us in every aspect of banking and accounting.

I plan to research a few of the ways we once did our accounting and banking. By comparing the way we do business today and the way we did business yesterday I feel that I can more easily show the advantages and disadvantages that we have encountered using the manual or the computerized styles. I will interview my peers at my own place of employment for a well- rounded enlightenment into what system works and how they have improved. I have access to not only the banking side, but to a whole accounting department that is directly involved with banking transactions.

This research will give me an outsider’s view of what other employees like and dislike. I may also discover some ways of keeping records that I was not aware of before. I will help me understand how Windows has helped others beside myself. Also, I hope it may help me to predict what changes my come in the future regarding Windows applications in banking.

Library research is another option I must implement to locate exactly how Windows came to be and to give me technical knowledge of the implementation that I cannot get anywhere else. Also, an Internet search my help me turn up articles of opinion outside my own employer and peers.

The cost of this project should be very minimal. The only cost I can foresee will be that of copies of articles from the library, transportation to library and Internet lab, and my own time. Of course, the final cost will be determined also on what supplies and resources I will need to produce a final written draft for instructor’s approval and grade.

By being on the cutting edge of technology I hope to discover what ways have we bettered service for our employees and our customers. Also, I hope to discover what programs have been rated the best thus far in the business of banking. I will list and discuss advantages and disadvantages to each method I discover. I will also compile an overall consensus of the feelings of how my coworkers feel about each method. I will attempt to predict what changes may occur and discover what changes my coworkers wish would occur.

By discovering what advantages we have really realized by using the Windows applications, I hope to gage the importance of Windows to the banking industry. Also, I hope to gain an understanding of how things have evolved to what they are today, and what prompted these changes. The future of banking is one that I personally would like to be able to understand and predict, by completing this report I hope to gain an inside knowledge of what is in store for me and my fellow classmates in banking and accounting. 

I am currently employed with a bank that uses Windows applications in its everyday running of operations. Also, I have worked in the accounting department of this bank and others, and have come to realize how important accurate information is to run a smooth operation. I am also pursuing a degree in accounting that I hope takes me deeper into the banking industry. By pursuing this type of degree I have been exposed to what textbooks have to offer about the past and the future of accounting methods. Also, I have personally been involved in the banking industry for almost seven years and I have had hands-on experience with how computers have helped the industry. Furthermore I have worked with manual applications and Windows in both the banking and accounting aspects of this business which I feel gives me well-rounded insight.

I can expect my project to unfold in stages. This first being research, then analysis, and finally writing the report. The following schedule should be a guide as to how I intend to approach this task. My first deadline appears to be in week ten of class, by that Tuesday at midnight, and it is a progress report.

My final deadline for completed report is due week fourteen.

Research week 9 – 10

Library research

Interviews

Internet research

Analysis week 10 –12

Rough draft of compiled information

Consult with other students/classmates

Consult instructor for direction and opinion

Continue research

Organize data

First complete report draft

Final draft to be submitted week fourteen

I feel the only problem I may run into will be finding library information. However, I’m sure I can make up for this in interviews. I feel confident also that I will find Internet information, so I feel that I should not run into a lack of information overall.

1. Introduction – How Windows applications have impacted the banking / accounting industry

1. Before Windows
2. After Windows

1. Examples of how Windows have changed the industry

1. Speed
2. Accuracy
3. Daily transactions
4. Monthly transactions
5. Balancing

1. Conclusions

1. Summary of changes
2. Summary of advantages and disadvantages
3. Predictions for future use

Photocopies of articles and other miscellaneous $8.00

Transportation to and from libraries and labs $5.00

Research time – 20 hours @ $8.00/hr $160.00

Miscellaneous, supplies, etc. $20.00

Total expenses expected $193.00

No references at this time