Accounting practices of individual entrepreneurs in the context of E-accounting

Loikkanen, Lauri

Accounting practices of individual entrepreneurs in the context of E-accounting

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master_Loikkanen_Lauri_2018.pdf (1.78 MB)

Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis

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Authors

Loikkanen, Lauri

Date

2018-10-02

Major/Subject

Information Networks

Mcode

SCI3047

Degree programme

Master’s Programme in Information Networks

Language

en

Pages

74+6

Abstract

Self-employment has been growing steadily in Finland, meaning that individual entrepreneurs have become an important customer segment for many service providers. Thus it is becoming a more significant user group for software companies who design and develop accounting-related software as well. This thesis studies the accounting-related practices of Finnish individual entrepreneurs, especially in the context of electronic accounting, or E-accounting. Specific focus is placed on entrepreneurs who utilize the services of external accounting firms, meaning that they have outsourced at least some of their accounting-related tasks. The objective of the research is to conclude insights of this particular user group, which could later be applied in the design phase of accounting software. The research was conducted with a qualitative approach using such methods as semi-structured interview as well as contextual inquiry. Furthermore, user feedback by individual entrepreneurs regarding a particular accounting software (Finago Procountor) was collected and analyzed. The results indicate that individual entrepreneurs have varying professional and educational backgrounds, which also makes their accounting-related skills and practices highly variable. Regardless of their background, typical work-related challenges faced by entrepreneurs include financial instability and time management. This makes it vital to design accounting software with user-centered design methods; by providing an optimal user experience and usability, the entrepreneurs can perform relevant accounting-related tasks effortlessly and also consider the software worth its costs. While individual entrepreneurs have varying skills and backgrounds, they tend to outsource the same accounting-related tasks to their accountants, leaving the entrepreneurs themselves with such tasks as invoicing, receipt handling and monitoring of their financial status. Therefore when designing an accounting software specifically for such entrepreneurial users, these tasks should be placed under more focus. Furthermore, the results indicate that the perceived complexity of current E-accounting solutions together with the experienced lack of time leads to the entrepreneurs handling their accounting-related tasks separately from their core business activities, meaning that accounting-related tasks are not well integrated into the everyday work of entrepreneurs.

Itsensä työllistäminen on yleistynyt tasaisesti Suomessa, minkä vuoksi yksinyrittäjistä on tullut tärkeä asiakassegmentti monelle palveluntarjoajalle. Näin ollen yksinyrittäjien merkitys on kasvanut myös käyttäjäryhmänä yrityksille, jotka suunnittelevat ja kehittävät taloushallinnon ohjelmistoja. Tämä diplomityö tutkii suomalaisten yksinyrittäjien taloushallintokäytäntöjä, erityisesti sähköisen taloushallinnon kontekstissa. Varsinainen painoarvo on niissä yrittäjissä, jotka käyttävät ulkoisten tilitoimistojen palveluita ja ovat täten ulkoistaneet ainakin osan taloushallintoon liittyvistä toimenpiteistään. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kerätä tähän käyttäjäryhmään liittyviä havaintoja, joita voitaisiin myöhemmin hyödyntää taloushallinto-ohjelmiston suunnitteluvaiheessa. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisella lähestymistavalla hyödyntäen tutkimusmenetelminä esimerkiksi haastatteluja ja kontekstuaalista havainnointia. Lisäksi yksinyrittäjiltä kerättiin ja analysoitiin käyttäjäpalautetta eräästä taloushallinnon ohjelmistosta (Finago Procountor). Tulokset osoittavat, että yksinyrittäjien monimuotoinen ammatillinen sekä koulutuksellinen tausta tekevät myös heidän taloushallintokäytännöistään ja siihen liittyvistä taidoistaan vaihtelevia. Taustastaan riippumattomasti yksinyrittäjien työssään kohtaamat vaikeudet tyypillisesti liittyvät epävakaaseen talouteen ja ajanhallintaan. Tästä syystä taloushallinto-ohjelmiston suunnittelu käyttäjälähtöisin menetelmin on erityisen tärkeää; ohjelmiston tarjotessa optimaalisen käytettävyyden ja käyttäjäkokemuksen yrittäjät pystyvät hoitamaan taloushallintoon liittyvät tehtävänsä vaivattomasti, ja täten pitää ohjelmistoa kustannustensa arvoisena. Vaikka yksinyrittäjien taidot ja taustat vaihtelevat, heillä on tapana ulkoistaa samankaltaisesti taloushallintoon liittyviä toimenpiteitä kirjanpitäjilleen, jättäen yrittäjille itselleen vastuualueiksi esim. laskutuksen, kuittien käsittelyn ja taloudellisen tilanteensa seuraamisen. Siksi taloushallinto- ohjelmistoa suunnitellessa näihin osa-alueisiin tulisi kiinnittää erityistä huomiota. Lisäksi tulokset osoittavat, että nykyisten taloushallinto-ohjelmistojen koettu monimutkaisuus yhdessä koetun ajanpuutteen kanssa johtavat siihen, että yrittäjät hoitavat taloushallintoon liittyvät tehtävänsä erillään muusta työstään, jolloin taloushallinnon hoitaminen ei ole täydellisesti integroitunut yksinyrittäjän arkeen.

Supervisor

Nieminen, Marko

Thesis advisor

Kortesoja, Jukka

Keywords

electronic accounting, accounting software, individual entrepreneurs, self-employment, user-centered design, user experience

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201810055311

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[dipl] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI

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