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ERP INITIATIVES CAN BE INTIMIDATING AND FRAUGHT WITH RISK. NONTHELESS, BECAUSE THE STAKES ARE SO HIGH AND THE POTENTIAL FOR TROUBLE SO GREAT, IT'S APPROPRIATEEVEN ESSENTIAL-FOR INTERNAL AUDITORS TO BE INVOLVED.
LEGACY SYSTEMS ARE BEING REPLACED at a rapid pace by enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, such as SAP R/3, PeopleSoft, and Baan, often with great benefits to the organization, but sometimes with painful side effects. Since it is management's responsibility to plan and carry out a successful systems implementation, most difficulties and failures cannot be attributed to shortcomings on the part of internal auditors. However, internal auditors can be part of the solution by being appropriately and actively involved in ERP adoptions, from start to finish. By understanding the risks most commonly associated with ERPimplementations and appropriately leveraging their core skill sets, internal auditors can become important members of the organization's strategic ERP implementation team.
AN ERP HORROR STORY
Discussions with representatives from several companies that use ERP systems reveal that these organizations have all made similar mistakes. The story of BIz Inc., a large, mythical corporation whose experiences mirror those of actual organizations, demonstrates what can, and often does, go wrong in an ERP systems implementation.
A GOOD START Biz's decision to switch to ERP was based on sound business reasoning. Costs to maintain the mainframe-based information system had escalated in recent years because the manufacturer no longer supported the model used by the organization. In addition, Arnold Jackson, the Assistant VicePresident in charge of information systems, recognized that client/server systems represented the future of computing. It was time for a change.
Arnold and his staff prepared a general plan that broadly outlined how the organization could migrate to a client/server system. They also engaged one of the major public accounting firms to help them determine their information system needs and recommend possible solutions.
After interviewing several users, the consultants identified three software products that would meet BIZ'S needs. They also recommended one package they considered to be a "best fit" for the organization.
THE PROBLEMS BEGIN Unknown to Arnold and other management, BIZ's parent organization had also been planning a move to a client/server environment. Unfortunately, they had chosen a different ERP package than the one recommended for BIz. Although...