9-1 Final Project Submission: Case Study Analysis Assignment Submit your case study analysis. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the main elements of the final product. It sh

TRINITY

Trinity Companies

Yvonne Saunders-Batchue

Southern New Hampshire University

September 19, 2019

Bottom-Up Approach

What were the strengths and weaknesses of Trinity’s practice-based bottom-up approach? How effective was it?

When it comes to a bottom-up approach when you progress from the smaller or the subordinate to the large or the more vital levels for controlling, most of the time in the organization. By the use of that form of management or the other processes which are implied, they require pre-emptive collection being involved in the whole process of development. For the bottom-up approach in most parts is strong in the flexibility, in agility, collaborating besides having higher motivation. For this approach it is the most effective when we have all members contributing to flow process. For each process in the planning then efficient goals have to be communicated. These goals are known as milestones and they measure effectiveness of the project. All members are empowered to be able to think creatively through this process and all the suggestions are acknowledging and some of them are being implemented within process flow. Through this process Trinity got advantage from collaboration of the team for every level indulging smorgasbord for the information and input. The bottom-up approach also permits readiness in the early stage for planning and implementing (Schultz, 2011).

b) What would you recommend it should have done differently in Year 1? Defend your response.

In the first year, I would recommend the use of the collaborative approach for determining the best practice in the implementation of the new SOX agreements. Training of the employees in the manner which will allow the interaction of the formal levels in the firm. In the case of building the Team it requires all the levels for employment to interacting in best practices, Trinity should use the approach to implementing of new processes as well as carrying out of the regulations and the effectiveness for SOX. All the employees should have equal participation in the SOX compliance together with equal opportunity in the creative participation (Schultz, 2011).

c) Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of a bottom-up versus a top-down risk approach to compliance.

For every approach, it has got unique qualities which make it be effective in the management. For the Top-Down Managing, it is more traditional in the approach while for the Bottom-Up Management it is contemporary.

Flexibility:

Advantage: For the Bottom-up approach methodology it has got elasticity where all the members freely make choices and participate. In the case of the Top-down approach, it usually comes without the rejection decision on the process which has already been determined and that has been approved, this makes the time for processing to be shorter.

Disadvantage: For the Top-down approach methodology it could be stagnant in the creativity, management usually communicates procedures for collaboration. On Bottom-up approach it could be limited in the approval; the upper level for buy-in could suffer in the approach

Agility

Disadvantage: For a Top-down approach, it is usually without suppleness and it usually lacks the responsiveness. This approach could be out of touch.

Advantage: For Bottom-up approach the team member’s creativity and the alertness in the planning.

d) Which approach is more appropriate in completing a compliance project successfully for Trinity’s first year?

To be able to complete compliance project in the first year, organization has to adopt the bottom-up approach because this method is friendly to the organization and there are no future challenges fo the productivity of the employees in the organization.

e) How does each approach affect the company’s internal control structure?

In bottom-up approach, it usually gives organization for effective internal control structures as it is developing a management password for users of network and they are stored in a logical manner. The entire organization could have employees passwords and the data stored in a good way (Turner,2014).For the top-down approach it offers the passwords and the control for the limited number of users in first phase for implementation, this approach doesn’t consider security and the needs for entire organization but for a single group (Schultz,2011).

f) Identify the chief insights from the pilot project. How does the pilot project for the EDP system compare to SOX requirements?

Pilot project for the company is aimed at making the firm to have greater compliance with SOX recommendations; hence management and internal control systems are the top priority for ensuring that they are in perfect coherence with regulations. Internal audit system was established and the functions were divided in accordance to what the group can do. The company also ensured that they are in coherence with SOX regulations by making where each of the files is protected and have got effective auditing systems and there is a single accounting center for the whole firm (Schultz, 2011).

g) Identify the testing processes Trinity performed and whether Trinity took the appropriate approach in designing their controls.

For the company it carried out testing of their processes and conformity for employees to processes which the. Various modes used in testing of organization reveal weaknesses which have been experienced thus giving organization the chance for working ameliorating weaknesses and improvement on deficiencies. Controls for the firm were designed in last phase. Though for first phases of control they were not that efficient as we had multiple accesses and data might have tampered within an easy way. Through improvement in controls it gave the company sufficient platform for working on the privacy (Schultz, 2011).

h) Based on the substantive tests, which testing process proved to be most useful in assessing Trinity’s accounting system?

Analytical tests which are conducted by auditing were helpful to the company. The reason for this is that the scrutinized values for transactions and financial records for the company for seeing the outcome. Through the testing system, it was very efficient in making companies beware on how they can deal with the accounting system (Schultz, 2011).

i) Compose a short memorandum that communicates the results of the first year of testing along with recommendations as to what Trinity should do differently in subsequent years.

To: Employees

CC: Management of Trinity Industries

From: HR, Trinity Industries

Subject: SOX Compliance Testing

Since the SOX Compliance was introduced to the company, in the first year we have had a great improvement. This has been so because of the efforts for cooperation from all corners of the company, management, and staff members. In addition, I would like to recommend company for trying different approaches in the handling for the subsequent years. This is the only way for ensuring employees are not tired of doing their normal routine. In order to ensure this a team will be formed where each of the members of the team is given specific time limit for carrying out projects.

This will particularly ensure that the organization continues to move in a positive direction. Am encouraging you to participate in the team-building exercises which will be of great benefit for the organization.

Sincerely,

HR, Trinity Industries.

SOX-Related Expenses

a) Formulate recommendations for how Trinity could further reduce SOX-related expenses in 2008. Be sure to consider the barriers the company may encounter with each of your recommendations

In order to be able to reduce the costs in the coming year, the firm has to change from the use of manual controls to the digital ones. This usually makes the organization to have the opportunity for working on the flexible schedule and also presenting solutions for various accounting difficulties which they had in the past. Consequently, using the digital systems make organization be at par with rest and it also saves labor charges as digital machines they are usually time-efficient hence employees will not require more time to work on them (Schultz,2011).

b) What are the major sources of cost in Trinity’s compliance maintenance and testing?

Compliance maintenance and testing have been costly to the company. The major source of income for the company was from the sales which were made, profits and the revenues which were acquired during sales. More so,the costs which were used in financing organization throughout the changing process and also purchasing of equipment’s which were important to the organization (Schultz,2011).

c) Rank each of the major sources of cost in terms of value.

Resources which were used by the company had value acceptance on them. Income for the organization meant greater value; it was followed by the profits made and revenue which was gotten by the company from the sales which were made (Schultz, 2011).

d) Compare the choice of Oracle as the selected software system against two other systems of comparable size and scope. Evaluate each software system’s advantages and disadvantages.

The sales management software to be used was oracles which are effective in the offering various solutions to the company compared with the other software are which are in the market. It also offers solution for best sales solution. The sales force is one of the programs like oracle. The main advantage of this software is that it has the ability to work on sales of the company and it easily draws transactions inefficient way, though the software doesn’t have customer management platform as compared with oracle system.Moreso, Rimini is presenting advantages that are close to oracle advantage and it has got an effective mobile UI.This software doesn’t have effective predictive analytics like the ones for oracle which could help in creating good sales workforce.

e) If you determine that another software system would have been a better choice through your analysis, defend the decision. If Oracle is the choice after analysis, defend that decision.

Oracle is one of the best software’s to be adopted by the company. The main reason is that this program offers a range of benefits and it comes with sufficient space for storage in a cloud system that enables the company to store unlimited data. This software has to be maintained by the organization.

References:

Schultz, U.(2011).The SOX Compliance Journey at Trinity Industries. Journal for information technology teaching cases.

Turner, J.(2014)Handbook for project-based management. McGraw-Hill.

Wang, M.(2005).AHP-based approach of ERP system selection. International journal for production economics.