A Dissertation Submitted to Mzumbe University Dar es Salaam Campus College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration in Corporate Management (MBA-CM) of Mzumbe University
This study sought to investigate effectiveness of Epicor system in the accounting practices of local government authorities in Tanzania taking case of the three municipalities of Dar es Salaam.
The study was a mult-case study conducted with major objective of examining the effectiveness of Epicor as an accounting system in the local government authorities in Tanzania and find out the means which can be employed to improve further its operation in these public institutions. The study employed various methods of data collections such as interviews followed by distribution of questionnaires, observation and documentary review. The study applied stratified sampling to come out with sample size of 45 respondents from the municipalities.
The study managed to gather data and found that; Epicor accounting system was initially introduced early in 1998 following a demand to curb public fund spending by Government and the Epicor software was effective because it managed to meet its objectives. It was introduced because it was compatible to the accounting needs, controlled fraud and stealing, brought transparency and reduced misplacement of payment vouchers. The study also found out that the Epicor software is highly challenged with low capacity in handling multiple transactions which turns its processing speed down, it is costly, and it was structured to suit western economies not our local economy.
It was recommended from both municipalities to the system providers to restructure the system, regulating the costs, extending trainings among other suggestions. The researcher also recommended to both municipalities to improve in their problem definitions to the software developers, to add on other related trainings to their staff and acquire appropriate resources for the system to operate effectively, few to mention.