Me, MIS, and the Future

Scott Anglehart

In the future, as the amount of data continues to grow within business databases and throughout the internet, the user’s ability to sift through and manage millions of static resources will become harder and harder to do. In order to minimize the time wasted looking for useful information; more concern will be placed upon developing technological improvements that challenge the interactivity and correlation of data. These improvements will go beyond simple operational achievements like improving processing power and instead strive to create, manage, converge, and distribute data in a more efficient and informative manner. Progress like this will enable businesses to exploit new data collection and mining opportunities while continueing to enhance already existing information resources. As these technological advances continue, companies will demand information of higher relevancy and accuracy, delivered at an increasingly efficient rate.

New data collection and mining opportunities will become available to businesses as technology trends continue to integrate themselves into the daily lives of people. These new data sources will enable companies to better understand their audience and potential customers. Blogs, which appear to be full of unquantifiable data, will be examined through filters designed to build relationships and associations through word searches. By getting closer to its audience, a business will be able to uncover rich and previously overlooked data. Likewise, the integration of GPS tracking with purchasing power in handheld devices like phones will become a huge data mining opportunity for businesses to take advantage of. As a person’s traveling and buying patterns are revealed, businesses will be able to personalize advertising and make suggestions to its consumers based on real time CRM software. From the data observed, RSS feeds will relay personalized information to the end user. Data is the byproduct of a society increasingly integrated and influenced by technology. Monitoring and finding new ways to capture information from it is essential as the demands and expectations of the user become greater.

Already established data sources will get revamped to serve their purpose better. Business intelligence is being revolutionized in accounting and financial reporting practices where accurate, reliable, and transparent information is essential to its users. Currently most internal and external financial reports are generated and produced as static reports which cannot not be manipulated or adjusted according to an individual’s needs. XBRL, which takes its cues from XML, is a computer language that will provide the user with a more interactive and efficient means of financial statement research within each document (Updates). XBRL does this by assigning context to concrete values within the financial statements. Once marked the computer can read the language and create relations amongst the values (Updates). By establishing these relationships its users are able to produce informative queries about the accounts within the statements. In addition to the financial statements’ increased usefulness and efficiency, XBRL will reduce errors that might usually be overlooked (XBRL). External users like investors and auditors will benefit along with internal users like management accountants who base much of their strategic decisions on the integrity of their internal reports (Updates).

I believe that in the future, MIS professionals will be more and more responsible for not only consolidating, improving, and discovering data, old and new, but also for building relationships between the data. This interactivity will further streamline and enrich the information provided to its users. This will ultimately reduce the cost and time previously used to generate information manually.

Like many other people, my MIS major is secondary to another major. My primary major is accounting. I decided to double major in accounting and MIS because I thought that the MIS field complimented almost all other fields of study within business. It seemed as though technology was integrated into all other business disciplines in someway or another. As it turns out, my assumption was correct.

Unfortunately, I have not yet had the opportunity to explore where I fit into the MIS field first hand yet. Last summer I interned as a financial statements auditor. During this period, I was exposed to other assurance lines, including the company’s Information Technology Security & Risk Management service line. Since my internship I have taken more interest in the possibility of exploring the information assurance field. Whatever I end up pursuing, I am confident that my MIS education will bring value to my work in the future.

"Updates on XBRL and SOX" Devonish-Mills, Linda. Strategic Finance, Feb 2007. Vol 88. Business Source Premier.

"XBRL Continues Its March to the Forefront of Reporting" Barron, Jacob. Business Credit, Feb 2007. Vol 109. Business Source Premier.