On-Line Analytical Processing for Accounting: Potentials, Application, and Design Methodology

Most software vendors and business consultants agree that On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) tools are needed to derive useful decision support from accounting transaction data. But business solutions can not be created just by installing and integrating some tool(s). To support a selection from the growing number of tools, potentials and applications of OLAP for accounting must be clarified. Moreover, a methodology for designing OLAP applications is needed. Being aware that all research in this brand-new field is still in progress, we address these problems in this paper.