Botched ERP Hookup Spurs Restatement

Overstock.com says it "failed to hook up some of the accounting wiring" and will revise more than five years of results.

Stephen Taub, CFO.com | US
October 24, 2008

Bad Implementations of ERPs

It is amazing how many CFO's and financial staff blame the implementation of ERPs for their lack of internal controls. Statements like the implementation team did not understand the process, there was no one on the team with accounting background and other statements only mean that when considering the system someone did not due to proper workflow of the processes with the internal control points. Yep, I bet there will be more coming.

Posted by Bob Kinsler | October 30, 2008 02:23 pm

Blocking and Tackling

Blocking and Tackling - all the reasonable tests in the world don't replace getting reconciliations right. Regardless of the size of the organization, a $12.5 Million lump under the carpet should have caught somebody's attention.

Posted by Bernard Boona | October 28, 2008 09:31 am

Back to basics in an implementation

It is amazing to see this error still occurring. I was taught a very long time ago that when looking through a system process to always see how the process reversal works. Clearly the system implementers did not do this at Overstock.com. In of itself this is not surprising. When we question the reversal process at companies, the question is viewed as strange. Normally the response is "of course it works". Further digging often shows that the process is flawed or that the internal controls are flawed.

Posted by Mark Woollgar | October 27, 2008 09:49 am