The role and place of accountants in automated accounting

In order to get rid of bureaucracy in business administration, and to eliminate overlapping functions, competition and contradiction of information that are common in linear and functional organizational structures, a need arises to develop new institutional forms of accounting. The paper reveals the prospects for the development of business networks in response to introducing electronic communication channels for accounting information transfer. The goal of the research is to consider the prospects of transition to the new institutional structure of accounting, which implies the consolidation of dynamic- network and project- matrix structural elements and improvement of funсtional responsibilities of accountants for obtaining skills and experience necessary for working with modern computer and communication technology. For this purpose, methods of analysis and synthesis are used in order to structure the study object on the basis of identifying functional responsibilities of accountants in automated accounting. The article examines stable, dynamic, project, matrix and other advanced forms of accounting and management. An information model which combines dynamic-network and project-matrix organizational structures is developed with a view to introducing advanced computer and communication technology in accounting administration. The role of professionals in accounting and management in a transition to automated accounting is described, particularly when promoting advanced organizational forms of accounting. Therefore, a list of functional responsibilities for accountants which is suitable for introducing a combined organizational structure is offered. Within the framework of computer and communication form of accounting, accountants set targets for the automated accounting system, and together with software engineers they develop and improve software and technical assistance, tailor the accounting system to changes inside and outside the company, control the correctness and efficiency of processing and transferring information by the automated processing system. As a result, more time will be freed to concentrate on interpreting accounting information for tactical and strategic targets. Further research should be undertaken to consider the functional role of accountants in communicating with managers and other company staff.

Investment and construction project matrix as the basis of forming the highly effective organizational structure

The article covers the research results of the ways of forming the effective organizational structure for investment and construction project based on key events matrix. Current practice of investment and construction project development does not provide for project organizational structure detailed formation. Construction management plan (CMP) describes the organizational structure relatively and in general terms. Therefore, the customer confines himself only to development of staff’s schedule, and delegating the formation of organizational structure to the general contractor, what is moving the solution of this task to the construction site. A large number of participants form a spontaneous organizational structure, so the management of this structure becomes manual. This leads to the numerous adjustments to plans and construction schedules, as well as additions and changes in the technical documentation of the project. All this result in unstable work, unreasonable delays and, eventually, in quality deterioration, disruption of deadlines and rise in construction costs. This article describes the method of forming the highly effective investment and construction project’s organizational structure, which is based on the key events matrix that is the network functional model of project’s executive system. Its properties, transformation rules and the forming algorithm are described in details.

Multi-hazard fragility analysis for fluvial earthen dikes in earthquake and flood prone areas

The paper presents a methodological framework for multi-hazard fragility analyses for fluvial earthen dikes in earthquake and flood prone areas. The methodology and results are an integral part of the multi-hazard (earthquake-flood) risk study implemented within the framework of the EU FP7 project MATRIX (New Multi-Hazard and Multi-Risk Assessment Methods for Europe) for the area around Cologne, Germany. The study area covers the Rhine River reach and adjacent floodplains between the gauges Andernach and Düsseldorf. Along this domain, the inhabited areas are partly protected by earthen embankments (dikes or levees), which may be prone to failure in case of exceptional floods and/or earthquakes. The main focus of the study is to consider the damage potential of the dikes within the context of the possible interaction between the two hazards. The fragility of the earthen dikes is analyzed in terms of liquefaction potential characterized by the factor of safety. Uncertainties in the geometrical and geotechnical dike parameters are considered by using a Monte Carlo approach. The damage potential of the earthen structures is presented in the form of a fragility surface showing the damage probability as a function of both seismic ground shaking and flood water level. The obtained results can be used for multi-hazard risk assessment in earthquake and flood prone areas and, in particular, are intended for comprehensive risk assessment in the area around the city of Cologne.

Study of Three-Component FBG Vibration Sensor for Simultaneous Measurement of Vibration, Temperature, and Verticality

To achieve simultaneous measurement of measurand vibration, temperature, and verticality, a three-component fiber Brag grating (TVFBG) vibration sensor is proposed in this paper. Polymer and metal diaphragm sensitization methods are utilized to improve this sensor measurement sensitivity. Project matrix theory is adopted to analyze this sensor. Theoretically,9×9nonsingular measuring coefficient matrix of this TVFBG sensor made up by three3×3measurand coefficient matrixes is established. In order to effectively extract measurand, Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) is accepted to process this sensor’s center wavelength signals. Calibration experiments are carried out to verify the performance of this TVFBG sensor. Experiment data confirm that this sensor has excellent frequency response and show good linearity at temperature and verticality measurement. Wrist rotation angle measurement experiment is also implemented to further identify this sensor practical value. Through analyzing by HHT, experiment results show that the angle measurement sensitivities of three fiber Brag gratings which are included in this sensor are separately 25.2 pm/°, 38.2 pm/°, and 38.3 pm/°.

Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses in seismic risk assessments on the example of Cologne, Germany

Both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties associated with different sources and components of risk (hazard, exposure, vulnerability) are present at each step of seismic risk assessments. All individual sources of uncertainty contribute to the total uncertainty, which might be very high and, within the decision-making context, may therefore lead to either very conservative and expensive decisions or the perception of considerable risk. When anatomizing the structure of the total uncertainty, it is therefore important to propagate the different individual uncertainties through the computational chain and to quantify their contribution to the total value of risk. The present study analyses different uncertainties associated with the hazard, vulnerability and loss components by the use of logic trees. The emphasis is on the analysis of epistemic uncertainties, which represent the reducible part of the total uncertainty, including a sensitivity analysis of the resulting seismic risk assessments with regard to the different uncertainty sources. This investigation, being a part of the EU FP7 project MATRIX (New Multi-Hazard and Multi-Risk Assessment Methods for Europe), is carried out for the example of, and with reference to, the conditions of the city of Cologne, Germany, which is one of the MATRIX test cases. At the same time, this particular study does not aim to revise nor to refine the hazard and risk level for Cologne; it is rather to show how large are the existing uncertainties and how they can influence seismic risk estimates, especially in less well-studied areas, if hazard and risk models adapted from other regions are used.

Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses in seismic risk assessments on the example of Cologne, Germany

Both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties associated with different sources and components of risk (hazard, exposure, vulnerability) are present at each step of seismic risk assessments. All individual sources of uncertainty contribute to the total uncertainty, which might be very high and, within the decision-making context, may therefore lead to either very conservative and expensive decisions or the perception of considerable risk. When anatomizing the structure of the total uncertainty, it is therefore important to propagate the different individual uncertainties through the computational chain and to quantify their contribution to the total value of risk. The present study analyzes different uncertainties associated with the hazard, vulnerability and loss components by the use of logic trees. The emphasis is on the analysis of epistemic uncertainties, which represent the reducible part of the total uncertainty, including a sensitivity analysis of the resulting seismic risk assessments with regards to the different uncertainty sources. This investigation, being a part of the EU FP7 project MATRIX (New Multi-Hazard and Multi-Risk Assessment Methods for Europe), is carried out for the example of, and with reference to, the conditions of the city of Cologne, Germany, which is one of the MATRIX test cases. At the same time, this particular study does not aim to revise nor to refine the hazard and risk level for Cologne; it is rather to show how large are the existing uncertainties and how they can influence seismic risk estimates, especially in less well-studied areas, if hazard and risk models adapted from other regions are used.