Alden Systems Inc. (Booth 556) has released the Life Cycle Asset Manager (LCAM), a Web-based asset management and invoice payment system that tracks all of the events in an asset's lifetime Ñ from initial purchase to final disposition.
LCAM bridges the gap between accounting and operations, to monitor use of assets and to provide accurate financial recording. The data also can be used to find areas where operating costs can be lowered, says the company.
LCAM can be purchased off-the-shelf and interfaces to other business systems without the need for significant custom development. However, LCAM's architecture does allow customized business processes.
The company developed LCAM in response to new FCC and SEC regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, implemented in the wake of scandals like Enron and WorldCom, where overstated assets and inflated earnings ultimately resulted in bankruptcy and stock-market and stockholder mayhem.
"We now need controls to ensure business practices are enforced; businesses must document these controls to prove they are in place; and be capable of demonstrating that the controls work," says John Sciarabba, executive vice president at Alden Systems.
"We need more data on our operations, in real time, in order to make smart business decisions. This will keep our businesses running efficiently. We must successfully manage our business assets."
Alden also offers the LCAM Data Collector, a field data collection tool that operates on Tablet PCs and can be used with LCAM, or as a stand-alone tool. The software application captures equipment data and provides a visual, graphical view of it. Data Collector can be used for periodic verification or to record movement in the field.
"Businesses (not only) have to contend with changing industry and market climates, but now with new FCC and SEC regulations, Sarbanes-Oxley laws, and plain old GAAP, all while trying to grow the bottom line and continue to provide quality products and services," says Sciarabba.
