The transition from numerous national currencies in Europe to a single European currency, the euro, is profoundly effecting business. All business are involved in the changeover, including changing information systems to use the euro.
The impact of the euro is far-ranging, and not limited solely to European companies. Anyone conducting a financial transaction with a European customer or supplier must change their information systems to support the euro. In today's global economy, many of these companies are not located in Europe.
The following list some systems that are affected by the introduction of the euro:
Accounting software (general ledger)
Electronic payment and trading systems
Invoicing and billing systems
Payroll systems
Accounts receivable and accounts payable sub-ledgers
Inventory systems recording the value of the inventory
Fixed asset systems monitoring value and depreciation charges of assets
Work-in-progress (WIP) systems
Financial planning and budgeting software
Costing systems
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
Treasury management systems
Legal databases containing financial contracts
The euro was introduced on January 1, 1999. The full transition to a single euro currency will take place in a phased implementation. The transition timetable is listed below in Table 1-1.
Table 1-1 Euro Transition Timetable
Date |
Milestone |
---|---|
By June 30, 1997 |
|
Spring 1998 |
|
January 1999 |
|
Until December 31, 2001 |
|
January 1 - June 30, 2002 |
|
July 2002 (at the latest) |
|
The Solaris operating environment provides input, output, and printing support for the euro, as well as system support for ISVs wanting supported APIs to format monetary strings using the euro symbol.