Describe Advantages of Computer. (5)
Ans: The following are the advantages of Computer :
(1) Speed: The computer works at almost the speed of light. It can do about 30,00,000 calculations per second. It processes large volume of data in just a fraction of a second. In fact, its speed which was initially measured in milliseconds is now measured in microseconds, nanoseconds and picoseconds (10-3 , 10-6, 10-9 and 10-12 seconds) respectively. Once raw data/ information relating to accounting transactions are fed, computer prepares journal and subsidiary books, does ledger posting, balances ledger accounts and prepares trial balance, final accounts and required accounting statements in a very short time. Thus, a computer can complete a task in less than an hour, which would have earlier taken a year for a group of people to complete.
(2) Phenomenal memory (Storage): Unlike human beings, a computer doesn’t forget anything and its primary and secondary memory together enable it to store and retrieve a huge amount of data / information. Its memory is large enough to store a huge amount of varied information for a considerably long period of time or permanently.
(3) Accuracy: Computer never makes mistakes and invariably gives correct and accurate answers. In case of any wrong computer-generated answers, the defect invariably lies in the humanware. It can be either attributed to wrong programming or wrong feeding of data or information.
(4) Diligence: Unlike human beings, a computer doesn’t get tired or bored by doing the same job repeatedly. In fact, it gives the same quality of work and level of speed, accuracy and neatness even after several hours of continuous work. These features makes it especially suitable for repetitive work or job like accounting.
(5) Automation: Once the program and the raw data / information are fed into the computer, it will automatically execute the different steps or stages one after another without needing any reminder or additional human effort.
(6) Versatility: A computer possesses great versatility and hence it can be put to an infinite number of uses. In fact, it can do almost any type of work once it has been reduced to a series of logical and systematic steps to be performed one after another. Computer can be used in banks, in railway reservation, in colleges to prepare mark-list and checking objective type questions, in offices to prepare financial accounting, in hospitals, in shares analysis, etc.