|
Hyperlinks other pages for case assignments and other materials:
Hyperlinks to specific sections on this page:
[Texts & materials]
~
[Course Objectives Specific
to BUSA 203]
[Assignment Schedule] ~
[Summary of Graded Assignments]
Note: All the course information is accessible
directly or indirectly from this page.
Information common to all my courses can be found at
Course Syllabi: General Information
A Sakai site for this course is also available.
Catalog description: Study of the flow of information through an enterprise, the
sources and nature of documents, and
the controls necessary to insure the accuracy and reliability of information.
Prerequisites: CSCE 120, BUSA 202.
4 credits.
What this course is about:
As is the case with many professions, there are numerous
stereotypes of accountants. Consider the following descriptions, which are cited
in Charles T. Horngren's Cost Accounting: A Managerial
Emphasis, 4th edition, Prentice-Hall, 1977, p. 175.]:
"My experience with the accountant is that for him
everything has equal importance. He is like the Lord in the Bible, where
it is written that 'a thousand years are in His sight as yesterday' when
it is past--except that it is just the other way around with the
accountant: 10 cents in the balance sheet is just as important as a
million dollars. The main thing for him is that every figure should be
correct." [attributed to a "prominent financial analyst"]
Or, perhaps you prefer this image:
"The typical auditor is a man past middle age, spare, wrinkled,
intelligent, cold, passive, non-committal, with eyes like a codfish,
polite in contact, but at the same time unresponsive, cold; calm and
damnably composed as a concrete post or a plaster-of-Paris cast; a human
petrification with a heart of feldspar and without charm of the friendly
germ, minus bowels, passion, or a sense of humor. Happily, they never
reproduce and all of them finally go to Hell." [attributed to Elbert
Hubbard, an American philosopher (1856 - 1915)]
Students occasionally come into this class with other, less
cynical stereotypes or assumptions about the role of the accountant, and by
extrapolation, the content of the course. Some assume that accounting is
somehow separate and unrelated to other aspects of a business. Perhaps the image
of Bob Cratchit in Dickens' Christmas Carol, bending over his ledgers
with quill in hand, conveys an impression of detachment from the real world of
business operations.
Bob Cratchit's narrow focus on bookkeeping may have been
typical for accountants in mid 19th century London. However, the development
of modern accounting information systems requires an understanding of just about
every aspect of a business. One of the purposes of accounting procedures
and records is
to track the acquisition, sale and consumption of economic resources by
the organization. Accounting information systems are the
integrated
frameworks within organizations which are used to convert economic data into
financial information for use by managers and external constituencies. The accounting
information system (AIS) is a significant component in the larger management
information system (MIS) in an organization. Therefore, accounting affects just about every functional area within an
organization. Even
if we are only concerned with a cost center in a manufacturing firm, at
some point, somehow, usage of resources has to be valued, documented, and
recorded.
Some students somehow get the impression that this course is "not accounting"
[and is therefore somehow irrelevant] because of the focus on the processes
which are the foundation for business transactions. Accounting information
systems is fundamentally about business processes and the accounting
systems [and procedures, records, documents, etc.] that are necessary to [1]
safeguard the assets of the organization; [2] ensure the accuracy
and reliability of accounting records and information; [3] to promote
efficiency of operations; and [4] to measure compliance with management's
prescribed policies and procedures. The four items in this list are the
substance of internal control, which is a major focus of accounting systems
designers and will be a major topic in our discussions throughout the semester.
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Course objectives
Accounting information systems is a professional level course and is a
requirement in the accounting concentration.
My single overriding
objective in teaching this course is to have each of you achieve a level of competence and confidence in the development and use of accounting
information systems in a practical, professional setting. The course is heavily conceptual, and is predicated on the assumption that students learn the most when they assume a
significant degree of responsibility for their own learning.
After completing this course, you should be able to do the
following:
- understand the processes (including transaction flows and documents) used to carry out sales, purchasing, production and other organizational functions
- effectively use common systems documentation techniques, such as systems flowcharts and data flow diagrams
to document business processes
- understand internal controls (in manual and electronic settings) and apply your knowledge of internal control process in a practical situations to identify an internal control system's
strengths and weaknesses
- demonstrate basic skills in database design
- be able to use MS Access database software to perform basic
accounting system functions
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Texts and materials
Required texts:
- Accounting
Information Systems, 7th edition, by James A. Hall,
South-Western Cengage Learning; ISBN: 9781439078570
- Computerized Accounting Using Peachtree 2010,
2nd edition, by Arens and Ward; Armond Dalton Publishers, Inc. ISBN is
9780912503349
I will cannot take responsibility for
reconciling the differences between the required text and whatever other edition[s] you may have.
There may be an 8th edition of the Hall book available; it is supposed to
be out now, but I elected to stick with the 7th edition because of the
uncertainty surrounding the release date of the newer edition. Also, beware of
used copies of the Peachtree materials. The published will not support used
copies of the software. If you have a used copy and need help, you are on
your own in uncharted waters which may be well populated with critters you would
rather avoid. Caveat emptor!
Required cases [which will be
available at at a URL I will give you]. These are available to you for use in
this class free of charge to you. However, PLU does pay for them. In previous
semesters, some students have made copies of another student's case, or simply
not bothered to download the cased and skipped the assignment. Copying another
student's case is illegal, and failing to download the cases is a waste of
money. Please download the cases and complete the related assignments. If
students continue to abuse this privilege, PLU will simply stop paying for the
cases and students will have to buy them directly. Please do not spoil this
"good deal" for those who follow you in this course.
The Garden Place
The Garden Place One Year Later
Sunshine Fashion: Fraud, Theft and Misbehavior Among Employees
Downloads and handouts: A
number of items will be available via hyperlinks in the assignments
page. I will also have some hard copy handouts for specific materials
which I am unable to give you in digital format.
Microsoft Access 2010 and Visio 2010:
PLU has secured an
agreement to participate in the MSDN Academic Alliance. This
entitles you to free use of certain Microsoft software--including Access
and
Visio [but NOT other MS Office products like Excel and Word], provided you are a
declared business major during the 2011-2012 academic year.
Go to
http://msdn08.e-academy.com/elms/Storefront/Home.aspx?campus=plu_busin. You will need to have Visio
no later than February 16th. We will start using Access later in the
semester.
A word of caution regarding computer
preferences. It is possible to run
Visio and Access under Windows 7 on Mac computers. However, with all due respect to Mac users, I am
not conversant with the problems and issues associated with running MS Office
software on the Mac. If you elect to use a Mac for work in this class, you do
so at your own risk.
Memory
stick: If you do not own a memory stick, jump drive, pen drive or
similar device, get one--the bigger the capacity the better [you'll use
the extra capacity eventually, if not in this class]; at a minimum I suggest a 1.0
gig model. USB 2.0 compatibility is standard. [There is now a USB 3.0,
but 2.0 ports will not read version 3.0 jump drives.] All of our work this semester will require use a
variety of software, and it will be essential to have easy access to
your work in class, at home, and wherever else you work on a computer. I
also recommend that you put your name on your memory stick with a
self-adhesive label. I strongly recommend that you bring your memory
stick to class daily, simply to ensure that you have it when you need
it. I also recommend that you back up your memory stick to your hard
drive or other media daily. Memory sticks do fail, and they can get
lost.
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Assignment
schedule
Definitions of items in the assignment
list below:
Preparation for today's class = These are things you need to
DO
before class.
Agenda for today = What WE will do in class today; use of the first
person plural is quite intentional; class is a collaborative effort and
your active involvement in it is essential
For-credit assignment due today
= These are things to HAND IN for grading; if it
does not say "For-credit assignment due," there is nothing to hand in.
Translation: There is always
something to DO, but there is not necessarily anything
DUE.
PLEASE
pay attention to the instructions regarding hardcopy vs.
emailed files.
Catch-up days: these are inserted to allow for unforeseen
problems--snow[!], a sick professor [rarely--I can't remember the last
time I missed class due to illness], or other calamities [invasion by
Martians]. These are NOT
designed to compensate for student inattention or failure to keep up
with the rest of the class.
Thursday, February 9,
session 1
Agenda for
today: Course orientation,
administrative matters,
expectations;
review of financial accounting, including use of
the D and C words. Distribute
financial accounting handout and Washington Company problem.
Tuesday, February
14, session 2
Preparation for today's class:
- get the books
- download the cases
-
download Visio
2010
at
http://msdn08.e-academy.com/elms/Storefront/Home.aspx?campus=plu_busin.
-
install Visio
on your computer.
- Read ch. 1 in Hall; finish whatever
portions of the Washington Company problem we did not get done in
class on Day 1.
Agenda for today: finish solution to
Washington Company problem continue discussion of business processes and transaction
cycles.
Thursday, February
16, session 3
Prepare
for today's class: Complete the
Garden Place case [see instructions on hyperlinked page]
|
Peachtree assignment due TODAY
[Familiarization; maintenance, operations & controls] |
Item number |
Chap. |
Page No. |
Description
[These are things you need
to PRINT and hand in for credit.] |
Check Figures |
|
1 |
2 |
2 – 16 |
Sales Journal Mar 1-2, 2010
|
$18,914.38 |
|
2 |
2 |
2 – 29 |
Payroll Tax Liability Report Mar 1-15, 2010 |
$15,035.89; turn in
page 22 ONLY |
|
3 |
3 |
3 – 16 |
Franklin Invoice 10344 |
$197.79 |
|
4 |
3 |
3 – 19 |
Sales Invoice List Rawald |
$13.86 Circle transaction |
Agenda for today: Conclude discussion of
bookkeeping mechanics; introduce systems documentation
Tuesday, February
21, session 4
Prepare for today's class:
Read ch. 2 in Hall.
When we begin discussion of this material,
students often ask: This is a lot of work. Why are we doing this? What
difference does this make? How would I ever use this stuff? Answer:
Irrespective of your eventual career path, you will probably spend a
significant amount of your time analyzing [1] how things in your
organization are done under existing processes or procedures, and [2] how the organization can be more effective, more
efficient, or more responsive to customers. A diagram often highlights
weaknesses or problems that simply don't show up in a written text--and
often, there is no written text. You may be able to find out how
processes work only by interviewing the people who do the job, and then
you may find out that what they do is at variance with "official"
expectations, whether those expectations are actually documented or not. If it helps
to do so, think about the difference between written driving directions
[turn left at the big rock, go 2.7 miles, get on the freeway southbound,
then take exit 43 and watch for the signs for Mosquito Junction...] and a highway map.
We will use problem 2-12 to introduce this material.
Thursday, February
23, session 5;
Preparation for today's class:
replicate our solution to problem 2-12 using Visio software; Agenda for today: continue with flowcharting material; introduce
internal control issues
| |
Item number |
Chap. |
Page No. |
Description
[These are things you
need to PRINT and hand in for credit.] |
Check Figures |
| |
5 |
4 |
4 – 8 |
Customer List w/ Balance,
Name Contact |
$165,687.03 |
| |
6 |
4 |
4 – 9,
10 |
Aged Receivables Mar 1
|
$97,680.48 $15,999.32
$113,679.80 |
| |
7 |
4 |
4 – 12 |
Invoice 10121 |
$2,329.67 |
| |
8 |
4 |
4 – 24 |
Income Statement Mar 31 |
($1,691.33)
$1,314.12 $26,411.10 $11,300.56 |
| |
9 |
4 |
4 – 25 |
Balance Sheet Feb 28, 10 |
$471, 598.86 |
| |
10 |
4 |
4 – 26 |
Stone Arbor Customer
Ledgers |
$17, 883.06 $45,679.04
$51,493.12 |
|
The
exercise on page 4-26 refers to the Stone Arbor
Landscaping Company. Note that this is an
entirely different company that you have to open
in Peachtree. You will have to go through the “File,
Open Company, Existing Company…” routine to open the
file. [This will be more obvious if you have done the
written exercises at the end of chapters 2 and 3.] |
Tuesday, February
28, session 6:
Preparation for today's
class: read ch. 3 in Hall. Ethics, fraud, and internal
control; be prepared to discuss the Whodunit? case [pp. 146 - 149]
in class.
Thursday, March 1, session 7: Ethics, fraud, and internal
control; Sunshine Fashion case. For
credit assignment; follow the hyperlink for details
Tuesday, March 6:
session 8: preparation for today's class: reach ch. 4 in
Hall [revenue cycle]; we'll use the Smith's Market case [pp. 204-207 to
lay the groundwork for the revenue cycle.
|
02/23 |
R |
5 |
Preparation for today's class:
read ch. 3 in
Hall; work the Whodunit? case, pp. 146 - 149.
Agenda for today: guest speaker--Dave Carlson, a PLU alum and
current MBA student will be with us to talk about internal control
issues. Dave has numerous horror stories about internal controls [or
lack thereof] from his years in industry |
|
02/28 |
T |
6 |
Preparation for today's class:
What
controls? Worldcom case discussion; the case is available [no charge to
you] at a URL I will give you.
Agenda for today: discuss the Worldcom case. refer to the
assignment specifics at Worldcom; Dave
Carlson will be with us again today to participate in our discussion of
Worldcom. |
|
03/01 |
R |
7 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 4 in Hall [revenue cycle]; work problems 4-6, 4-7
Agenda for today: introduce the revenue cycle using Internal Control Case 4-1, [Smith's Market] |
|
03/06 |
T |
8 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 5 in Hall [cash disbursements cycle]; work problems 5-4-6, 5-5
Agenda for today: introduce the revenue cycle using Internal Control Case
5-1, [Smith's Market] |
|
03/08 |
R |
9 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 6 [payroll section only] in Hall work problems 6-3,
6-4, 6-6
Agenda for today: introduce the revenue cycle using Internal Control Case
6-1, [Holly Company] |
|
03/13 |
T |
10 |
Prepare for today's
class: Take home quiz on systems documentation; details to be
announced
Agenda for today: introduce database concepts |
|
03/15 |
R |
11 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 1 in P&N; work multiple choice questions 1 - 10 and
practice exercises 1 - 5
Agenda for today: introduce MS Access |
|
03/20 |
T |
12 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 2 in P&N; work multiple choice questions 1 - 10 and
practice exercises 1 - 3
Agenda for today: introduce REA modeling |
|
03/22 |
R |
13 |
Preparation for today's class: read ch 7 in PN;
pay special attention to exercise 7.7 on page 310. Work multiple choice questions 1
-
10 [pp. 316 & 317 in PN] and
problems 10-7 and 10-8 in Hall; use crow's feet for cardinalities.
Note:
One of the tricky aspects of
this material is the whole matter of cardinalities, which represent the degree of association between two entities. Prof.
Guido Geerts of the University of Delaware has developed a Website
called Stevie [Stevie is a cartoon character dog] which enables you to
work through a series of progressively more difficult cardinality
analyses]. Go to
http://www.aisvillage.com/stevie/
and work through the exercises after you have read the chapter. When you get to the Stevie site, you will see a login screen.
The username is "intro" and the password is "public' [no quotes in
either one, and all lowercase]. After you have worked through the
various exercises here, log out and then log in again, this time using "basicpatterns"
as the username; password is still "public." This will give you another
set of exercises which will sharpen your skills at dealing with
cardinalities.
Agenda for today's class: databases and REA modeling |
|
As may be evident at this point, the
tutorials in the Perry & Newmark text are
well-written and comprehensive. I have worked through about 80% of
the book and I have found about 2 errors [and I am not sure at
this point that they weren't actually my fault anyway]. Given the
structured nature of the tutorials, I do not believe it is
productive for me to
discuss each chapter in detail. However, it is essential
that everyone keep up with the pace of coverage. When we get to the
later chapters, those who have fallen behind will be in a really deep
hole unless they are really conversant with Access and accounting
systems. In order to keep everyone up to date, there
will be an assignment for credit to be submitted in conjunction
with each chapter.
Heads up: Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are longer
and will require more preparation time. |
|
Spring Break |
|
04/03 |
T |
14 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 3 in PN; pay special attention to the
section on field properties, pp 106 -111. Note:
It will be really tempting to sort of skim over the numbered,
blue-shaded exercises
[e.g., Ex. 3-1 on p. 93] in this book and let it go
at that. Unless you REALLY know your way around Access, this will be a
short route to a lot of frustration and crummy grades on the more
detailed Access assignments later in the semester.
work multiple choice questions 1 - 10 and practice exercises 2 and 3 on p. 137;
submit problem 3.3 electronically for credit by the end of class;
use your last name in your filename so I can identify your work.
Agenda for today's class: continue discussion of MS Access;
introduction to queries |
|
04/05 |
R |
15 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 4 in PN; pay special attention to parameter queries
[p. 153], query properties [pp. 156, 157], and expressions [pp. 160 -
168]. Also, work multiple choice questions 1 - 10 and practice exercises 1, 2, and 3 on p.
193; submit problem 4.4 [p. 194] electronically for credit by the
end of class. Use your last name in your filename so I can identify your
work.
Agenda for today: continue with queries; begin discussion of
forms in Access |
|
04/10 |
T |
17 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 5 in PN; pay special attention to conditional
formatting and control layouts [pp. 217 and 218], data integrity [p. 220
- 224] and special purpose forms [pp. 230 - 235]. work practice exercises 1, 2, and 3 on
p. 239; submit problem 5.4 [pp. 240 - 241] electronically for credit;
use your last name in your filename so I can identify your work.
Agenda for today: forms design issues in MS Access |
|
04/12 |
R |
18 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 6 in PN; pay special attention to the guidelines for
good report design [pp. 257 - 259]; adding calculations [p. 264] and
calculated controls [p. 277]. work practice exercises 1 & 2 on
p. 292. submit problem 6.2 [pp. 293 - 294]
electronically for credit; use your last name in your filename so I
can identify your work.
Agenda for today: working with reports in MS Access |
|
04/17 |
T |
19 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 8 in PN through p. 360; pay special attention to the
control-related sections [pp. 327 - 331]; reproduce fig. 8.5 on p. 325 in Visio. In
your Visio diagram, reference the individual exercises to the shapes in
the diagram. Click here for an illustration.
Note also that the diagram in fig. 8.5 omits three tables:
tblInventoryComposition, tblInventoryType, and tblInventoryDiameter. Be
sure to include these in your diagram.
Agenda for today: discuss the revenue [a.k.a. sales and cash
collections] cycle in a database environment; we'll integrate the
conceptual material from ch. 4 in Hall with the database structure in
Perry & Newmark. |
|
04/19 |
R |
20 |
Prepare for today's
class: finish ch. 8 in PN, paying special
attention to the sections on creating a printable invoice and on
financial statement information and information for decision making. Do
the multiple choice questions and work practice
exercises 3, 4, and 5; submit problem 8.5 via email for credit.
Agenda for today: continue discussion of the revenue cycle in a
database environment |
|
04/24 |
T |
21 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 9 in PN [pp. 396 - 428]; replicate fig. 9.4 in Visio. As with
the corresponding diagram from ch. 8, include all the tables and
reference the exercises in your diagram.
Agenda for today: discuss the cash disbursements cycle in a database environment |
|
04/26 |
R |
22 |
Prepare for today's
class: finish ch. 9 in PN; do the multiple choice questions and work practice
exercises 3, 4, and 5. Submit problem 9.5 via email for credit.
Agenda for today: discuss the cash disbursements cycle in a database environment |
|
05/01 |
T |
23 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 10 [pp. 467 - 501] in PN. Reproduce fig. 10.5 in
Visio. As with the corresponding diagram from ch. 8, include all the tables and
reference the exercises in your diagram.
Agenda for today: continue payroll |
|
05/03 |
R |
24 |
Prepare for today's
class: finish ch. 10 in PN; work practice exercises 1, 2, and 3;
submit problem 10.3 for credit.
Agenda for today: conclude payroll |
|
05/08 |
T |
|
Prepare for today's
class: read pp. 531 - 556 in PN; reproduce fig. 11.5 in Visio.
Include all the tables and reference the exercises in your diagram
Agenda for today: financing process |
|
05/10 |
R |
25 |
Prepare for today's
class: finish ch. 11 in PN; work practice exercises 1, 2, and 3;
submit 11.3 for credit
Agenda for today: conclude financing process |
|
05/15 |
T |
26 |
Prepare for today's
class: read ch. 12 in PN; download the file
here
Agenda for today: putting it all together |
|
05/17 |
R |
27 |
Catch up day, wrap up , etc. |
|
Thursday, 5/24 |
Take home final |
read pp. 41 - 79 in Hall. Work problem 2-1, 2-2,
2-3, 2-14 in Hall; finish 2-12 if you did not finish it in class on
Thursday; a caution
is in order here: As we work problems like 2-12 and 2-14, it will be
REALLY TEMPTING to read the problems, yawn, and decide to "let Professor Myers
show us how to do it in class." Bad move. I
will show you how to do it, but, like so many other things in
life, systems documentation is a skill that is best learned through
practice and experience, trial and error. You won't get it perfect the first
time, but no one else does either. We will be using these techniques
throughout the semester, so NOW is the time to get some of that practice and
experience.
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Summary of
graded assignments
|
Item |
Date |
Approximate % of final grade |
Notes and comments |
|
Worldcom one page write up |
2/24 |
5.0% |
Individual submission |
|
Take
home exam on systems diagrams and controls |
3/10 |
10.0% |
Individual submission |
|
Take
home exam on REA modeling |
3/24 |
10.0% |
Individual submission |
|
Pipefitter's Supply Co. problems [8 @ 3% each:
problems 3.3, 4.4, 5.4, 6.2, 8.5, 9.5, 10.3, and
11.3 in Perry & Newmark] |
various dates |
24.0% |
Individual submission |
|
Completed Pipefitter's Supply accounting system, including
MS Access file and REA models from ch. 8, 9, 10 and 11 |
5/19 |
11.0% |
Individual submission |
| Final
exam [systems design and implementation in MS
Access] |
5/26 |
20.0% |
Groups of two |
| Subtotal for assignments |
|
80.0% |
|
| Participation |
Daily |
20.0% |
|
| Total |
|
100.0% |
|
Mapping of learning objectives and assignments
| Assignment |
Objectives |
|
Understand business processes |
Use systems documentation |
Evaluate control systems |
Database design |
Ethical decision making |
Critical thinking |
Written communication |
Teamwork |
Use of technology |
|
Worldcom case |
|
|
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
Take
home exam on systems diagrams and controls |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
X |
| Take
home exam on REA modeling |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
Pipefitter's Supply assignments |
X |
|
|
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
| Final
systems design project |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
X |
|
X |
X |
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|
