3
Introduction
It is my firm belief that the application of the theory within a course, especially the accounting information systems (AIS) course, is where a substantial amount of student learning occurs. For that reason the materials that are presented here are designed to introduce the students to a series of cases and problems that mirror much of what the students will be doing when they become professionals.
The material for the accounting information systems course is delivered in a series of standalone modules. Each module can be introduced into an AIS course or other accounting or MIS courses determined by the needs of that course. It is recognized that different schools will have different curriculum. At some universities (such as ours) the AIS course is the first professional accounting course that the students take. However, in other universities the course may come later in the curriculum. For most of the modules the materials supplement the coverage of standard AIS textbooks. Because of this, the lecture slides are kept to a minimum. Instead of covering both the theoretical topics and application of the theory, they only cover specific points dealing with how the assignments apply the theory.
To give you an idea of how the course that I teach is organized I include selected portions of my syllabus, including a schedule of when assignments are covered in the course. This material is toward the end of this document. As you will see, the textbook for the course is Accounting Information Systems 10th Edition by Romney and Steinbart. The materials align well with this text, but in my opinion they will fit well with most of the other available AIS textbooks. The modules that are presented here represent seven out of the nine assignments in the course. The other two assignments do not include SAP software and hence are not included. However, I have added references to the syllabus that gives you information on the origin of these materials.
Modular Coverage
Each module contains at a minimum the following material:
· Lecture slides in Powerpoint format
· The assignment (or assignments) within the module in MS Word format
· Student videos dealing with the module in flash format
· An instructor’s guide that contains information about using the materials and solutions to the assignments in MS Word format
· An instructor video in flash format.
Some modules have additional material determined by the needs of that module. To give you a general idea of the contents of each module a brief description of each module follows in the next sections. Each module contains more details, especially in the instructor’s guides.
Module 1
This module contains a case study that reviews the material covered in the beginning financial accounting course and also begins the process of the students having a good understanding of how an accounting information system operates and the controls that should be in place. The case study is divided into two separate assignments. The first assignment deals with the journal entries in the first half of the month. For this assignment the students are to create working papers in Excel that contain the general journal, general ledger (T-accounts) and the trial balance. Remedial material is provided for those students weak in Excel and also weak in making journal entries.
The second assignment deals with the transactions in the second half of the month. While the manual entries into the Excel working papers are carried into this assignment, the students are also required to make all of the journal entries (for both assignments) in the SAP general ledger system. Again, remedial videos are available for those students who have no experience with the SAP system.
The case is designed to prepare the students for the intermediate accounting course, which in our university the students either take with the AIS course or immediately after it and is also the first step for the students in learning about a computerized AIS.
Module 2
This module covers one of the most important controls in an organization, the segregation of accounting duties. Again, this case study is divided into two parts. The first assignment has the students analyzing the risks associated with a revenue cycle set of transactions and then based on these risks assigning duties to the employees of the firm so as to have good and efficient segregation of duties. The second part of the case deals with implementing the segregated duties on a computerized system. First the students develop an access control matrix and then they examine the SAP system to see how SAP would implement user authorization controls.
Module 3
This module contains a single assignment in which the students complete an expenditure cycle set of transactions on the SAP R/3 system. This is an integrated case where most of the transactions are entered into the materials management part of the SAP system and the accounting entries are made through automatic account determination within SAP. The students use a test of transactions methodology to track the effects of each step in the business process to see the results in the AIS. As the students work through the case, they are asked about a variety of application controls designed into the SAP system. This gives the students an opportunity to see the controls discussed in the textbook in action.
All of the complex SAP relationships are already preconfigured in the system. The students (and the faculty member) have no configuration work to do in the assignment.
Module 4
This module is the only module that is a continuation of a previous module. This module continues the work in the previous module by selling the materials that were ordered in the module 3 assignment. This again illustrates an integrated system by having the students do the transactions in a sales to cash set of transactions. Again, the students must use a test of transactions approach to determine the accounting effect of the recording of each step in the business process. As in module 3 the system is completely configured for the assignment.
Module 5
This module is quite a bit different than the other modules. First of all it covers material that is barely touched in most AIS textbooks. In addition, it uses the SAP BW/SEM data warehousing and strategic management system and not the SAP R/3 system. It introduces the students to data warehousing, balanced scorecards and digital dashboards. Since the material in this module is not covered very well in textbooks, the lecture material for the module is more comprehensive. The lecture material covers both the theory and its application. While the assignment is not a major time commitment by the students, it is a good way to end a course since it removes the students from the detailed view of an AIS and has them do some business analysis.
Sample Syllabus
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICO
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems
ACCT 321 – Fall 2007
Accounting Information Systems
Professor / Dr. Jim MenschingEmail /
Office / Glenn 117, 898-6405
COURSE DESCRIPTION (From the University Catalog)
Analysis and evaluation of existing manual and computer-based accounting systems. Application of systems analysis and design techniques to case studies and actual organizational systems. Design of input edits and audit trail outputs as integral system components.
Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in or prior completion of ACCT 202 and BIS 301 or MINS 301.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Accounting information systems are an integral part of every business and organization in existence today. Virtually every transaction that occurs within an organization impacts the accounting information system. The data gathered and stored within the accounting information system are essential to the proper control and evaluation of the organization.
With the advent of new regulations concerning the generation and control of accounting information, the accounting information system has become an even more important part of any organization. While the fundamentals of accounting, both financial and managerial are absolutely necessary, so is the understanding of how these fundamental concepts are implemented in an accounting information system.
Specifically, the objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of:
1. Interpretation of financial transactions into journal entries and then entering them into an accounting information system
2. Introduction to computerized accounting systems
3. Use of an integrated accounting information system
4. Investigation into accounting controls
5. Analysis of auditing procedures for accounting information systems
6. Discussion of the means of protecting the computerized accounting information system from attack and fraud.
Some of the assignments involve using the SAP R/3 system, an ERP system that entails most of the business process chains that an organization uses to run a business.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
1. There will be 2 midterm exams covering only the material in that section of the course. There will be a comprehensive final exam covering all of the material in the course.
2. There will be a series of major assignments. These assignments deal with implementing many of the concepts that we discuss in class.
3. There will be some short, unannounced quizzes during class at the instructor’s discretion.
4. There may be some in-class assignments either done in groups or individually.
The midterm exams, final exam, assignments, and attendance will be evaluated according to the following approximate point values.
Assignments Points
Midterm Exams (2 x 100) 200
Final Exam 150
Assignments 330
Unannounced Quizzes or
in-class assignments 50
Total 730
Course grades will be determined by your percentage of the total points earned in the following manner:
% of Total Final % of Total Final
Points Earned Grade Points Earned Grade
93-100 A 73-77 C
90-93 A- 70-73 C-
87-90 B+ 68-70 D+
83-87 B 65-68 D
80-83 B- 0-65 F
77-80 C+
Since a portion of the material presented in the lecture is not contained in the text, regular attendance is instrumental to good performance in this class. Assignments must be submitted electronically and also on paper. The electronic copy will be due before class and the paper copy will be due at the beginning of the class. Furthermore, assignments turned in after the due date will receive no credit. Repeat: NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS!
To review: To receive credit for a homework assignment you must do all of the following:
1. Complete the assignment on time
2. Submit the assignment electronically before the deadline
3. Submit the assignment on paper at the beginning of class.
Failure to do any of the above results in a zero on the assignment.
Homework Assignments:
There are nine major assignments for the course. There may be other smaller assignments, but the following major assignments are the core of the course.
Assignment 1 (30 points): In this assignment you will analyze business transactions for a company, create the journal entries for these transactions, and post the journal entries to the general ledger. This is the first part of a two part case problem. This assignment deals with the transactions in the first half of the month. In this part of the case you will derive the journal entries for the business transactions and then manually post those entries to the general ledger. Assignment 2 completes the case by presenting the remaining transactions.
Assignment 2 (50 points): This is a continuation of the first assignment. This involves deriving the journal entries for the transactions in the last half of the month, manually posting those entries to the ledger, creating a trial balance, doing adjusting entries and finally closing the books at the end of the month. These accounting functions will be done first manually and then all of the transaction entries will be made into the SAP system.
Assignment 3 (30 points): The objective of this assignment is to determine the access controls for a specific set of business transactions. The problem is divided into two parts. In this part of the problem you will evaluate the risks involved in a business process and you will also analyze the possible segregation of duties to mediate those risks.
Assignment 4 (30 points): This is a continuation of assignment 3. In this assignment you will suggest an access control scheme (authorizations), that enforces the segregation of duties that you developed in assignment 3. In the final part of this assignment you will also analyze the access controls within the SAP system.
Assignment 5 (50 points): You will act as a system security administrator and investigate potential tools that can be used to protect your computer system. This assignment involves a computer simulation in which you play the role of the system administrator who has to protect the network from a series of attacks. (Note to other faculty members: This assignment is based on the CyberProtect simulation that is available through the Department of Defense free of charge. Doing a Google search on CyberProtect will provide you with sources for the software.)
Assignment 6 (50 points): This assignment involves deriving general and application controls for a business situation. You will analyze the business risks associated with the situation and then recommend controls to mitigate those risks. (Note to other faculty members: This assignment is based on the Auditing Alchemy materials provided by PWC free of charge. Again, doing a Google search on Auditing Alchemy will give you sources for the materials.)
Assignment 7 (30 points): This assignment involves doing supply chain transactions in the SAP system. This assignment stresses the control procedures that are used in SAP to assure the accuracy and completeness of the transactions.
Assignment 8 (30 points): This assignment involves doing sales transactions in the SAP system. This assignment stresses the flow of transactions that are used in SAP to assure the accuracy and completeness of the business process.
Assignment 9 (30 points): This assignment involves various reporting activities within the SAP system using the SAP BW/SEM data warehouse and strategic enterprise management systems.
COURSE MATERIALS, TEXTS AND LAB PASS
1. Accounting Information Systems, 10th edition by Marshall Romney & Paul Steinbart, ISBN 0-13-147591-6.