Fall 2009 (November 10)

The race is never over...

Required Text:

1. Gelinas & Dull, Accounting and Information Systems, 8th Ed., South-West Cengage Learning, 2008.

Recommended:

1. An auditing textbook

2. A financial accounting textbook

Web sites to monitor:

For the textbook (http://www.cengage.com/accounting/gelinas)

The AICPA (http://www.aicpa.org/)

The Institute of Internal Auditors (http://www.theiia.org/)

The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (http://www.isaca.org/)

The Institute of Management Accountants  (http://www.imanet.org)

The California Society of CPAs (http://www.calcpa.org)

 

XBRL International

XBRL US

Course Objectives and Overview

Whether you are an IS or accounting major, your first job after you graduate is going to involve accounting information systems (AIS's)--complex AIS's. Today, an IS or accounting graduate who lacks a broad understanding of AIS's begins a career with a major disadvantage. This is particular true in today's marketplace. You have to talk the talk. Regarding the growing impact of technology on the accounting profession, Barry Melancon, the President of the AICPA, put it succinctly when he said, "learn to adapt, or die." 

Computer-based accounting systems have taken over the routine tasks of processing and summarizing accounting information. Modern systems are more complex, networked computer systems that integrate front-office and back-office applications in a concept referred to enterprise resources planning (ERP). These are growing even more complex as companies have moved to the Internet and electronic commerce. You will be a user of these complex AIS's as well as being a participant in project teams that develop them since companies are shifting more computer responsibilities to end users.

As financial or IS auditor, you will be faced with auditing these ever-more complex systems. In addition, auditors are using sophisticated computerized auditing tools referred to computer-aided audit technology (CAAT). As a system designer or consultant, you will design and implement these new ever-more-complex accounting systems. In each career, you will work with systems using both older technologies and implementing newer, state-of-the-art methods. In addition, during the duration of your future career, you will probably experience several of these different activities. Accordingly, the objective of this course is to help prepare you to be successful in each of these future AIS interactions.

This course stresses the importance of controls. As companies move toward paperless offices that integrate local area networks and the Internet, electronic data interchange (EDI), and the shift toward end-user developed programming; the control and error detecting aspects of the AIS have subsequently grown in importance. Undetected errors can have a detrimental effect on future decisions based on the erroneous data. Computer-based accounting systems actually make it easier to commit and hide fraud compared to manual accounting systems.

As part of the learning process, some off-the-shelf accounting packages will be used as examples of commercial AIS's. Then, teams of students will develop a simple accounting module using a database language to develop a sense of how AIS's work internally and a sensitivity as to the efforts and tradeoffs that are made to incorporate user-friendliness and internal controls into an AIS. Finally, the students do an AIS evaluation project.

Tentative Schedule of Assignments

My assumption is that you already have general IS and database knowledge. But to fill in any gaps, I suggest you review Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6.

You are expected to complete the assign readings and be ready to discuss the related discussion  questions before class.

Outside Tasks

End-of-Chapter Lab-Day Problem Sets [A], [B], [C], and [D]

Each of these are due 1 week after competing the appropriate chapter in class. The various flowcharts included in these should be created with computer software (vs. being hand drawn). I suggest creating the control matrices in Excel, but Word tables are also acceptable.

Acceptable team size: 1 to 4

Late projects will not be accepted. You should be prepared to present your solutions in class.

AIS Consulting Project

For this project you and your consulting team will test and evaluate an accounting package for your "client." You will present your finding to the class near the end of the semester.

Here are the basic parameters (more details later):

(1) Team size must be 4 (with some adjustments depending on final enrollment). The goal is to have 4 teams.

(2) You can select essentially any accounting software, including Web-based ones such as Net Ledger.

(3) I must approve of your software selection so that there will be only one presentation of any specific package. Approval will be on a first-come basis via email. So, soon as you form your team, identify a package or two and then email me with the names of the team members and your top 2 software choices. Keep in mind you will need to be able to get a copy of the software (usually and evaluation copy). Not all companies offer evaluation copies.

(4) Your in-class presentation will be 35 minutes and will include a demo of the software plus your evaluation.

(5) Your report should be at least 10 pages including screen shots. The report will be evaluated based on content and presentation style.

(6) Your report and presentation should address, but not be limited to, the following aspects of your selected software:

(a) Functionality: How easy was the software to set up? Pre-defined charts-of-accounts? Easy to use? Intuitive? Use data to demonstrate these points.
(b) Limitations: File size? Fixed vs. ad hoc vs. customizable reports? Built-in features?
(c) Innovations: Fit to modern, 24/7 organization.
(d) Controls: Strengths and weaknesses of internal controls.
(e) Documentation: Quality of printed documentation? Online documentations? Help system? Context sensitive? 
(f) Final recommendations: The good? The bad? The ugly? All things consider, this package would be good for...? (e.g., company size, type of industry, etc.)

(7) If you want to find a review package to review, try a google.com search on "accounting software" or "Web accounting software" to find accounting software you can run on a Web site.

(8) Grading: The projects will be graded on a competitive basis. The best projects that meet the minimum requirements could get up to 95 points. Truly outstanding projects could get up to 110 points. Truly outstanding means extra length, well-written, good presentation style, excellent in-class presentation, and well researched--maybe comparing 2 packages.

All the project reports are due DECEMBER 1 whether you are presenting that day or not.

COMMENT ON PRESENTATION ORDER: The class presentations start December 1. All written project materials (including your report plus things like copies of your PowerPoint slides) are due December 1. In terms of the order in which the class presentations occur, your team can volunteer or you will be randomly volunteered. Send me an email if you want to volunteer for a specific slot. Slots will be assigned based on the order in which I receive your emails. If the slot you are requesting is filed before I get your email I give you the next available slot.

Presentation Guidelines

·        Everyone in your team must attend the assigned presentations. (Students who do not attend the presentations will receive 0 points for their presentation grade.)

·        All team members should participate in creating the presentation and be part of the presentation.

·        Your audience is potential clients. Don’t assume the audience understands everything about accounting software. Convince the client that they should hire you for follow-on work.

·        Each presentation is allotted 30 minutes with another 5 minutes for questions and answers. Have all team members join the group for the question and answer time.

·        You should bring your laptop with your accounting software and PowerPoint slides. To use the projector in the classroom the display resolution of your computer should be set to 800 x 600. This is done via the Display option under your Control Panel.

·        Be prepared for the unexpected by having a printout of your presentation and a disk with your PowerPoint slides, which we can use with the desktop in the room.

·        Look sharp and feel sharp.

·        Speak loudly and clearly. Look at your audience. Do not read your presentation.

·        Practice! Practice! Practice! Do a dry run of your presentation with your team members. Invite a friend to listen and give you feedback. Practice creates a very polished presentation.

·        Prepare an excellent presentation.

·        Have fun! This is your chance to sell your consulting skills and show off your hard work.

The class will be evaluating each presentation using the presentation evaluation form.

Team member will evaluate each other with the team evaluation form.

Selected Accounting Software (Team Members)

Exams

The mid-term and final exams will be a mix of multiple-choice and short-answer questions.

MID-TERM EXAM

No make-up mid-term exams will be given. If the mid-term is missed for an acceptable reason, then the weight for the mid-term will be added to the final exam weight. Failure to notify me with documented support for missing the mid-term will result in a zero on the mid-term.

The mid-term exam will cover materials from the text book that are discussed in class prior to the mid-term. We are scheduled to cover all of Chapters 4, 7, 8, 9. 

FINAL EXAM

[WATCH THIS AREA FOR UPDATED INFORMATION]

The final exam will focus on materials we covered since the midterm, however, those materials build on materials covered in the pre-midterm materials. As such, you should review the pre-midterm materials, particularly those materials you had trouble with for the midterm.

Grading

Final grades will be based on the following weights:

The final course letter grade be assigned competitively (on a curve). + and - grading will be used.

Attendance is mandatory for the project presentation days (currently December 1 and 3) and any guest speaker days. An absence reduces your total points by 5 percentage points.