Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.Learning Objectives •Distinguish between data and information: ▫Understand the characteristics of useful information.. • Explain fundamental decis
Trang 1Accounting Information
Systems: An Overview
Chapter 1
Trang 2Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Learning Objectives
•Distinguish between data and information:
▫Understand the characteristics of useful information.
▫Explain how to determine the value of information.
• Explain fundamental decisions an organization makes:
▫Understand basic information needed to make them.
•Identify the transactional information that passes between internal and external
parties and an AIS.
• Describe the major business processes present in most companies.
•Explain what an accounting information system (AIS) is and describe its basic
functions.
• Discuss how an AIS can add value to an organization.
• Explain how an AIS and corporate strategy affect each other.
• Explain the role an AIS plays in a company’s value chain.
Trang 3Data vs Information
• Data are facts stored in the system
▫ A fact could be a number, date, name,
and so on.
2/22/14
ABC Company, 123,
99, 3, 20, 60
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Data vs Information
The previous slide just showed facts, if we put those facts within a context of a sales invoice, for example, it is
meaningful and considered information
Invoice Date : 2/22/14 Invoice #: 123
Customer: ABC company
Item # Qty Price
99 3 $20
Total Invoice Amount $60
Trang 5Value of Information
• Information is valuable when the benefits exceed
the costs of gathering, maintaining, and storing the data
Benefit (i.e., improved decision making)
> Cost (i.e., time and resources used to get the information)
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What Makes Information Useful?
There are seven general characteristics that make
information useful:
1 Relevant: information needed to make a decision
(e.g., the decision to extend customer credit would need relevant information on customer balance from
an A/R aging report)
2 Reliable: information free from bias
3 Complete: does not omit important aspects of
events or activities
4 Timely: information needs to be provided in time to
make the decision
Trang 7What Makes Information Useful?
5 Understandable: information must be
presented in a meaningful manner
6 Verifiable: two independent people can
produce the same conclusion
7 Accessible: available when needed
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Organizational Decisions and Information
Needed
• Business organizations use business processes to
get things done These processes are a set of
structured activities that are performed by
people, machines, or both to achieve a specific goal
• Key decisions and information needed often
come from these business processes
Trang 9Transactional Information Between Internal and External Parties in an AIS
• Business organizations conduct business transactions
between internal and external stakeholders
• Internal stakeholders are employees in the organization (e.g., employees and managers).
• External stakeholders are trading partners such as customers
and vendors as well as other external organizations such as Banks and Government.
• The AIS captures the flow of information between these users
for the various business transactions.
Trang 10Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Interactions Between AIS and Internal and External Parties
Trang 11Basic Business Processes
• Transactions between the business organization
and external parties fundamentally involve a
“give–get” exchange These basic business
processes are:
▫ Revenue: give goods / give service—get cash
▫ Expenditure: get goods / get service—give cash
▫ Production: give labor and give raw materials—get finished goods
▫ Payroll: give cash—get labor
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What Is an Accounting Information System?
• Consists of
▫ People who use the system
▫ Processes
▫ Technology (data, software, and information technology)
▫ Controls to safeguard information
• Thus, transactional data is collected and stored into
meaningful information from which business decisions are made and provides adequate controls to protect and secure the organizational data assets
Trang 13How Does an AIS Add Value?
• A well thought out AIS can add value through
effective and efficient decisions
▫ Having effective decisions means quality decisions
▫ Having efficient decisions means reducing costs of decision making
Trang 14Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
AIS and Strategy
• An AIS is influenced by an organization’s
strategy
• A strategy is the overall goal the organization
hopes to achieve (e.g., increase profitability)
• Once an overall goal is determined, an
organization can determine actions needed to
reach their goal and identify the informational
requirements necessary to measure how well
they are doing in obtaining that goal
Trang 15AIS in the Value Chain
• The value chain shows how the different
activities within an organization provide value to the customer
• These activities are primary and support
activities
▫ Primary activities provide direct value to the
customer.
▫ Support activities enable primary activities to be efficient and effective
Trang 16Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc 1-16
Trang 17Key Terms
• System
• Goal conflict
• Goal congruence
• Data
• Information
• Information technology (IT)
• Information overload
• Value of information
• Business process
• Transaction
• Revenue cycle
• Expenditure cycle
• Production (conversion) cycle
• Human resource/payroll cycle
• Financing cycle
• General ledger and reporting
system
• Accounting information
system (AIS)
• Predictive analytics
• Value chain