Chapter 2 Flashcards
source document
a record that captures the key data of a transaction, serves three functions
- provides the data necessary to record a transaction
- triggers business processes to begin
- serves as a part of the permanent audit trail
turnaround document
an output of the accounting system that can be used as an input in a different part of the accounting system
general ledgers
provides details for the entire set of accounts used in the organizations accounting system
general journal
the place of original entry for any transactions that are not recorded in special journals
subsidiary ledgers
maintain detailed info regarding routine transactions, with an account established for each entry
legacy system
an existing system in operation within an organization
advantages to a legacy system
customized, support unique processes, historical data, supported and understood by existing personel
disadvantages to a legacy system
1.costly to maintain
2.lack adequate, up to date supporting documentation
3 are not compatible with newer software
4. are not scalable
screen scrapers(frontware)
adds modern user friendly screen interfaces to legacy systems
enterprise application integration
software that bridges legacy systems to new hardware and software systems and interfaces
advantages to purchasing vs developing software
lower cost, shorter implementation time, and fewer bugs
accounting software market segments
small company systems
midmarket company systems
beginning ERP systems
tier 1 ERP systems
small company systems income segment
<$250000
Midmarket
250000-10M
Beginning ERP
10M-100M
High End or Tier 1: ERP
> 100M
source document controls
documents are numbered to prevent duplication or loss of
bar code
a printed code consisting of a series of vertical machine readable bars
point of sale system
method of using hardware and software that captures retail sales information by standard bar codes
electronic data interchange
intercompany computer to computer transfer of business documents in a standard business format
batch processing
all similar transactions are grouped together for a specified period of time and then this is processed as a batch
advantages to batch processing
efficient for large volumes
audit trail is maintained
use less costly software
personnel become specialized and efficient in processing
disadvantages batch processing
- processing can take longer tan normal if the master files are too large
- adding or deleting records takes much time and computer maintenance
- data duplication is likely
- Integration across business processes is difficult in legacy systems that involve batching
- there is a lag between what is current
- older systems are difficult to maintain
real time processing
processing at real time
advantages of real time processing
- errors are easy to correct
- info is on a timely basis
- all files are up to date
- the business processes are integrated into a single database so that a single system is achieved
disadvantages of real time processing
- more expensive hardware
- single database is more prone to unauthorized access of data unless there are extensive controls
- Real-time systems can be difficult to audit because of the complexity of the system
general categories of output
- trading partner documents such as checks, invoices, and statements
- Internal documents
- internal reports
- external reports
process maps
pictorial representations of business processes in which the actual flow ad sequence of events in the process are presented in diagram form
oval - start and/or finish
rectangle - a tack or activity in process
diamond - represents a point in the process when a decision must be made
arrow - shows the direction of the flow
circle with a letter - used as a connector
system flowchart
intended to depict the entire system, including inputs, manual and computerized processes, and outputs.
process - rectangle
data - a diagonal rectangle
document - rectangle with a swirl on the bottom
on page connector - circle
off page connector - rectangle on top of triangle
magnetic tape - looks like magnetic tape
terminator - oval
manual input - rectangle with a crooked line on top
manual process - look on page
direct access storage - pipe
etc.
look on page 58
document flowchart
shows the flow of documents and information among departments or units within an organization
data flow diagram
used by systems professionals to show the logical design of a system square - terminator rectangle with rounded corner - process open ended rectangle - storage of data arrow - shows the direction of data flow
entity relationship diagrams
pictorial representations of the logical structure of databases
entities
items in a database
attributes
characteristics of an entity
cardinality
how many instances of an entity relate to each instance of another entity
client server
two types of computers are networked together to accomplish the application processing
distributed presentation
the client PC manipulates data for presentation, but does not do any other significant processing
