Financial Information

Question 1

What is data?

Answer 1

The raw facts, figures, events, numbers, all of which will be useful once it is processed but which isn’t yet.

Question 2

What is information?

Answer 2

Data which has been processed in such a way that it is now meaningful and useful.

Question 3

What are the purposes of information?

Answer 3

Planning - can be used to advise on what needs doing
Controlling - measuring if processes are working
Recording - of everything going on in the business
Performance measurement - is everything working as it should
Decision making - using what we know about what’s going on to determine the next best thing to do

Question 4

What are the four types of info?

Answer 4

Planning, strategic, tactical and operational

Question 5

What does ACCURATE stand for?

Answer 5

Accurate, complete, cost-effective, user targeted, relevant, authoritative, timely, easy to use

Question 6

What does CATIVA?

Answer 6

Completeness (everything is processed), Accurate, Timeliness, Inalterability (can’t be changed), Verifiability (clear audit trail), Assessability (can be challenged)

Question 7

What are the three stages of data?

Answer 7

Inputs - raw data goes in
Processes - turns the data in to something that can be used
Outputs - After processing - so the financial report for example

Question 8

What are transaction processing systems?

Answer 8

Systems which perform and record routine transactions e.g Finance/accounting systems and HR

Question 9

What is a management information systems?

Answer 9

These are the systems that are used to produce information that can then be used to make decisions. Turns the date from internal and useless to possibly external and useful

Question 10

What is an executive support system?

Answer 10

A database that pools data and then provides it in an easy to use format - can be used for making decisions

Question 11

What does ACIANA stand for?

Answer 11

Availability, confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, non-repudiation, authorisation - used for determining and assessing data security issues.

Question 12

How is information protected?

Answer 12

Physical access controls such as locks, PIN’s, alarms.
Input controls such as passwords over inputs, control totals, range checks
Output controls such as comparing totals, following up on errors
Back ups and archives, personnel controls and segregating duties.

Question 13

What is Big Data?

Answer 13

Data sets so large that the size is beyond the ability of a normal database.

Question 14

What are the key features of Big Data?

Answer 14

Its size - Volume - the sheer amount of it.
The speed at which it is fed in to the organisation - Velocity.
The different formats it takes - Variety.
The reliability of the data that comes in and goes out - Veracity.

Question 15

Why is big data important?

Answer 15

It can help attain a competitive advantage. It falls in to the array of new data sources. It impacts storage capacity. It creates new sources of knowledge.

Question 16

What are the drawbacks of big data?

Answer 16

Not all of it counts as useful. A lot of people can’t use it the way it was intended. There are increased concerns for data security due to its scale - one hit can take it all out. It is normally those with special skills who are capable of handling it - this limits how easy it is to use within businesses.

Question 17

What is data science?

Answer 17

Involves taking a scientific approach to the data - using maths and stats to process the data.

Question 18

What are data analytics?

Answer 18

They involve taking the value from the data and using it in a way that benefits the business. E.G decision making, customer analysis and innovation.

Question 19

What are intelligent systems?

Answer 19

They are computer based but they interpret data in a reasoned and human way. They learn about the patterns as they see them and they draw meaning without being told.

Question 20

What is machine learning?

Answer 20

It occurs when the machines and systems follow set algorithms and then over time they see their own algorithms and it goes from there.

Question 21

What is cloud computing?

Answer 21

It is a series of remote servers that can be used for computing resources. An example of this is cloud accounting - accountancy is done by a software in the cloud so data is sent away processed and then sent back.

Question 22

What is a digital asset?

Answer 22

Any text or data that is formatted in to a binary source. This then limits the right of others to use it. Two common types include media and textual. Basically any kind of asset that is stored digitally.