Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

110.249 - Accounting information systems > Week 1 - 6 study > Flashcards

Week 1 - 6 study Flashcards

1
Q

What is a system?

What are the two outcomes with respect to the goals to be achieved by a system?

A

A system = a set of two or more inter relating components/subsystems that interact ti achieve a goal.

Outcomes:

  1. Goal congruence - when components acting in their own interest contribute toward the overall goal
  2. Goal conflict - when components act in their own interest without regard for the overall goal.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the difference between data and information?

A
  • Information is processed data.
  • Data is insufficient for decision making.
  • information is output, data is input
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the “value of information”

A

The value of benefits provided by information over and above the costs of producing it.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are the qualitative characteristics of information per the NZ framework?

A

understandability, relevance, reliability

and comparability.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are the five major types of “give get” exchanges (transactions)?

A
  1. Revenue cycle
  2. Expenditure cycle
  3. Production cycle
  4. Financing cycle
  5. HRM Cycle/Payroll cycle

The general ledger and reporting cycle brings together all five cycles.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Accounting is often referred to as the ‘language of business. How does AIS assist accounting?

A

AIS’s are the intelligence or information providing vehicle of the accounting language.

AIS’s are used to effectively plan, manage and control the business.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are the six components of an AIS

A
  • people using the system
  • procedures and instructions
  • data
  • software
  • IT infrastructure
  • internal control and security
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are the three main business functions that AIS’s enable?

A
  1. Collect and store info about an org
  2. transform data into info for decision making purposes
  3. provide adequate controls to safeguard assets and data
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are the five primary activities of a value chain?

A
  1. inbound logistics
  2. Operations (manufacturing)
  3. Outbound logistics
  4. Marketing and sales
  5. Service activities
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are the ‘three facets’ of each business activity that should be captured?

A
  1. Events - each activity of interest
  2. Resources affected by each activity
  3. People who participate in each activity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is a ‘turnaround document’

A

A document that is sent from an organisation to the customer. The same document is then returned to the organisation (e.g. tear off strip on telephone bill)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Contrast the general and subsidiary ledger.

A

General ledger = summary level data for A, L, OE, revenue and expense control accounts (i..e the subtotal)

Subsidiary ledger = detailed data for each g/l account that has individual sub-accounts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Explain the process through which data is stored (from entity to files)

AKA the different levels of the data hierarchy.

A
  1. An entity is a person, place or thing
  2. Attributes are facts about the entity
  3. Fields are where attributes are stored
  4. Records are a group of related attributes about an entity
  5. A file is a group of related records
  6. A database is a related group of files
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are the different data storage file types?

A

Transaction files - non permanent files that contains records from a specific period of time

Master files - permanent files that are updated by transactions files

Database - a set of interrelated files

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the definition of a database

A

A set of interrelated, centrally co-ordinated files.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What are the four main data processing activities. “CRUD”

A

Create new data records
Read, retrieve or view existing records
Update existing stored data records
Delete data or records

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are the characteristics of an ERP system?

A
  • ERP integrates an orgs info into one overall AIS
  • modules are integrated by utilising a centralized database across business processes to share info and co-ordinate activities
  • ERP overcomes the issue of having numerous systems and the problems/inefficiencies associated .
  • Data is captured once
  • A standardized procedure for accessing information
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are some negatives of an ERP system?

A
  • can be costly
  • time consuming to implement
  • can be disruptive
  • resistance to change
  • training needs to use the new system
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What are the 4 steps of the data processing?

A
  • Data input
  • Data processing
  • Data storage
  • Information Output
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is “documentation” in the context of AIS’s?

A

A set of documents and models used to explain how an AIS works. (including the inputs, processes, storage, output and controls.)

Examples include narratives, data flow models and flowcharts.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What are the four basic elements of a data flow diagram (DFD)

A

Entity, data flow, data store and process.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is an “entity” in the context of a data flow diagram or other AIS documentation model?

A

Entity = a source or destination of data. usually a physical being or object e.g. customer, bank, manager etc.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What is a ‘process’ in the context of a data flow diagram or other AIS documentation model?

A

A process represents a transformation of data.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is a ‘data store’ in the context of a data flow diagram or other AIS documentation model?

A

A data store represents data at rest. i.e. the repository of data (note the physical storage on a server/hard drive is not shown)

25
Q

What are the three different levels of DFD’s?

A
  1. Context - highest ‘summary ‘level’ that shows inputs and outputs only
  2. Level-0 - shows all major activities of a system. processes are labelled 1.0, 2.0 etc
  3. Level-1 - shows one major activity divided into sub-activities. processes are labelled 1.1, 1.2 etc
26
Q

How is a flowchart used for documentation of an AIS?

A

Flowcharts use symbols to logically depict transaction processing and the flow of data through a system.

Such a pictorial representation is easier to understand and explain.

27
Q

What are the three main types of flowcharts that are used for documentation of AIS’s?

A

Document - illustrates the flow of docs through an org.

System - represents system inputs, processes and outputs

Program - respresents the logical sequence of computer program logic

28
Q

Contrast the file and database approach systems for storing/accessing data?

A

File approach - individual silos of information (master files) are developed that are completely unconnected

Database approach - data is an organisational resource that is used by and managed for an entire organisation, not just an originating department.

29
Q

What is a data warehouse?

A

A warehouse that contains both detailed and summarized data for a number of years. A data warehouse is updated periodically as opposed to in real time.

30
Q

What is business intelligence (BI). What are the two types?

A

the use of data warehouses for strategic decision making.

  • online analytical processing
  • data mining
31
Q

What are some advantages of using database systems (as opposed to a file based approach)

A
  • data is integrated
  • data is more easily shared and accessible by users
  • reduction of data redundancy and inconsistency (i.e. prevents multiple versions of the same data being created)
  • data is separate from the programs that access it . changes can be made without changing the programs.
32
Q

What are the two separate ‘views’ of data ?

A
  • physical view i.e. how and where data is physically arranged and stored in the computer system.
  • logical view i.e. how people conceptually organise and understand data.
33
Q

What are 3 DBMS languages?

A

Data definition Language (DDL)- the structure of the database

Data manipulation language (DML) - changes the content in the database

Data Query Language (DQL) - enables the retrieval, sorting and display of data.

34
Q

What is a schema?

What are the three different levels of schema?

A

Schema - refers to the organization of data as a blueprint of how a database is constructed.

Different levels:

  • Conceptual level - organisation wide view
  • External level - individual users view (sub schemas)
  • Internal level - describes how data is stored and accessed.
35
Q

What is a relational database?

A

A relational database represents the conceptual and external level schemas as if data was stored in tables.

Each row contains and instance of an entity and each column contains an attribute of an entity.

36
Q

What are the three types of attributes that a record may have?

A
  1. A primary key - used to uniquely identify a specific record in a table
  2. A foreign key - an attribute in one table that is a primary key in another table (used to link two tables)
  3. Non key attributes - store other important information
37
Q

What are the three ‘anomalies’ that can occur when there is a database design error?

How can these errors be addressed?

A

1, Update anomaly - where changes to data are not correctly recorded (due to multiple records)

  1. Insert anomaly - where records are unable to be added to the database
  2. Delete anomaly - where removing a record also removes unintended data from the database.

These errors can be addressed by utilising a relational database whereby data is stored in seperate database tables.

38
Q

What are the four design requirements for relational databases?

A
  1. Every column must be single valued
  2. primary keys must contain data
  3. foreign keys must agree with the primary key in another table
  4. All non-key attributes must identify a characteristic of the table identified by the primary key.
39
Q

Which DBMS languages should have limited access (i.e. only employees with administration and programming responsibilities)?

A

DML and DDL

40
Q

What is the five step database design process?

A
  1. Systems analysis
  2. Conceptual design
  3. Physical design
  4. Implementation and conversion
  5. Operations and maintenance
41
Q

What does an entity relationship diagram do?

A

ER diagrams graphically represent a database schema i.e. the relationships between entities

42
Q

How is the REA data model used for designing AIS’s?

A

provides guidance for databases by designing which entities should be included by prescribing how to structure relationships among entities in the database

43
Q

What are the three categories of entity in an REA diagram?

A
  1. Resources - things that have economic value
  2. Events - business activities
  3. Agents - people and organisations that [participate in events
44
Q

What are the 3 ‘rules’ for REA diagrams?

A
  1. Each event must be linked to at least one resource that it is affects
  2. Each event is linked to at least one other event (i.e. a give and a get relationship)
  3. Each event is linked to at least two participating agents
45
Q

What are the three steps to develop a REA diagram?

A
  1. Identify relevant events for which mgmt want to collect information.
  2. Identify resources affected
  3. Determine the cardinalities of each relationship
46
Q

What is a cardinality? What are the different types?

A

A cardinality describes the relationship between entities. i.e. how many instances of one entity can be linked to a specific instance of another entity.

The minimum can be 0 or 1 and the maximum can be 1 or many.

Note: the types of relationships are based on maximum cardinality.

  • One-to-one (1:1) - i.e an event must relate to one and only one other event.
  • One-to-many (1:N) - one event may relate to many other events
  • Many-to-many (M:N) - many events may relate to a number of different events
47
Q

What are some key things to consider when looking at step 1 of developing an REA diagram? (i.e. Identifying relevant events for which mgmt want to collect information)

A
  • only activities that involve the acquisition of new data need to be included in the model
  • Accounts receivable is not a separate event (i.e. data collection is not a separate event)
  • data entry events are also not included as they are not primary value adding activities.
  • commitment events that do not involve give-get events are not relevant events
  • transfers of paper (e.g. billing clients) are also not included.
48
Q

What are three ways of obtaining an AIS?

A
  1. Purchase the software
  2. Develop software in house
  3. Hire an external company to develop and maintain software
49
Q

What are the three different types of ‘purchased software’?

A
  1. Off the shelf (OTS) a.k.a canned software
  2. Turnkey systems (hardware and software sold as a package)
  3. Application service provided (ASP) - software is provided via the internet
50
Q

What is ‘in house system development’? What is the main benefit of this option when obtaining an AIS?

A

Where custom software is created in house or by an outside company hired to write software (controlled by the company).

Main benefit = can provide a significant competitive advantage

51
Q

What is end user computing (EUC) and how is this method used to obtain an AIS?

A

EUC = the hands on development, use and control of computer-based IS by USERS. It is the use of IT to meet their info needs rather than systems professionals. Such systems can BETTER meet user needs but lead to development errors due to users little experience in systems development.

52
Q

What is outsourcing in the context of system development? What are the different types of outsourcing?

A

hiring of an outside company to handle parts of an organisations data processing activities.

Options:

  • Mainframe outsourcing - everything is outsourced including hardware and employees.
  • Client server / PC outsourcing agreement - where a service, function or segment of business is outsourced.
53
Q

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing?

A

Advantages:

  • focus on core competencies
  • improve cash position through asset utilization
  • access to greater expertise and technology

Disadvantages

  • Inflexible (usually long term contracts)
  • loss of control
  • increased risk
54
Q

What are the three methods of developing an AIS?

A
  1. Business process management (BPM) - through the continuous improvement and optimization of a business processes.
  2. Prototyping - through the use of a simplififed working model.
  3. Computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools - software that helps to develop software from start to finish,
55
Q

What is the key difference between ERP and BPM systems?

A

While both support corporate goals, ERP systems are more DATA CENTERED while BPMS is more PROCESS CENTERED.

56
Q

The Smith David, McCarthy and Somner framework can be used to categorise and compare different types of software applications. Identify the different classifications of software under this framework?

A

single entry system
inwardly organised system
outwardly organised system

57
Q

Contrast the single entry system, inwardly organised system and the outwardly organised system in the context of software classification?

A

Single entry systems only focus on recording FINANCIAL transactions and obligations as they occur while inwardly organised organisations record and monitor ALL exchanges (financial and non-financial) that occur within an organisation. Outwardly organised organisations not only focus on internal activities but it also captures financial and non-financial information from EXTERNAL suppliers and customers that the organisation deals with as well (CRM and SCM)

58
Q

What classification is the book keeping or A = L + OE system?

A

inwardly organised system

It is based on the classic double entry accounting equation and is used to streamline the financial functions of the organisation ONLY i.e. it has little or no consideration of non-financial and external information

59
Q

What are some risks of using cloud computing? (refer to assignment)

A

The risks of cloud computing include:

  • the potential lack of control
  • security issues
  • the risk of potential breaches of confidentiality/privacy
  • compliance issues i.e. where records are stored.

110.249 - Accounting information systems (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions