AIS Reviewer
AIS Reviewer
Inputs – documents
a. What kind of source documents will system users need?
ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEM – a set of interrelated activities, documents, b. Should the source documents be paper-based, electronic or both?
and technologies designed to collect data, process it, and report to a diverse group of c. How many copies of each source document will be required?
internal external decision makers in organizations. d. What information should the documents contain?
2. Processes – computers and satellites
Three reasons why AIS is important: (H-A-D)
a. Which processing tools should the AIS use?
1. Helps achieve some components of the FASB Conceptual Framework b. Should the tools be manual, computer-based or both?
2. Acquiring knowledge help students learn more about business processes c. If computer-based, which software and hardware should be implemented?
3. Develop core competencies by AICPA. 3. Outputs – general purpose FS
a. What other reports will managers and system users need?
AIS relates to Conceptual Framework by b. How should the AIS be designed to facilitate their production?
4. Storage – paper form, electronic or mix
Capturing data on the elements of FS. a. How should data be stored?
Transforming data into relevant and reliable information. b. Where should it be stored?
Recognizing and adapting to the cost-benefit constraint c. How long should it be stored?
d. Under what conditions can/should data be destroyed?
Core competencies (B-F-P)
5. Internal Controls – daily back up of data and separation of duty
Broad business perspective competencies a. What controls are necessary to promote integrity?
Strategic/Critical thinking – ability to link data, knowledge and insight b. What behavioral effects are controls likely to have?
together to provide information for decision making c. Are controls cost-effective?
Resource management – being able to apply management and human
AIS INFORMATION SOURCES AND INFO LITERACY CONCEPTS
resource theories to HR issues and organizational problems
Functional competencies Information Competence (IC) – evaluating validity is a critical skill for reaching
Risk analysis – understanding business risk conclusions and finding genuinely valuable information
Research – needs to have strong research skills
Personal competencies Five criteria: (A-A-O-C-C)
Problem solving and decision making
1. Authority – Who created the information? The purpose of creation?
Communication – skills necessary to give and exchange information,
2. Accuracy – Where does the information come from? Does it contain obvious
and the ability to listen, deliver powerful presentations and produce
errors or misleading graphs?
examples
3. Objectivity – Does the information contain advertising? Is it available freely?
AIS STRUCTURE 4. Currency – when was it created? When was it last updated?
5. Coverage – is the source still in construction? Did it cover sufficient depth?
Internal Control
CRITICAL THINKING
Inputs processes outputs Storage
- The mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying,
synthesizing and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion
-
Journal – a chronological listing of all the organization’s recordable transactions
CHAPTER 2: TRANSACTION PROCESSING IN AIS
Trial balance – a listing of all the accounts in an organization’s general ledger, with their
ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING
balances, that demonstrates the equality of debits and credits in the ledger
Accounting – the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic
information to permit informed judgments and decisions by users of the information. Adjusting entries:
Accrued revenue – service provided before collection of cash
Bookkeeping – the part of accounting devoted to identifying and measuring the Accrued expense – receive service before paying cash
economic information Deferred revenue – receives cash before service
Prepaid expenses – uses up assets that was previously been paid for
ACCOUNTING CYCLE
Uncollectible accounts – estimates of amounts that customers are unwilling to
1. Obtain information pay
2. Analyze transactions Depreciation – periodic allocation of an asset’s cost
3. Record transactions
4. Post to general ledger General purpose financial statements:
5. Prepare unadjusted trial balance Income statement – summarizes the results of business operations; reports
6. Record adjusting entries revenues and expenses
7. Prepare adjusted trial balance Statement of Changes in Shareholder’s Equity – reports changes in capital
8. Prepare financial statements stock and retained earnings account
9. Close temporary accounts Balance sheet – financial position of the organization; assets, liabilities and
10. Prepare post-closing trial balance capital
Statement of cash flows – three categories of cash flows: investing operating
Two basic types of transaction:
and financing
Internal – adjusting entries, closing entries and reversing entries
External – exchanges of goods and services with other individuals and business entities
CODING SYSTEMS
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) – passed in the US Congress in 1977 in order to Control environment – establishing the “tone at the top”
stop corrupt practices (bribery) in the business world of US
Risk assessment – clarifying an organization’s risk exposures
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) – management and external auditors must annually
assess internal control; certain required disclosures to SEC; personally signed Control activities – developing specific controls to address the risk exposures
certifications and reports; most sweeping accounting-related legislation
Information and communication – ensuring stakeholders know about the internal
Purpose of Internal Control (C-A-R-E-S) control plan
Compliance with applicable laws and regulations
Accomplishment of the company’s mission Monitoring – creating a process for keeping the plan update and relevant
Relevant and reliable financial reporting
Effective and efficient operations
CHAPTER 4: MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS
Safeguarding of assets
Enterprise risk management – a process applied in strategy setting and across the
RISKS
enterprise, designed to identify potential events that may affect the entity, and manage
Brown’s Taxonomy of Risk
risk to be within its risk appetite, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
achievement of the entity’s objectives
1. Financial Risks – related to monetary activities
a. Market Risks – changes in company’s stock prices, investment values and
ERM FRAMEWORK ELEMENTS
interest rates
1. Internal Environment – encompasses the tone of an organization, and sets
b. Credit Risks – customer’s unwillingness to pay amounts owed to the
basis for how risk is viewed and addressed by an entity’s people; overall
organization
organizational attitude about ERM
c. Liquidity risks – possibility that the company will not have enough cash
and near-cash assets to meet obligations
2. Objective Setting – this should support and align with the entity’s mission and
2. Operational Risks – concerned with people, assets and technologies used to
are consistent with its risk appetite; what an organization is trying to accomplish
create value for the org’s customers
3. Event identification – events that could interfere with achieving the objectives 7. Communicate early and often
BEHAVIORAL ISSUES
4. Risk assessment – chance that the interfering events will occur
Expectancy theory – says that motivation is the product of three factors: expectancy
5. Risk response – generic ways to manage risks (events) (will I be successful?), instrumentality (will I be rewarded?), valence (do I value the
reward?)
6. Control activities – specific ways to manage risks (events)
𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 = 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 × 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 × 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆
7. Information and communication – wats to share the ERM plan
CHAPTER 5: INFORMATIONS SYSTEMS CONCEPTS
8. Monitoring – ensure the ERM plan stays relevant Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) – a methodology for designing,
NATURE OF BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT implementing, and maintaining virtually any kind of information system
2. Move away from “we’ve always done it this way”. Be open to alternatives. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SELECTION
3. Enlist top management support
4. Hire the right people Two kinds of issues to consider:
5. Value people who has experience with the process Macro-level issues
6. Well defined task for consultants
Micro-level issues CHAPTER 6: FLOWCHARTING
Flowchart – a graphical representation of some part of an information system.
Micro-level factors to consider
Classification of flowcharts:
Need Systems flowchart – gives the user a “big picture” look at an information
system
Strategic fit – indicates how an organization competes in market Program flowchart – shows the logic associated with a computer program
Document flowchart – shows the various documents involved in a system.
Mission statement – explains why an organization exists; how it is different - Portrays the procedures performed on these documents
from competitors Hardware flowchart –shows the computers, printers, monitors, input devices
and other hardware elements associated with an information system
Personnel involvement -
Financing Good flowcharting habits:
1. Should be from top to bottom, left to right
Macro-level factors 2. Should have plenty of white space
Cost – total cost of the IT: upfront cost, training, maintenance and customization 3. Have a title
Adaptability – can it be adapted effectively to the organization? 4. Should be organized in columns that depict areas of responsibility
Training – how easy will the employees learn to use the new IT? 5. If document involved in business process, must have clear origin and clear
Vendor reliability – is it a well-established, reputable company termination
6. Rough drafts should be discussed by involved persons
3-Stage Process (Sylla and Wen, 2002) for evaluating IT investments
*weighted-rating technique
2 additional reasons why people don’t always make the best decisions: CHAPTER 16: PROFESSIONALISM, ETHICS AND CAREER PLANNING
(Simon)
PROFESSIONALISM
1. Satisficing – people’s tendency to stop looking for solutions to a problem
when they find a solution that works- whether the decision is best or not 7 Characterisctics of Professionals (Dr. Nancy Bell, 2004)
2. Bounded rationality – a separate, but related, idea which means that
people will inherently avoid uncertainty and rely on proven rules for Communicates effectively
problem solving whenever they can Thinks rationally, logically and coherently
Appropriately uses technical knowledge 8 Step Model of Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas (Langenderfer and Rockness, 1989)
Integrates knowledge from many disciplines
1. Identify the facts
Exhibits ethical professional behavior
2. Identify the ethics issues and the stakeholders involved
Recognizes the influence of political, social economic, legal and regulatory
3. Define the norms, principles and values related to situation
forces
4. Identify the alternative courses of action
Actively seeks additional knowledge
5. Evaluate the consequences of each possible course of action
4 Criteria of Being Professional (McDonald, 2001) 6. Decide the best course of action consistent with the norms, principles and
values
Specialized knowledge base. Financial reporting rules, auditing standards. 7. If appropriate, discuss the alternative with a trusted person
Complex skills. Use of judgment and computations. 8. Reach a decision
Autonomy of practice. Refers to independence or self-sufficiency.
ETHICAL CASES
“independence of mind”
Adherence to a code of ethical behavior Charles Ponzi – committed a multimillion-dollar fraud with international postal reply
coupon; “pyramid” or “multilevel marketing” scheme
ETHICS
Adelphia Communications Corporation – the management engaged in deceptive
Nature of Ethics (Boss, 2014)
accounting practices to meet analyst’ expectations for profitability
1. Ethics is a set of standards that:
Enron/Arthur Andersen – best known accounting fraud in recent history (Enron);
a. Differentiates “right” from “wrong”
downfall of one of the then “Big Five” CPA firms because of Enron (Arthur)
b. Is established by a particular group
c. Is imposed on members of the group to regulate behavior CAREER PLANNING
2. Ethics is a discipline that:
a. Studies values and guidelines for living Steps in Career Planning
b. Considers the justification (or lack) of values
1. Determine your strengths, aptitudes and abilities
Ethical Egoism – teaches that people are fundamentally solitary creatures, each 2. Create a career mission statement
pursuing their own best interest. 3. Research employment opportunities related to the first two
4. Build your resume
Utilitarianism – teaches that the most ethical action is the one that promotes the greatest 5. Practice interview skills
good for the greatest number
CHAPTER 17: AUDITING AND EVALUATING THE AIS
Deontology – “rights and duties” school of ethical thought that believes individuals have
rights and that ethical principles are developed through reasoning; Auditing – the area of accounting associated with AIS evaluation.
- Ethical decisions are based on a universal moral code, not on the outcome of a
TYPES OF AUDIT (7)
decision
Virtue ethics – ethical behavior is a natural product of being fundamentally ethical and 1) FINANCIAL AUDIT – involves the examination of a company’s accounting
virtuous; being a good person is more important information system and financial statements.
o Financial Audit Reports: (4) FORMAT
Unmodified Report – “clean report” says that the company’s statements INTRODUCTION - explains when the standard applies in audit engagement
are prepared in accordance with GAAP. OBJECTIVE – discusses the overall goal of the standard; what is being tried to
Qualified Report – one or more items don’t conform with GAAP – but does achieve
not compromise the overall fairness DEFINITIONS – identifies key terms and their meaning
Adverse Report – statements are not prepared in accordance with GAAP REQUIREMENTS – explain what the auditor needs to do to fulfill that standard
Disclaimer – denotes that the auditors could not tell if they were in GUIDANCE AND EXPLANATORY MATERIAL - gives additional information
accordance with GAAP about the requirements and related matters
2) OPERATIONAL AUDIT – auditors examine a company’s rules and procedures
for conducting business. Internal auditors are often involved. GENERALLY ACCEPTED AUDITING STANDARDS
3) SYSTEMS AUDIT – determines whether the various forms of information
technology in an AIS are producing expected results. It also examines the issue GENERAL STANDARDS – focus on
of systems security very closely. the auditor’s background and
4) COMPLIANCE AUDIT – Governmental and NPOs are subject to this, virtually approach to the audit.
devoid of judgment Training – well-trained in auditing
5) MANAGEMENT AUDIT – may involve the greatest degree of judgment. Independence – auditor’s mental
Determines the degree to which the assumptions underlying decisions are valid attitude
or how these management decisions are supported. Professional care – properly
6) INVESTIGATIVE AUDIT – “fraud audit”; associated with forensic accounting. It planned
may be triggered by observation of unusual behavior or discrepancies in the
AIS. FIELD WORK – set out important ideas for conducting the audit
Review of documents Supervision – all staff members must be adequately supervised; as experience
Interview of neutral third-party witnesses increases, need for supervision decreases
Interview of corroborative witness Internal control – assess an organization’s risk exposures and determine if IC
Interview of coconspirators ameliorates
Interview of target Evidence – importance of having an objective, reasonable basis for expressing
7) INTERNATIONAL AUDIT – it requires the auditor to understand the accounting opinion
rules in another country but also necessitates an intimate understanding of
national culture, laws, regulation and other nonaccounting issues. REPORTING – speak to the ultimate opinion the auditors express
GAAP – opinion must state if be in accordance
AUDIT CLARITY PROJECT (Skinner, 2012) Consistency – report inconsistencies between current and prior application
Two main objectives: Disclosure – state if it is appropriate
i. To make auditing standards easier Opinion – explain the reasons for opinion
to read, understand and apply
ii. To converge the US Auditing
Standards with IAS
GENERIC AUDIT STEPS
I. Assessment of management’s integrity
II. Evaluate management’s credentials.
III. Review the internal control system.
IV. Perform compliance testing
V. Issue the audit report.
SARBANES-OXLEY ACT
Section 302. Evaluation of internal controls in an audit. Responsibility of CEO
and CFO.
Section 401. Disclosures in Periodic Reports. Financial statements must be
accurate and presented correctly.
Section 404. Management Assessment of Internal Controls, reemphasizes the
importance of sound internal control in AIS integrity and reliability.
Section 409. Real-time reporting is the primary issue of this section.
Disclosures should be made in nontechnical, easy-to-understand terms
Section 802. Spells out the penalties for noncompliance with the Act.
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