AFM 341: Accounting Information Systems

Fall 2021
Course Syllabus
Course Instructor:
Name: Haaris Mian
Class Location: Zoom Meeting Room
• Section 003, EVERY Wednesday 7:00PM EST to 8:20 PM EST
ZOOM MEETING ID: 972 642 0131 - PASSWORD: AFM341003
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9726420131?pwd=UlU4Z2k3NlhDT0lnYnhveXloL1R4dz09

Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: By appointment only

Course Description:
AFM 341 examines the planning, requirements analysis, acquisition, and evaluation of information systems, with an
emphasis on accounting information systems. The course introduces information systems assurance concepts and
considers the role of information technology in the improvement of business performance.

Course Schedule:
There are 2 main modes of course delivery that will be important to you:
1. Async/offline sessions which will be about an hour-long traditional lecture covering the week’s key topics –
These will be pre-recorded and posted prior to class. You are required to have watched this session before
coming to the live lecture as we will be discussing the material
2. Weekly live/synchronous sessions– These will be live Zoom sessions where the class will collaboratively
discuss what we’ve learned, Q&A, take up cases and assignments, and handle course admin related topics.
This is where your participation mark will be earned! This will also be recorded and posted after the
session

BAFM Program Level Learning Outcomes:

Each of the School of Accounting and

Finance’s 16 Program Level learning
outcomes identifies a knowledge, skill
or value of a financial professional.
These outcomes are organized into
seven areas as reflected in the graphic.
 The puzzle pieces reflect the
integration of all areas. All outcomes
are developed through experiential
learning.

Course Learning Outcomes:

This course’s learning outcomes map to the Program Level learning outcomes as follows:

Intended Learning Outcomes Knowledge Communication Problem- Fluency in the Ethical Conduct Leadership and Attributes /
Base for a Capabilities Solving Languages of and Social Collaboration Qualities of a
Financial Capabilities Business, Responsibility Financial
Professional Entrepreneurship Professional
By the end of the course you will be
and Technology
able to:
1. Define and use the terminology of
accounting information systems (AIS)
X X
and explain characteristics of useful
information in the context of
accounting.
2. Define and apply the principles of AIS,
including an understanding of the role of
X X X X
AIS professionals.
3. Assess how AIS affects firm value,
including internal and external business
X
processes.
4. Recognize the roles of the
accounting/finance function in business
X X X
and why those roles require knowledge
of technology and business processes.

Course Resources:
Waterloo LEARN is a web-based learning management system used to communicate information such as the course
syllabus, weekly class material, and other announcements. Students should check LEARN regularly.

Required materials:
1. Textbook: Romney, M. B. and Steinbart, P. J. (2018). Accounting Information Systems – 14th edition.
Pearson. The text is available from the W Store in electronic form (via an access code) (ISBN-13 978-0-13-
464262-8) for $79.99. Please allow up to 3 days for access codes to processed. Students who purchase the
access code have the option of ordering a loose leaf printed copy directly from Pearson for an additional fee.
Please note, if you purchase the text in electronic form, you will need to log in at:
https://console.pearson.com/enrollment/5t8mwd
2. Course Pack: Access to two case studies is available for purchase ($8.50 USD) from Harvard Business
Publishing at: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/coursepacks/862771
3. Additional readings: All additional readings will be posted to the course portal.

Course Evaluation:
Assessment Method Date Percent of Total Grade
Class Participation Throughout term 10%
Group Project Throughout term 40%
Quizzes (5 x 10%) Week #2, 5, 7, 9, 12 50%
100%

AFM 341 — Accounting Information Systems 2

Participation
Contributing to classroom discussions is a valuable method of enhancing both your learning and the learning of your
classmates. Even in an online environment, your contributions are valuable. There will be two primary opportunities
for student participation:
• Online class engagement: Points will be awarded to students who are attentive during live sessions,
answer/pose occasional questions, participate in small group activities, and engage in the online elements (i.e.,
camera turned on, participation in online polls, etc.). Participation marks will be awarded for the quality of the
contributions, while simple attendance does not constitute participation.
• Discussion board: A class portal-based discussion board will be used throughout the semester to identify news
items relevant to the course content and to interact regarding course concepts. Students are expected to
regularly (at least weekly) log into the portal. Points will be allocated for each student’s participation on the
discussion board for comments that are timely, well written, on message, respectful, and that stimulate
thinking. Students are encouraged to both initiate new discussion threads (e.g., questions, news items), but also
to respond to the comments of others.

Please note that each student is free to choose their preferred participation option; this can be a balance of both
online/in-person participation and discussion board participation. However, if you are unable to attend some of the
synchronous activities (or choose not to participate in them), discussion board activities can be substituted towards a
student’s participation grade. Similarly, if you prefer to engage fully in the synchronous sessions and minimally
contribute to the discussion board, this is acceptable as well.

Group Project
A multi-deliverable group project will be conducted throughout the term, focusing on an emerging technology related
to accounting information systems. Each group will prepare a technology briefing on their topic, as well as an
assessment of a case example from practice. The objective of this assignment is to provide students with an
opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of a particular emerging AIS technology, investigate how the
technology is used in an actual organization, and assess the key risks/controls related to the technology.

Additional details, timing, grade breakdown, and assessment criteria for the group project will be discussed in class.

Quizzes
Five online quizzes will be held during the semester via the LEARN portal. Each quiz will contribute 10% to your
course grade. Quizzes will be held on Fridays during week #2 (September 17), #5 (October 8), #7 (October 29), #9
(November 12), and #12 (December 3). Students will have the option of beginning each quiz at any time between
12:00AM – 11:59PM, but are restricted to only one attempt at each quiz. After beginning the quiz, students will have a
total of 30 minutes to complete and submit the quiz. Quiz submissions that exceed this time limit will be subject to a
penalty. You may refer to your notes during quizzes, if you wish, but communicating with others about the quiz
content (either during or after) is strictly forbidden. The specific details (number of questions, format, etc.) of the
quizzes will be discussed during class. Questions will focus on content from class readings, discussions, case studies,
and lectures.

AFM 341 — Accounting Information Systems 3

COURSE POLICIES:
Submission Times
Please be aware that the University of Waterloo is located in the Eastern Time Zone (GMT or UTC-5 during standard
time and UTC-4 during daylight saving time) and, as such, the time for your activities and/or assignments are due is
based on this zone. If you are outside of the Eastern Time Zone and require assistance converting your time, please try
the Ontario, Canada Time Converter.

Late Submission Policy

Late group project submissions will be penalized. Projects submitted after the beginning of class on the due date will
receive a maximum grade of 80%; work submitted over a week late will receive no credit. Also, please be aware that
there are no “extra credit opportunities”, “do-overs”, or other forms of “grade adjustments” possible in this course, so
strive to do your best on all submissions.

Re-grade Requests
In order to receive a timely response to a re-grade request, written requests for (examinations, assignments etc.) should
be made within one week after the examination/assignment return day. For all re-grade requests, a written re-grade
request must be submitted to the course instructor indicating the reasons for believing that the assessment was
improperly graded. The instructor reserves the right to re-grade the entire assessment; as a result, marks may increase,
decrease or remain the same, upon re-grade. Policy 70 dictates the challenge process.

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO AND SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTING & FINANCE POLICIES:

Details regarding School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) policies and University of Waterloo policies can be found
on the SAF LEARN site “My SAF Community” at: https://learn.uwaterloo.ca/d2l/home/66209.

These policies are an integral part of this course syllabus. They have been posted on the SAF LEARN site as they
are not course specific but are common for all SAF program courses. Please ensure that each term you are informed
regarding these policies. They include:

School of Accounting and Finance Policies:

• Accommodations for missed assessments
• Documentation Requirements Supporting Requests for Accommodation
• Recording of Lectures
• Textbooks and Intellectual Property Rights
• Attendance at the Registered Section
.
University of Waterloo Policies:
• Academic Integrity
• Grievance
• Discipline
• Appeals
• Academic Offenses and Implications
• Violation of Standards by Another Student

AFM 341 — Accounting Information Systems 4

• Note for Students with Disabilities

Course Schedule:
Assignment
Week Online Session Date Topic Reading(s)
(due date)
1 Wednesday, September 8 Course Introduction, AIS R&S Chapter 1, 2 (pp. 35-38), 4
Overview, Enterprise
Systems and Databases
2 Wednesday, September 15 Systems Development, R&S Chapter 3, 20, 21 Quiz #1
Systems Documentation (Sept. 17)
3 Wednesday, September 22 Group Project Working -
Session
4 Wednesday, September 29 Cybersecurity Threats and R&S Chapter 6, 8, 9
Controls
5 Wednesday, October 6 Cybersecurity Case Study Case Study: Cyber Breach at
Quiz #2
Target (Available through
(Oct. 8)
Harvard Business Publishing)
6 Wednesday, October 20 IT Operations and Disaster R&S Chapter 10
Recovery
Junglas, I. and Ives, B. (2007). Emerging
“Recovering IT in a Disaster: AIS Tech
Lessons from Hurricane Briefing
Katrina”. MIS Quarterly due
Executive. 6 (1), pp. 39-51.
(Available on course portal)
7 Wednesday, October 27 AIS Frameworks, Standards, R&S Chapter 7
Quiz #3
Risks & Controls
(Oct. 29)
8 Wednesday, November 3 Auditing AIS and Case Study R&S Chapter 11

Case Study: IT Audit at Simple

Soda (Available on course
portal)
9 Wednesday, November 10 Revenue Cycle, Expenditure R&S Chapter 12, 13 Quiz #4
Cycle (Nov. 12)
10 Wednesday, November 17 Group Project Working
Session
11 Wednesday, November 24 Future Trends in AIS Lacity, M. (2018). “Addressing
(Blockchain, analytics, Key Challenges to Making
cloud) Enterprise Blockchain
Applications a Reality”. MIS
Case Study
Quarterly Executive. 17(3), pp.
Assessment
201-222. (Available on course
due
portal)

Case Study: Managing the

Move to the Cloud (Available

AFM 341 — Accounting Information Systems 5

 Assignment
Week Online Session Date Topic Reading(s)
(due date)
through Harvard Business
Publishing)

CPA Canada (2019). “An Inside

Look at How Auditors in
Canada are Using Data
Analytics”. pp. 5-44.
12 Wednesday, December 1 Group Project Presentations - Presentation
due

Quiz #5
(Dec. 3)

AFM 341 — Accounting Information Systems 6