Solution Manual For Accounting Information Systems Question And Answers

Solution Manual For Accounting Information Systems Question And Answers characteristics of useful information -relevance -timeliness -accuracy -completeness -summarization feedback Form of output that is sent back to the system as a source of data. Feedback may be internal or external and is used to initiate or alter a process. accounting independence Separation of the record-keeping function of accounting from the functional areas that have custody of physical resources 4 informationtechnology (IT) functions -data processing: brings to bear IT personnel, computer hardware, application programs (software), and corporate data to support user information needs through transaction processing and information reporting -systems development and managemet: The systems development function is the process by which organizations acquire information systems. The systems maintenance function is responsible for making changes to existing systems to accommodate changes in user needs. -database administration: a special independent group headed by the database administrator is responsible for the security and integrity of the database -network administration: Responsible for the effective functioning of the software and hardware that constitute the organization's network. This involves configuring, implementing, and maintaining network equipment. centralized data processing all data processing is performed by one or more large computers housed in a common data center that serves users throughout the organization distrubuted data processing (DDP) Reorganizing the IT function into small information processing units (IPUs) that are distributed to end users and placed under their control; users in a DDP environment function independently and tend not to share data and information commercial software Pre-coded software that a user purchases from a software vendor. Commercial software is available for both general accounting use and for industry specific applications, such as medical billing. Commercial software packages are sometimes called turnkey systems because they can often be implemented by the user with little or no modification; advantages: design their products to appeal to a large community of users, which keeps down the unit cost to the customer. Also, by purchasing commercial packages, client companies can acquire effective business solutions that are thoroughly tested, are free from errors, and are current with professional standards and technological innovations designed by domain experts custom software Software built to individual specifications. Larger organizations with unique information needs often develop custom software through a formal process called the systems development life cycle. Creating custom software requires the organization to have an inhouse team of qualified and experienced IT professionals consisting of systems analysts, programmers, and database designers. Custom systems are more expensive than commercial packages; more expensive than commercial packages because the organization must absorb all the development costs, which commercial vendors are able to spread across the entire user population systems development life cycle software development process enterprise resource planning (ERP) System assembled of prefabricated software components; From this vast array of options, the IT team selects those modules that support the organization's specific information and data processing needs; Configuring the system in this way often takes many months, but the result is a customized system with the advantages of a commercial system network A collection of interconnected computers and communications devices that allows users to communicate, access data and applications, and share information and resources cloud computing location-independent computing, where shared data centers deliver hosted IT services over the Internet; three categories: software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS); potential risk: does not necessarily know where its data are actually being processed; advantage: advantage to the client organization is access to whatever computing power it needs, while it pays only for what it uses. Also, cloud computing contracts are flexible and relatively short term software as a servis (SaaS) A software distribution model in which service providers host applications for client organizations over a private network or the Internet infrastructure as a servise (IaaS) The provision of computing power and disk space to client firms who access it from desktop PCs. The client firm can configure the infrastructure for storage, networks, and other computing needs, including running operating systems and data processing applications. platform as a service (Paas) It enables client firms to develop and deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumergenerated applications using facilities provided by the PaaS vendor. conceptrual system Production of several alternative designs for a new system; involves specifying the criteria for identifying delinquent customers and the information that needs to be reported; s the domain expert, the accountant determines the nature of the information required, its sources, its destination, and the accounting rules that need to be applied auditor Expert who expresses an opinion about the fairness of a company's financial statements. types of audits -external (attestation): task known as the attest function (Independent auditor's responsibility to opine as to the fair presentation of a client firm's financial statement); audit objective is to assure the fair presentation of corporate financial statements; requires auditors to perform tests of the information system's internal controls as well as substantive tests (Tests that determine whether database contents fairly reflect the organization's transactions) of data that reside in the system's databases; often referred to as financial audits; the SEC requires all publicly traded companies to undergo a financial audit annually -internal (operational): appraisal function established within an organization to examine and evaluate its activities; Internal auditors perform a wide range of activities including conducting financial audits, performing IT audits, examining an operation's compliance with organizational policies and legal obligations, evaluating operational efficiency, and detecting and pursuing fraud within the firm -fraud: investigate anomalies and gather evidence of fraud that may lead to criminal conviction; Typically, fraud auditors have earned the CFE certification, which is governed by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Itnow unlawful for a registered public accounting firm that is currently providing attest services for a client to provide the following services -bookkeeping or other services related to the accounting records or financial statements of the audit client -financial information systems design and implementation -appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinions, or contribution-in-kind reports -actuarial services -internal audit outsourcing services -management functions or human resources -broker or dealer, investment adviser, or investment banking services -legal services and expert services unrelated to the audit -any other service that the board determines, by regulation, is impermissible tests of controls Tests that establish whether internal controls are functioning properly; often called IT auditing; Review of the computer-based components of an organization. The audit is often performed as part of a broader financial audit external vs internal auditors while external auditors represent outsiders, internal auditors represent the interests of