Solutions Manual
v
For
Accounting Information
v v
Systems
15th Edition, Global Edition
v v v
, CHAPTER 1 v
ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS: AN OVERVIEW
v v v v
SUGGESTEDvANSWERSvTOvDISCUSSIONvQUESTIONS
1.1 Discussvthevconceptvofvavsystemvandvthevissuesvofvgoalvconflictvandvgoalvcongruence.
Avsystemvisvavsetvofvtwovorvmorevcomponentsvthatvarevsomehowvinterrelatedvandvinteractvtogethervtova
chievevavspecificvgoal.vAvsystemvusuallyvconsistsvofvsmallervcomponentsvcalledvsubsystems.vThesevsu
bsystemsvhavevspecificvandvdefinedvfunctions,vwhichvinteractvwithvandvsupportvthevlargervsystem.vTh
evconceptvofvsystemsvisvkeyvtovinformationvtechnologyvandvAIS.vAllvsystems,vincludingvthevAIS,vmus
tvworkvtovachievevonevorvmorevorganizationalvgoals.vGoalvconflictvresultsvwhenvavdecisionvorvactionvo
fvavsubsystemvisvinconsistentvwithvanothervsubsystemvorvthevsystemv(organization)vasvavwhole.vGoalvc
ongruencevresultsvwhenvavsubsystemvachievesvitsvgoalsvwhilevcontributingvtovthevorganization'svover
allvgoal.vSubsystemsvshouldvmaximizevorganizationalvgoals.
1.2 GivevanvexamplevofvhowvanvAISvcanvimprovevdecisionvmakingvandvdescribevthevmultistepv
activitiesvinvolvedvinvthevprocess.
Decisionvmakingvisvavcomplex,vmultistepvactivity:videntifyvthevproblem,vcollectvandvinterpretvinform
ation,vevaluatevwaysvtovsolvevthevproblem,vselectvavsolutionvmethodology,vandvimplementvthevsolution
.vAnvAISvcanvprovidevassistancevinvallvphasesvofvdecisionvmaking.vReportsvcanvhelpvtovidentifyvpotent
ialvproblems.vDecisionvmodelsvandvanalyticalvtoolsvcanvbevprovidedvtovusers.vQueryvlanguagesvcanvg
athervrelevantvdatavtovhelpvmakevthevdecision.vVariousvtools,vsuchvasvgraphicalvinterfaces,vcanvhelpvth
evdecisionvmakervinterpretvdecisionvmodelvresults,vevaluatevthem,vandvchoosevamongvalternativevcour
sesvofvaction.vInvaddition,vthevAISvcanvprovidevfeedbackvonvthevresultsvofvactions.
AnvAISvcanvhelpvimprovevdecisionvmakingvinvseveralvways:
• Itvcanvidentifyvsituationsvrequiringvmanagementvaction.vForvexample,vavcostvreportvwithvavlargev
variancevmightvstimulatevmanagementvtovinvestigatevand,vifvnecessary,vtakevcorrectivevaction.
• Itvcanvreducevuncertaintyvandvtherebyvprovidevavbasisvforvchoosingvamongvalternativevactions.
• Itvcanvstorevinformationvaboutvthevresultsvofvpreviousvdecisions,vwhichvprovidesvvaluablevfeedbackvt
hatvcanvbevusedvtovimprovevfuturevdecisions.vForvexample,vifvavcompanyvtriesvavparticularvmarketin
gvstrategyvandvthevinformationvgatheredvindicatesvthatvitvdidvnotvsucceed,vthevcompanyvcanvusevthat
vinformationvtovselectvavdifferentvmarketingvstrategy.
• Itvcanvprovidevaccuratevinformationvinvavtimelyvmanner.vForvexample,vWalmartvhasvanvenormousv
databasevthatvcontainsvdetailedvinformationvaboutvsalesvtransactionsvatveachvofvitsvstores.vItvusesvt
hisvinformationvtovoptimizevthevamountvofveachvproductvcarriedvatveachvstore.
• Itvcanvanalyzevsalesvdatavtovdiscovervitemsvthatvarevpurchasedvtogethervandvcanvusevsuchvinformati
onvtovimprovevthevlayoutvofvmerchandisevorvtovencouragevadditionalvsalesvofvrelatedvitems.vForvex
ample,vAmazonvusesvitsvsalesvdatabasevtovsuggestvadditionalvbooksvforvcustomersvtovpurchase.
1-1
.
,Ch.v1:vAccountingvInformationvSystems:vAnvOverview
1.3 AvsoftwarevcompanyvinvMunichvisvorganizingvavcompetition,vinvitingvbusinessvideasvthatvprom
otevthevusevofvsmartphonevtechnologyvtovconductvbusiness.vYouventervyourvbusinessvplan,vanvini
tiativevtovinvolvevunemployedvteenagersvandvyoungvadultsvfromvlocalvcommunitiesvtovgeneratev
businessvandvemployment,vandvitvwasvsovwellvreceivedvthatvyouvwerevawardedvavspecialvprizevo
fv€5,000.vYouvplanvonvusingvyourvprizevmoneyvtovimplementvyourvidea.
a. Identifyvkeyvdecisionsvyouvneedvtovmake,vthevinformationvyouvrequirevtovmakevthesevkeyv
decisions,vandvthevfivevmajorvbusinessvprocessesvyouvneedvtovengagevin.
b. Identifyvthevexternalvpartiesvwithvwhomvyouvwouldvneedvtovexchangevinformationvandvsp
ecifyvthevinformationvyouvwillvreceivevfromvthesevpartiesvandvthevinformationvthatvyouvwi
llvsendvtovthesevparties.
Thevauthorvusesvthisvasvavclassvdiscussion:vthevtypicalvprocessvthevauthorvfollowsvisvthatvstudentsvwor
kvthroughvthevcontentvofvavchaptervbeforevitvisvcoveredvinvclass.vStudentsvarevrequiredvtovanswervquesti
onsv(suchvasvthisvone)vandvsubmitvitvbeforevthevlecture.vThevauthorvthenvassessesvthevanswers,vand,vbas
edvonvproblemsvidentifiedvwithinvthevanswers,vthevlecturevcontentvwouldvbevdetermined.
Studentsvarevthusvrequiredvtovcompletevthevquestionsvbeforevcomingvtovthevclass.vInvclass,vthevstudent
svarevdividedvintovsmallvgroupsv(aboutv4v–
v5vstudentsvpervgroup).vEachvsmallvgroupvhasvtovcomevtovsomevconsensusvaboutvthevanswersvthatvtheyv
willvpresentvtovthevclass.vThevgroupsvcouldvbevrandomlyvallocated,vorvthevgroupsvcouldvbevbasedvonvsi
milarityvinvinitialvideas.
Avgroupvisvthenvselectedv(orvavgroupvcanvvolunteer)vtovpresentvtheirvanswersvtovthevclass.vSincevallvstudent
svhavevhadvthevopportunityvtovengagevwithvthevcontentvpriorvtovthevpresentationvinvclass,vtherevshouldvbevme
aningfulvcontributionsvandvdiscussionsvaboutvhowvthevpresentedvsolutionsvcouldvbevimproved.
Answersvwillvvary,vbutvthevmainvaimvisvtovgetvstudentsvtovunderstandv(forvpartva)vhowvthevbusinessv
processes,vkeyvdecisions,vandvinformationvneedsvarevallvintertwinedv(asvshownvinvTablev1-
2).vThisvthenvlinksvtovthevexternalvpartiesv(partvb)vinvFigurev1-1.
Sincevthevscenariovindicatedvthevusevofvmobilevphonesvtovconductvbusiness,vstudentsvshouldvideallyv
relatevtheirvanswersvtovsomevformvofvretailv(buyingv/vsellingvofvgoodsv/vservices).
1-2
.
, AccountingvInformationvSystemsv15e,vGE
1.4 Howv dovanvorganization’svbusinessvprocessesvandvlinesvofvbusinessvaffectvthevdesignvofvitsv
AIS?v Givevseveralvexamplesvofvhowvdifferencesvamongvorganizationsvarevreflectedvinvtheirv
AIS.
Anvorganization’svAISvmustvreflectvitsvbusinessvprocessesvandvitsvlinevofvbusiness.v Forvexample:
• Manufacturingvcompaniesvwillvneedvavsetvofvproceduresvandvdocumentsvforvthevproductionv
cycle;vnon-manufacturingvcompaniesvdovnot.
• Governmentvagenciesvneedvproceduresvtovtrackvseparatelyvallvinflowsvandvoutflowsvfromvvari
ousvfunds,vtovensurevthatvlegalvrequirementsvaboutvthevusevofvspecificvfundsvarevfollowed.
• Financialvinstitutionsvdovnotvneedvextensivevinventoryvcontrolvsystems.
• Passengervservicevcompaniesv(e.g.,vairlines,vbus,vandvtrains)vgenerallyvreceivevpaymentsvinv
advancevofvprovidingvservices.vTherefore,vextensivevbillingvandvaccountsvreceivablevproce
duresvarevnotvneeded;vinstead,vtheyvmustvdevelopvproceduresvtovaccountvforvprepaidvrevenu
e.
• Constructionvfirmsvtypicallyvreceivevpaymentsvatvregularvintervals,vbasedvonvthevpercentagevofv
workvcompleted.vThus,vtheirvrevenuevcyclesvmustvbevdesignedvtovtrackvcarefullyvallvworkvperf
ormedvandvthevamountvofvworkvremainingvtovbevdone.
• Servicevcompaniesv(e.g.,vpublicvaccountingvandvlawvfirms)vdovnotvsellvphysicalvgoodsvand,vther
efore,vdovnotvneedvinventoryvcontrolvsystems.vTheyvmustvdevelopvandvmaintainvdetailedvrecord
svofvthevworkvperformedvforveachvcustomervtovprovidevbackupvforvthevamountsvbilled.vTracking
vindividualvemployeevtimevisvespeciallyvimportantvforvthesevfirmsvbecausevlaborvisvthevmajorvco
stvcomponent.
1.5 Figurev1-
5vshowsvthatvorganizationalvculturevandvthevdesignvofvanvAISvinfluencevonevanother.vWhatvdoe
svthisvimplyvaboutvthevdegreevtovwhichvanvinnovativevsystemvdevelopedvbyvonevcompanyvcanvb
evtransferredvtovanothervcompany?
Sincevpeoplevarevonevofvthevbasicvcomponentsvofvanyvsystem,vitvwillvalwaysvbevdifficultvtovtransfervsu
ccessfullyvavspecificvinformationvsystemsvdesignvintactvtovanothervorganization.vConsideringvinvadva
ncevhowvaspectsvofvthevnewvorganizationalvculturevarevlikelyvtovaffectvacceptancevofvthevsystemvcanvin
creasevthevchancesvforvsuccessfulvtransfer.vDoingvsovmayvenablevthevorganizationvtovtakevstepsvtovmiti
gatevlikelyvcausesvofvresistance.vThevdesignvofvanvAIS,vhowever,vitselfvcanvinfluencevandvchangevanvo
rganization’svculturevandvphilosophy.vTherefore,vwithvadequatevtopvmanagementvsupport,vimplement
ationvofvavnewvAISvcanvbevusedvasvavvehiclevtovchangevanvorganization.vThevreciprocalveffectsvofvtech
nologyvandvorganizationalvculturevonvonevanother,vhowever,vmeanvthatvitvisvunrealisticvtovexpectvthatvt
hevintroductionvofvavnewvAISvwillvproducevthevsamevresultsvobservedvinvanothervorganization.
1-3
.
v
For
Accounting Information
v v
Systems
15th Edition, Global Edition
v v v
, CHAPTER 1 v
ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS: AN OVERVIEW
v v v v
SUGGESTEDvANSWERSvTOvDISCUSSIONvQUESTIONS
1.1 Discussvthevconceptvofvavsystemvandvthevissuesvofvgoalvconflictvandvgoalvcongruence.
Avsystemvisvavsetvofvtwovorvmorevcomponentsvthatvarevsomehowvinterrelatedvandvinteractvtogethervtova
chievevavspecificvgoal.vAvsystemvusuallyvconsistsvofvsmallervcomponentsvcalledvsubsystems.vThesevsu
bsystemsvhavevspecificvandvdefinedvfunctions,vwhichvinteractvwithvandvsupportvthevlargervsystem.vTh
evconceptvofvsystemsvisvkeyvtovinformationvtechnologyvandvAIS.vAllvsystems,vincludingvthevAIS,vmus
tvworkvtovachievevonevorvmorevorganizationalvgoals.vGoalvconflictvresultsvwhenvavdecisionvorvactionvo
fvavsubsystemvisvinconsistentvwithvanothervsubsystemvorvthevsystemv(organization)vasvavwhole.vGoalvc
ongruencevresultsvwhenvavsubsystemvachievesvitsvgoalsvwhilevcontributingvtovthevorganization'svover
allvgoal.vSubsystemsvshouldvmaximizevorganizationalvgoals.
1.2 GivevanvexamplevofvhowvanvAISvcanvimprovevdecisionvmakingvandvdescribevthevmultistepv
activitiesvinvolvedvinvthevprocess.
Decisionvmakingvisvavcomplex,vmultistepvactivity:videntifyvthevproblem,vcollectvandvinterpretvinform
ation,vevaluatevwaysvtovsolvevthevproblem,vselectvavsolutionvmethodology,vandvimplementvthevsolution
.vAnvAISvcanvprovidevassistancevinvallvphasesvofvdecisionvmaking.vReportsvcanvhelpvtovidentifyvpotent
ialvproblems.vDecisionvmodelsvandvanalyticalvtoolsvcanvbevprovidedvtovusers.vQueryvlanguagesvcanvg
athervrelevantvdatavtovhelpvmakevthevdecision.vVariousvtools,vsuchvasvgraphicalvinterfaces,vcanvhelpvth
evdecisionvmakervinterpretvdecisionvmodelvresults,vevaluatevthem,vandvchoosevamongvalternativevcour
sesvofvaction.vInvaddition,vthevAISvcanvprovidevfeedbackvonvthevresultsvofvactions.
AnvAISvcanvhelpvimprovevdecisionvmakingvinvseveralvways:
• Itvcanvidentifyvsituationsvrequiringvmanagementvaction.vForvexample,vavcostvreportvwithvavlargev
variancevmightvstimulatevmanagementvtovinvestigatevand,vifvnecessary,vtakevcorrectivevaction.
• Itvcanvreducevuncertaintyvandvtherebyvprovidevavbasisvforvchoosingvamongvalternativevactions.
• Itvcanvstorevinformationvaboutvthevresultsvofvpreviousvdecisions,vwhichvprovidesvvaluablevfeedbackvt
hatvcanvbevusedvtovimprovevfuturevdecisions.vForvexample,vifvavcompanyvtriesvavparticularvmarketin
gvstrategyvandvthevinformationvgatheredvindicatesvthatvitvdidvnotvsucceed,vthevcompanyvcanvusevthat
vinformationvtovselectvavdifferentvmarketingvstrategy.
• Itvcanvprovidevaccuratevinformationvinvavtimelyvmanner.vForvexample,vWalmartvhasvanvenormousv
databasevthatvcontainsvdetailedvinformationvaboutvsalesvtransactionsvatveachvofvitsvstores.vItvusesvt
hisvinformationvtovoptimizevthevamountvofveachvproductvcarriedvatveachvstore.
• Itvcanvanalyzevsalesvdatavtovdiscovervitemsvthatvarevpurchasedvtogethervandvcanvusevsuchvinformati
onvtovimprovevthevlayoutvofvmerchandisevorvtovencouragevadditionalvsalesvofvrelatedvitems.vForvex
ample,vAmazonvusesvitsvsalesvdatabasevtovsuggestvadditionalvbooksvforvcustomersvtovpurchase.
1-1
.
,Ch.v1:vAccountingvInformationvSystems:vAnvOverview
1.3 AvsoftwarevcompanyvinvMunichvisvorganizingvavcompetition,vinvitingvbusinessvideasvthatvprom
otevthevusevofvsmartphonevtechnologyvtovconductvbusiness.vYouventervyourvbusinessvplan,vanvini
tiativevtovinvolvevunemployedvteenagersvandvyoungvadultsvfromvlocalvcommunitiesvtovgeneratev
businessvandvemployment,vandvitvwasvsovwellvreceivedvthatvyouvwerevawardedvavspecialvprizevo
fv€5,000.vYouvplanvonvusingvyourvprizevmoneyvtovimplementvyourvidea.
a. Identifyvkeyvdecisionsvyouvneedvtovmake,vthevinformationvyouvrequirevtovmakevthesevkeyv
decisions,vandvthevfivevmajorvbusinessvprocessesvyouvneedvtovengagevin.
b. Identifyvthevexternalvpartiesvwithvwhomvyouvwouldvneedvtovexchangevinformationvandvsp
ecifyvthevinformationvyouvwillvreceivevfromvthesevpartiesvandvthevinformationvthatvyouvwi
llvsendvtovthesevparties.
Thevauthorvusesvthisvasvavclassvdiscussion:vthevtypicalvprocessvthevauthorvfollowsvisvthatvstudentsvwor
kvthroughvthevcontentvofvavchaptervbeforevitvisvcoveredvinvclass.vStudentsvarevrequiredvtovanswervquesti
onsv(suchvasvthisvone)vandvsubmitvitvbeforevthevlecture.vThevauthorvthenvassessesvthevanswers,vand,vbas
edvonvproblemsvidentifiedvwithinvthevanswers,vthevlecturevcontentvwouldvbevdetermined.
Studentsvarevthusvrequiredvtovcompletevthevquestionsvbeforevcomingvtovthevclass.vInvclass,vthevstudent
svarevdividedvintovsmallvgroupsv(aboutv4v–
v5vstudentsvpervgroup).vEachvsmallvgroupvhasvtovcomevtovsomevconsensusvaboutvthevanswersvthatvtheyv
willvpresentvtovthevclass.vThevgroupsvcouldvbevrandomlyvallocated,vorvthevgroupsvcouldvbevbasedvonvsi
milarityvinvinitialvideas.
Avgroupvisvthenvselectedv(orvavgroupvcanvvolunteer)vtovpresentvtheirvanswersvtovthevclass.vSincevallvstudent
svhavevhadvthevopportunityvtovengagevwithvthevcontentvpriorvtovthevpresentationvinvclass,vtherevshouldvbevme
aningfulvcontributionsvandvdiscussionsvaboutvhowvthevpresentedvsolutionsvcouldvbevimproved.
Answersvwillvvary,vbutvthevmainvaimvisvtovgetvstudentsvtovunderstandv(forvpartva)vhowvthevbusinessv
processes,vkeyvdecisions,vandvinformationvneedsvarevallvintertwinedv(asvshownvinvTablev1-
2).vThisvthenvlinksvtovthevexternalvpartiesv(partvb)vinvFigurev1-1.
Sincevthevscenariovindicatedvthevusevofvmobilevphonesvtovconductvbusiness,vstudentsvshouldvideallyv
relatevtheirvanswersvtovsomevformvofvretailv(buyingv/vsellingvofvgoodsv/vservices).
1-2
.
, AccountingvInformationvSystemsv15e,vGE
1.4 Howv dovanvorganization’svbusinessvprocessesvandvlinesvofvbusinessvaffectvthevdesignvofvitsv
AIS?v Givevseveralvexamplesvofvhowvdifferencesvamongvorganizationsvarevreflectedvinvtheirv
AIS.
Anvorganization’svAISvmustvreflectvitsvbusinessvprocessesvandvitsvlinevofvbusiness.v Forvexample:
• Manufacturingvcompaniesvwillvneedvavsetvofvproceduresvandvdocumentsvforvthevproductionv
cycle;vnon-manufacturingvcompaniesvdovnot.
• Governmentvagenciesvneedvproceduresvtovtrackvseparatelyvallvinflowsvandvoutflowsvfromvvari
ousvfunds,vtovensurevthatvlegalvrequirementsvaboutvthevusevofvspecificvfundsvarevfollowed.
• Financialvinstitutionsvdovnotvneedvextensivevinventoryvcontrolvsystems.
• Passengervservicevcompaniesv(e.g.,vairlines,vbus,vandvtrains)vgenerallyvreceivevpaymentsvinv
advancevofvprovidingvservices.vTherefore,vextensivevbillingvandvaccountsvreceivablevproce
duresvarevnotvneeded;vinstead,vtheyvmustvdevelopvproceduresvtovaccountvforvprepaidvrevenu
e.
• Constructionvfirmsvtypicallyvreceivevpaymentsvatvregularvintervals,vbasedvonvthevpercentagevofv
workvcompleted.vThus,vtheirvrevenuevcyclesvmustvbevdesignedvtovtrackvcarefullyvallvworkvperf
ormedvandvthevamountvofvworkvremainingvtovbevdone.
• Servicevcompaniesv(e.g.,vpublicvaccountingvandvlawvfirms)vdovnotvsellvphysicalvgoodsvand,vther
efore,vdovnotvneedvinventoryvcontrolvsystems.vTheyvmustvdevelopvandvmaintainvdetailedvrecord
svofvthevworkvperformedvforveachvcustomervtovprovidevbackupvforvthevamountsvbilled.vTracking
vindividualvemployeevtimevisvespeciallyvimportantvforvthesevfirmsvbecausevlaborvisvthevmajorvco
stvcomponent.
1.5 Figurev1-
5vshowsvthatvorganizationalvculturevandvthevdesignvofvanvAISvinfluencevonevanother.vWhatvdoe
svthisvimplyvaboutvthevdegreevtovwhichvanvinnovativevsystemvdevelopedvbyvonevcompanyvcanvb
evtransferredvtovanothervcompany?
Sincevpeoplevarevonevofvthevbasicvcomponentsvofvanyvsystem,vitvwillvalwaysvbevdifficultvtovtransfervsu
ccessfullyvavspecificvinformationvsystemsvdesignvintactvtovanothervorganization.vConsideringvinvadva
ncevhowvaspectsvofvthevnewvorganizationalvculturevarevlikelyvtovaffectvacceptancevofvthevsystemvcanvin
creasevthevchancesvforvsuccessfulvtransfer.vDoingvsovmayvenablevthevorganizationvtovtakevstepsvtovmiti
gatevlikelyvcausesvofvresistance.vThevdesignvofvanvAIS,vhowever,vitselfvcanvinfluencevandvchangevanvo
rganization’svculturevandvphilosophy.vTherefore,vwithvadequatevtopvmanagementvsupport,vimplement
ationvofvavnewvAISvcanvbevusedvasvavvehiclevtovchangevanvorganization.vThevreciprocalveffectsvofvtech
nologyvandvorganizationalvculturevonvonevanother,vhowever,vmeanvthatvitvisvunrealisticvtovexpectvthatvt
hevintroductionvofvavnewvAISvwillvproducevthevsamevresultsvobservedvinvanothervorganization.
1-3
.
