Core Concepts of Acc
Y Y Y
ounting Information
Y Y
Systems,14e Mark Si
Y Y Y
mkin, James Y
Worrell, Arlin Y
e Savage (All Chapter
Y Y Y
s)
, CoreYConceptsYofYAccountingYInformationYSystems,Y14thYEdition,YbyYSimkin,YWorrellYandYSava
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Chapter 1 Y
ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND THE ACCOUNTANT
Y Y Y Y Y
Discussion Questions
Y
1-1.
TheYanswerYtoYthisYquestionYwillYvaryYwithYeachYuniversity’sYlocation.YHowever,YitY
isYlikelyYmostYstudentsYwillYrevealYthatYtheirYparentsYareYemployedYinYnon-manufacturingYjobs.
InstructorsYmayYwishYtoYemphasizeYthatYtheYlargeYnumbersYofYserviceYsectorYemployeesYa
ndYknowledgeYworkersYreflectYaYtrend.
1-2.
ThisYquestionYencouragesYstudentsYtoYthinkYaboutYsomeYofYtheYinformationYreporti
ngYlimitationsYimposedYbyYtheYtraditionalYaccountingYgeneralYledgerYarchitecture.YOtherYbusine
ssYactivitiesY(orYbusinessYevents)YthatYdoYnotYrequireYjournalYentriesYincludeY(1)YobtainingYaYli
neYofYcredit,Y(2)YissuingYpurchaseYrequisitionsYorYpurchaseYorders,Y(3)YsigningYcontracts,Y(4)Yhi
ringYaYnewYexecutive,YandY(5)YsendingYfinancialYinformationYtoYinvestorsYorYbankYloanYperson
nel.
InstructorsYmayYwishYtoYpointYoutYthatYimportantYinformationYaboutYaYcompany’sYbusinessYactiv
itiesYmayYbeYincludedYinYanYannualYreportYoutsideYtheYfinancialYstatements.YTheYmanagementYlett
ersYandYfootnotesYinYannualYreportsYmayYrevealYmuchYaboutYaYcompany’sYfutureYprospects.
ManagersYhaveYaccessYtoYmuchYmoreYinformationYthanYwhatYisYpublishedYinYfinancialYreports.Y
WhetherYorYnotYtheyYwouldYlikeYtoYhaveYaccessYtoYmoreYnon-
financialYinformation,YorYifYtheyYwouldYpreferYthatYtheYaccountingYinformationYsystemYcaptureYd
ataYaboutYbusinessYeventsYratherYthanYaccountingYtransactions,YisYdebatable.YItYmayYalsoYbeYaYfu
nctionYofYtheYaccountingYsystemYinYaYparticularYcompany.YInvestorsYmayYwishYtoYhaveYmoreYinfo
rmationYavailableYtoYthemYbutYtheYdownsideYisYthatYtooYmuchYinformationYcanYbeYjustYasYproble
maticYasYtooYlittleYinformation.
1-3.
TheYfinancialYaccountingYsystemsYweYhaveYknownYforYmoreYthanY500YyearsYareYchan
gingYdramaticallyYasYaYresultYofYadvancesYinYinformationYtechnologyYandYfinancialYaccountingYsof
tware.YForYexample,YdatabasesYallowYaccountantsYtoYcollectYandYstoreYallYtheYdataY(accountingYtr
ansactionYdataYandYnon-
financialYdata)YaboutYaYbusinessYactivityYorYeventYinYoneYsystem,YallowingYthoseYneedingYsuchYin
formationYtoYretrieveYitYquickly,Yefficiently,YandYspecificallyYinYanyYformatYtheyYwish.YFinancialYd
ataYcanYalsoYbeYmoreYeasilyYlinkedYtoYnonfinancialYdataYbecauseYofYdatabaseYtechnology.YYThus,Yi
tYisYlikelyYthatYfinancialYreportingYwillYundergoYtremendousYchangeYinYtheYnextYfewYyearsYasYweY
learnYtoYuseYtechnology,YincludingYartificialYintelligence,YmoreYeffectivelyYinYtheYdesignYofYAISs.
ERPYsystemsYareYanotherYexampleYofYtheYinformationYage'sYimpactYonYfinancialYaccounting.Y No
w,YorganizationsYcaptureYmoreYfinancialYandYnon-
financialYdataYandYproduceYmoreYinformationYthanYeverYbefore.YThisYallowsYcompaniesYtoYintegr
ateYtheirYinformationYsystems,YbetterYforecastYeverythingYfromYrawYmaterialsYrequirementsYtoYfin
ishedYproductYproduction,YandYtoYperformYmoreYsophisticatedYanalysesYofYimportantYbusinessYfun
SMY1.1
, CoreYConceptsYofYAccountingYInformationYSystems,Y14thYEdition,YbyYSimkin,YWorrellYandYSava
ge
ctions.YForYinstance,YsalesYcanYbeYexaminedYatYmanyYdifferentYlevelsYandYorganizedYaccordingYto
YcriteriaYsuchYasYgeography,Ycustomer,Yproduct, YorYsalesperson.
SMY1.2
, CoreYConceptsYofYAccountingYInformationYSystems,Y14thYEdition,YbyYSimkin,YWorrellYandYSava
ge
OneYofYtheYmostYimportantYchangesYinYAISsYisYtheYwayYtheseYsystemsYwillYgatherYfinancialYinf
ormationYinYtheYfuture.YAlthoughYmanyYofYtheseYsystemsYwillYcontinueYtoYcaptureYdataYinYtradit
ionalYbatchYmodeYorYatYPOSYsites,YweYexpectYnewerYsystemsYtoYcollectYmoreYofYitYonYmobileYde
vices—
forYexample,YcellYphones,YPDAs,YandYdigitalYcameras.YBecauseYmoreYemployeesYandYworkingYa
tYhomeYtheseYdays,Y“digitalYcommuting”YmayYbeYanotherYtrend.
1-4.
TheYobjectiveYofYaYcompany’sYfinancialYstatementsYisYtoYcommunicateYrelevantYfinan
cialYinformationYtoYsuchYexternalYpartiesYasYstockholders,Yinvestors,YandYgovernmentYagencies.YI
ssuingYfinancialYstatementsYinYXBRLYformatsYcontributesYtoYthisYobjectiveYbyYmakingYsuchYfina
ncialYdataYmoreYsearchable,Ycomparable,Yinformative,YandYthereforeYuseful.YAlso,YbecauseYXBR
LYenablesYcompaniesYtoYuseYstandardYtagsYtoYidentifyYspecificYaccountingYvalues,YtheYlanguageYit
selfYimposesYaYgreaterYdegreeYofYstandardizationYinYtheYinformationalYcontentYofYtheYreports.Y Fin
ally,YXBRLYhelpsYgovernmentYagenciesYgatherYfinancialYdataYthatYareYmoreYconsistent,YeasierYtoY
understand,Yself-
checking,YandYmoreYquicklyYcommunicated.YChapterY2YcontainsYmoreYaboutYXBRL,YincludingYth
eYideaYthatYtheYlanguageYalsoYenablesYitsYusersYtoYverifyYaccountingYrelationshipsYasYassetsY=Yliab
ilitiesY+YstockholderYequity.
1-5.
TheYquestionsYaskedYhereYaboutYsuspiciousYactivityYreportingY(SAR)YrequireYopinion
sYfromYstudents.YRegardingYtheYfirstYquestion,YwhichYasksYifYSARYactivityYshouldYbeYaYlegalYmat
ter,YthereYisYlittleYroomYforYdisagreementYbecauseYsoYmuchYofYSARYisYmandatedYbyYfederalYlegisl
ationYsuchYasYtheYAnnunzio-WylieYAnti-
MoneyYLaunderingYActYofY1992,YtheYBankYSecrecyYActYofY1996,YandYtheYPatriotYActYofY2001.Y
AlthoughYthereYareYstatisticsYonYtheYnumberYofYSARYfilings,YlessYisYknownYaboutYhowYmuchYofY
whatYappearsYtoYbeYsuspiciousYareYinYfactYviolationsYofYfederalYstatutes.
1-6.
TheYexampleYgivenYinYtheYquestionYdemonstratesYoneYwayYinYwhichYcomputerizatio
nYhasYrefinedYcostYestimationYandYthusYhasYimpactedYmanagerialYaccounting.YHowever,YITYhasYi
mpactedYalmostYeveryYareaYofYmanagerialYaccountingY(andYdecisionYmaking).YConsider,YforYex
ample,YtheYemergenceYofYsuchYconceptsYasYjust-in-
timeYsystems,YcomputerYintegratedYmanufacturingYsystems,YmanufacturingYresourceYplanningYs
ystems,YtargetYcosting,YandYactivityYbasedYcostingY–
YallYofYtheseYrequireY ITYtoYsupportYmanagerialYdecisionYmaking.YForecastingYandY
budgetingYareY
otherYareasYofYmanagerialYaccountingYimpactedYbyYadvancesYinYtechnology,YasYareYtheYmanyYap
plicationsYofYspreadsheetYsoftware,YdecisionYsupportYsystems,YandYexpertYsystems.
UniversitiesYareYalsoYimpactedYbyYtheYmanyYadvancesYinYIT.YYouYmightYhaveYstudentsYtypeY“uni
versityYuseYofYscorecards”YinYtheirYfavoriteYbrowserYtoYdiscoverYtheYmanyYusesYthisYtoolYoffersYto
YadministratorsYinYanYacademicYenvironment.YTheYsearchYresultsYshowYaYvarietyYofYusesYatYsuchY
universitiesYasYTheYOhioYStateYUniversity,YCSU-
Stanislaus,YClemsonYUniversity,YColoradoYStateYUniversity,YSanYJoseYStateYUniversity,YandYoth
ers.YForYexample,YtheYUniversityYofYDenverYadaptedYaYversionYofYtheYBalancedYScorecardYtoYeva
luateYtheirYStudentYLifeYAssessmentYPlanY(SLAP),YwhichYfocusesYonYLearningYOutcomes.YSanYJ
oseYStateYUniversityYusesYaYScorecardYtoYevaluateYandYcontinuouslyYimproveYtheirYonlineYprogra
SMY1.3