solutions manual for core concepts of accounting
information systems, 14th edition by mark simkin, james
worrell, arline savage
, Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems, 14th Edition, by Simkin, Worrell and Savage
Chapter 1
ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND THE ACCOUNTANT
discussion questions
1-1. the answer to this question will vary with each university’s location. however, it
is likely most students will reveal that their parents are employed in non-manufacturing
jobs.
instructors may wish to emphasize that the large numbers of service sector employees and
knowledge workers reflect a trend.
1-2. this question encourages students to think about some of the information
reporting limitations imposed by the traditional accounting general ledger architecture. other
business activities (or business events) that do not require journal entries include
(1) obtaining a line of credit, (2) issuing purchase requisitions or purchase orders, (3)
signing contracts, (4) hiring a new executive, and (5) sending financial information to
investors or bank loan personnel.
instructors may wish to point out that important information about a company’s business
activities may be included in an annual report outside the financial statements. the management
letters and footnotes in annual reports may reveal much about a company’s future prospects.
managers have access to much more information than what is published in financial reports.
whether or not they would like to have access to more non-financial information, or if they
would prefer that the accounting information system capture data about business events rather
than accounting transactions, is debatable. it may also be a function of the accounting system in
a particular company. investors may wish to have more information available to them but the
downside is that too much information can be just as problematic as too little information.
1-3. the financial accounting systems we have known for more than 500 years are
changing dramatically as a result of advances in information technology and financial
accounting software. for example, databases allow accountants to collect and store all the data
(accounting transaction data and non-financial data) about a business activity or event in one
system, allowing those needing such information to retrieve it quickly, efficiently, and
specifically in any format they wish. financial data can also be more easily linked to
nonfinancial data because of database technology. thus, it is likely that financial reporting will
undergo tremendous change in the next few years as we learn to use technology, including
artificial intelligence, more effectively in the design of aiss.
erp systems are another example of the information age's impact on financial accounting. now,
organizations capture more financial and non-financial data and produce more information than
ever before. this allows companies to integrate their information systems, better forecast
everything from raw materials requirements to finished product production, and to perform
more sophisticated analyses of important business functions.
for instance, sales can be examined at many different levels and organized according to
, Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems, 14th Edition, by Simkin, Worrell and Savage
criteria such as geography, customer, product, or salesperson.one of the most important changes
in aiss is the way these systems will gather financial information in the future. although many
of these systems will continue to capture data in traditional batch mode or at pos sites, we
expect newer systems to collect more of it on mobile devices—for example, cell phones, pdas,
and digital cameras. because more employees and working at home these days, “digital
commuting” may be another trend.
1-4. the objective of a company’s financial statements is to communicate relevant
financial information to such external parties as stockholders, investors, and government
agencies. issuing financial statements in xbrl formats contributes to this objective by making
such financial data more searchable, comparable, informative, and therefore useful. also,
because xbrl enables companies to use standard tags to identify specific accounting values, the
language itself imposes a greater degree of standardization in the informational content of the
reports. finally, xbrl helps government agencies gather financial data that are more consistent,
easier to understand, self-checking, and more quickly communicated. chapter 2 contains more
about xbrl, including the idea that the language also enables its users to verify accounting
relationships as assets = liabilities + stockholder equity.
1-5. the questions asked here about suspicious activity reporting (sar) require opinions
from students. regarding the first question, which asks if sar activity should be a legal matter,
there is little room for disagreement because so much of sar is mandated by federal legislation
such as the annunzio-wylie anti-money laundering act of 1992, the bank secrecy act of 1996,
and the patriot act of 2001. although there are statistics on the number of sar filings, less is
known about how much of what appears to be suspicious are in fact violations of federal
statutes.
1-6. the example given in the question demonstrates one way in which
computerization has refined cost estimation and thus has impacted managerial accounting.
however, it has impacted almost every area of managerial accounting (and decision making).
consider, for example, the emergence of such concepts as just-in-time systems, computer
integrated manufacturing systems, manufacturing resource planning systems, target costing,
and activity based costing – all of these require it to support managerial decision making.
forecasting and budgeting are other areas of managerial accounting impacted by advances in
technology, as are the many applications of spreadsheet software, decision support systems,
and expert systems.
universities are also impacted by the many advances in it. you might have students type
“university use of scorecards” in their favorite browser to discover the many uses this tool
offers to administrators in an academic environment. the search results show a variety of uses
at such universities as the ohio state university, csu-stanislaus, clemson university, colorado
state university, san jose state university, and others. for example, the university of denver
adapted a version of the balanced scorecard to evaluate their student life assessment plan (slap),
which focuses on learning outcomes. san jose state university uses a scorecard to evaluate and
continuously improve their online programs.
1-7. the aicpa website lists hundreds of potential assurance services for cpas to offer.
these include trust services and information integrity, guidance on audit data analytics,
xbrl assurance services, and systems and organization controls for
, Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems, 14th Edition, by Simkin, Worrell and Savage
cybersecurity,
information systems, 14th edition by mark simkin, james
worrell, arline savage
, Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems, 14th Edition, by Simkin, Worrell and Savage
Chapter 1
ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND THE ACCOUNTANT
discussion questions
1-1. the answer to this question will vary with each university’s location. however, it
is likely most students will reveal that their parents are employed in non-manufacturing
jobs.
instructors may wish to emphasize that the large numbers of service sector employees and
knowledge workers reflect a trend.
1-2. this question encourages students to think about some of the information
reporting limitations imposed by the traditional accounting general ledger architecture. other
business activities (or business events) that do not require journal entries include
(1) obtaining a line of credit, (2) issuing purchase requisitions or purchase orders, (3)
signing contracts, (4) hiring a new executive, and (5) sending financial information to
investors or bank loan personnel.
instructors may wish to point out that important information about a company’s business
activities may be included in an annual report outside the financial statements. the management
letters and footnotes in annual reports may reveal much about a company’s future prospects.
managers have access to much more information than what is published in financial reports.
whether or not they would like to have access to more non-financial information, or if they
would prefer that the accounting information system capture data about business events rather
than accounting transactions, is debatable. it may also be a function of the accounting system in
a particular company. investors may wish to have more information available to them but the
downside is that too much information can be just as problematic as too little information.
1-3. the financial accounting systems we have known for more than 500 years are
changing dramatically as a result of advances in information technology and financial
accounting software. for example, databases allow accountants to collect and store all the data
(accounting transaction data and non-financial data) about a business activity or event in one
system, allowing those needing such information to retrieve it quickly, efficiently, and
specifically in any format they wish. financial data can also be more easily linked to
nonfinancial data because of database technology. thus, it is likely that financial reporting will
undergo tremendous change in the next few years as we learn to use technology, including
artificial intelligence, more effectively in the design of aiss.
erp systems are another example of the information age's impact on financial accounting. now,
organizations capture more financial and non-financial data and produce more information than
ever before. this allows companies to integrate their information systems, better forecast
everything from raw materials requirements to finished product production, and to perform
more sophisticated analyses of important business functions.
for instance, sales can be examined at many different levels and organized according to
, Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems, 14th Edition, by Simkin, Worrell and Savage
criteria such as geography, customer, product, or salesperson.one of the most important changes
in aiss is the way these systems will gather financial information in the future. although many
of these systems will continue to capture data in traditional batch mode or at pos sites, we
expect newer systems to collect more of it on mobile devices—for example, cell phones, pdas,
and digital cameras. because more employees and working at home these days, “digital
commuting” may be another trend.
1-4. the objective of a company’s financial statements is to communicate relevant
financial information to such external parties as stockholders, investors, and government
agencies. issuing financial statements in xbrl formats contributes to this objective by making
such financial data more searchable, comparable, informative, and therefore useful. also,
because xbrl enables companies to use standard tags to identify specific accounting values, the
language itself imposes a greater degree of standardization in the informational content of the
reports. finally, xbrl helps government agencies gather financial data that are more consistent,
easier to understand, self-checking, and more quickly communicated. chapter 2 contains more
about xbrl, including the idea that the language also enables its users to verify accounting
relationships as assets = liabilities + stockholder equity.
1-5. the questions asked here about suspicious activity reporting (sar) require opinions
from students. regarding the first question, which asks if sar activity should be a legal matter,
there is little room for disagreement because so much of sar is mandated by federal legislation
such as the annunzio-wylie anti-money laundering act of 1992, the bank secrecy act of 1996,
and the patriot act of 2001. although there are statistics on the number of sar filings, less is
known about how much of what appears to be suspicious are in fact violations of federal
statutes.
1-6. the example given in the question demonstrates one way in which
computerization has refined cost estimation and thus has impacted managerial accounting.
however, it has impacted almost every area of managerial accounting (and decision making).
consider, for example, the emergence of such concepts as just-in-time systems, computer
integrated manufacturing systems, manufacturing resource planning systems, target costing,
and activity based costing – all of these require it to support managerial decision making.
forecasting and budgeting are other areas of managerial accounting impacted by advances in
technology, as are the many applications of spreadsheet software, decision support systems,
and expert systems.
universities are also impacted by the many advances in it. you might have students type
“university use of scorecards” in their favorite browser to discover the many uses this tool
offers to administrators in an academic environment. the search results show a variety of uses
at such universities as the ohio state university, csu-stanislaus, clemson university, colorado
state university, san jose state university, and others. for example, the university of denver
adapted a version of the balanced scorecard to evaluate their student life assessment plan (slap),
which focuses on learning outcomes. san jose state university uses a scorecard to evaluate and
continuously improve their online programs.
1-7. the aicpa website lists hundreds of potential assurance services for cpas to offer.
these include trust services and information integrity, guidance on audit data analytics,
xbrl assurance services, and systems and organization controls for
, Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems, 14th Edition, by Simkin, Worrell and Savage
cybersecurity,
