Page 32 - Accounting Information Systems

1
chapter

The Information System:

An Accountant’s

Perspective

nlike many other accounting subjects, such as
intermediate accounting, accounting information
U systems (AIS) lacks a well-defined body of knowl-
edge. Much controversy exists among college faculty as to
what should and should not be covered in the AIS course. Learning Objectives
To some extent, however, the controversy is being resolved
through recent legislation. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) After studying this chapter, you should:
of 2002 established new corporate governance regulations
Understand the primary infor-
and standards for public companies registered with the
mation flows within the business
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This wide-
environment.
sweeping legislation impacts public companies, their man-
agement, and their auditors. Of particular importance to AIS Understand the difference between
students is the impact of SOX on internal control standards accounting information systems and
and related auditing procedures. Whereas SOX does not management information systems.
define the entire content of the AIS course, it does identify Understand the difference between a
critical areas of study that need to be included for account- financial transaction and a non-
ants. These topics and more are covered in several chapters financial transaction.
of this text. Know the principal features of the
The purpose of this chapter is to place the subject of AIS general model for information
in perspective for accountants. Toward this end, the chapter systems.
is divided into four major sections, each dealing with a
Be familiar with the functional areas
different aspect of information systems. The first section
of a business and their principal
explores the information environment of the firm. It intro-
activities.
duces basic systems concepts, identifies the types of infor-
mation used in business, and describes the flows of Understand the stages in the evolu-
information through an organization. This section also tion of information systems.
presents a framework for viewing AIS in relation to other Understand the relationship between
information systems components. The second section of the external auditing, internal auditing,
chapter deals with the impact of organizational structure on and information technology
AIS. Here we examine the business organization as a system auditing.
of functional areas. The accounting function plays an impor-
tant role as the purveyor of financial information for the rest
of the organization. The third section reviews the evolution
of information systems. Over the years, AIS has been repre-
sented by a number of different approaches or models.