ACC217 Accounting Information Systems Assignment Sample | SUSS

(ACC217) Synopsis

ACC217 Accounting Information Systems is a course that focuses on teaching students about Accounting information systems. Here in this course, you will learn how you can leverage information technology to provide you the useful data related to accounting and any other information that is required for decision making. There are many terms that you will be taught in this course, including reengineering, process modelling, security, controls and data modelling. Here you will be made a professional of AIS, as here you will have the opportunity of learning, implementing, selecting, evaluating, and using AIS packages.

Accounting Information Systems (ACC217) Sample

This is an Accounting Information System ACC217 sample, where you can get knowledge about all the learning outcomes and assignment tasks. By going through this sample, you can even understand the writing style of our experts who are there to provide assignment help and help you score good grades. This sample even shows how much knowledge they hold for this course. As everything written in the sample regarding this assignment task is written with their own knowledge and in their own style, you can go through the sample to decide whether they are perfect for completing the assignment you are stuck with in this course. 

Important Note: Do not copy-paste information from this sample, as this is published on the internet and can be accessed by plagiarism checking  tools. If you have copied information from this sample for your assignment, it will be detected in your content, which will result in penalties and will even lead you an integrity issue. This is why it's better if you avoid copying anything from here. If you want, you can simply take ACC217 assignment help from our experts, who are always ready to help you.  

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 1: 

Answer: 

An Accounting Information System (AIS) is a special sub-system in an organisation that is created to gather, store, handle, process, and present financial and accounting information.

The main aim of it is to assist in the effective and precise accounting of financial transactions and to provide vital financial data that aids in decision-making and financial reporting, and adherence to regulatory standards.

Functions

With a good AIS, it is ensured that all the financial data of your company is stored in the system with maximum confidentiality and accuracy. It also allows the respective employees to read and retrieve this sensitive data when the need arises.

Let’s understand various functions of the accounting information system:

1. Gather and Process Data: It is the phase in which the accounting information system records the data of cash sales and cash purchases. Receivables, payables, payroll, invoices and so on. The computerised system examines the entire information of debits and credits and converts them into bits of information that are meaningful.
2. Prepare reports to the Management: AIS would generate various financial records, such as income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, as well as budget reports. These are very vital reports to investors and the organisation. Management individuals, such as the sales managers, the production managers, the financial analysts and the heads of other departments, will be able to make their decisions based on the reports created by an AIS. They can evaluate the performance and condition of the company financially. By so doing, they will be capable of setting feasible business goals with respect to the available resources.
3.  Keep different departments in touch: A shared dashboard can be created across different departments that are interdependent with the help of an AIS. To give an example, the sales department can be allowed to post its sales budget to the inventory team. Subsequently, they are able to take actions of inventory of products or purchase of items. Later, invoices will be prepared in the department concerned. This will be made available to any department that will need it.
4. Exert Domain over the Procession of Information: The accounting information system is concerned with information about the customers, vendors, suppliers, as well as the company itself, which is sensitive. With it, you can control the degree of data flow. AIS assists the business owners with the definition of who has access to what information on the financial condition of the company. You will have full internal control of the information present throughout AIS.
5. Identify Fraudulent transactions: AIS will have measures to control unauthorised access, data manipulation, and fraud. This may include user authentication, data encryption and audit trails. As an AIS records all the financial operations of a firm, it is an easy task to notice any irregular and unnatural movement of funds. This enables the businesses to research any anomalies in good time. Investing in an accounting information system of quality can save you millions of dollars.
6. Compliance and Audit Regulatory: AIS assists companies to meet the regulatory demands by supplying the relevant financial information to file their taxes, have audits and other regulatory reports. All financial changes and transactions are recorded in the system; hence, it becomes easier to carry out audits and reviews.

Learning Outcomes Assignment Task 2

The central re-evaluation and radical redesign of business processes to generate monumental changes in the areas of critical performance measures such as cost, quality, service, and speed of operations is known as Business Process Reengineering principles. BPR, unlike incremental improvements, entails an overhaul of the existing processes to bring out any form of inefficiency and redundancy in them.

Revenue cycle reengineering

• Arrange around results: Restructure the process around the result, i.e. receive payment from the customer instead of individual steps such as send invoice, receive payment, and apply payment. This can be in terms of job combination and allowing an individual or cross-functional group to oversee the whole process of order-to-cash.
• Collect data at the point of origin: Technology can be used to enable the customer to key in payment details into a system, or the salesperson can key in all the required information at the point of sale. This gets rid of duplication of data and minimises mistakes.
• Decentralised decision-making: Frontline employees should be given the authority to make decisions, including providing flexible payment arrangements or settling billing concerns, without necessarily going to the various levels of management.

Reengineering of the expenditure cycle

• Organise around results: Re-engineer the procurement process to concentrate on the result of the purchase of the correct goods at the correct price at the correct time, as opposed to a series of activities such as: create purchase order, approve purchase order, and receive invoice.
• Give the user power: Give the departments or employees who require the goods or services to do some purchasing duties themselves to some extent. This may involve getting a manager to make a purchase in a self-service portal.
• Manage disseminated resources as centralised: Centralise activities such as vendor negotiation and pricing to achieve superior bulk discounts. Nevertheless, local offices are still able to decide on local quantities and the timing of ordering.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 3 

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is supported by IT in terms of offering analysis, automation, and integration tools, which enable fundamental process redesign. In particular, BPR with the help of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) can be done using business process modelling, which allows making decisions based on the data and implementing improvements and automation. The BPR objectives of establishing more efficient and effective workflows are supported by using IT and AIS in the eradication of unnecessary steps, reorganisation of the tasks, and receiving information at the source. 

How IT supports BPR

• Process analysis: Information systems can be analysed and used in the form of tools such as AI-powered process mining to determine the bottlenecks and improvement areas in the process.
• Automation: IT allows repetitive tasks to be automated, which will lessen the manual labour of such tasks and facilitate efficiency and accuracy.
• Integration: IT systems are applicable to integrate the various components within a process that previously existed in silo and facilitated smooth workflow and quicker cycles.

How AIS supports BPR

• Process modelling and reengineering: AIS courses are based on IT-based modelling, reengineering, and management of the business processes, in particular, the processes related to accounting and financial data.
• Automation of accounting processes: AIS can be used to run accounting functions (such as processing of transactions, financial reporting, and checking balances) with more strategic roles of accounting staff.
• Improved decision support: AIS offers managers real-time financial information that can be utilised in reengineering processes to perform better and allocate resources.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 4

One of the most important computer frauds is identity theft and credit card fraud, which are related to unauthorised use of personal information. Examples of common computer abuses and attacks include malware distribution, phishing and hacking (unauthorised access). These may fall under unauthorised access, data-related attacks (such as malware), and social engineering strategies. 

Key types of computer fraud

• Identity theft: The act of stealing personal information of a person to impersonate them, mostly with the motive to obtain financial gains.
• Credit card fraud: This is the unauthorised utilisation of a credit or debit card to purchase or access money.
• Wire fraud: This involves exploiting electronic communications to defraud someone of money.
• ATM fraud: Fraud involving the manipulation of ATMs or the fraudulent withdrawal of funds by the use of stolen card information.

Computer abuses and attacks

• Malware: A suspicious computer software that is developed to destroy, interrupt, or covertly access a computer or computer network.
• Viruses: infect other files and spread out of control.
• Worms: Transmitted through networks automatically.
• Trojans: Again, they masquerade as legitimate software to deceive users into installing them.
• Ransomware: This is used to encrypt files of a victim, and then a ransom is demanded to decrypt them.
• Social engineering: Deceiving people into giving out confidential information or doing something.
• Phishing: The act of deceiving people to give out their personal information through the use of fake emails, messages, or websites.

Vishing: Phishing via telephone.

• Unauthorised access: Gaining illegal access to a computer or a system.
• Hacking: This is a wide term that can be used to describe the unauthorised entry into systems to steal information or cause havoc.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 5

Every type of IT control has its own method of providing security and control for the admin, lets go through each one of them.

1. Preventive security controls

Starting from preventive controls, which are proactive measures specially designed for stopping any security incidents before they even occur. Basically, these controls work on reducing the chances of any potential security breach, they do such by enforcing policies that restrict users from doing any unauthorised activities.

Some of the major examples of Preventive security controls are:

• Encryption of data: This protects sensitive information, and it makes sure that all of this information stays unreadable and can only be accessed using description keys.
• Antivirus software: These are used for detecting and avoiding any type of malicious files before they cause any harm to your software.
• Access control systems: In this role-based access is enforced, which makes sure that only authorised personnel get access to sensitive information, data or any systems.
• Security Awareness training: This is basically a training for educating employees on the practice of cybersecurity, for example, recognising phishing attempts.
• Firewalls: This helps in blocking unauthorised traffic that is trying to enter or leave the network.

Preventive Controls is a kind of first level of defence, which starts helping the organisation to minimise the risks and avoid the costs that occur due to the incident.

Preventive controls act as the first line of defence, helping organisations to minimise risks and avoid costly incidents. By reducing the attack surface, they play a crucial role in maintaining security resilience.

2. Detective security controls

Detective controls are designed to detect and report on security attacks to organisations, either in real time or after the occurrence. Although these controls cannot stop the incidents, they are important in identifying and reducing the threats in time.

Examples of detective security controls are:

• Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Scan network traffic to detect any suspicious activity or possible intrusion.
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: This is used for scanning events and logs for various origins, which are there for identifying anomalies.
• Audit Logs: This is used for maintaining records of all the activity that the user is doing. It is important as it helps in identifying activities by any unauthorised party.
• Surveillance systems: This is simply having CCTV or any kind of digital surveillance that can easily detect any type of physical violation of security.
• Network monitoring tools: Determine strange patterns, including spikes in data transfer that could be evidence of an attempt at data exfiltration.

Rapid incident response involves the use of detective controls. By identifying threats early, organisations can contain them before they deteriorate and limit the damage and downtime.

3. Remedial security measures

After a security incident has taken place, corrective controls are used. They are aimed at putting the systems and data back to normal operation and can avoid the occurrence of the same threat.

The following are some of the examples of corrective security controls:

• Incident response plans: Describe the actions to be followed in case of a breach to cause minimal harm and be able to recover as quickly as possible.
• Data backups: Data should be able to be restored in case of loss/corruption.
• Patching vulnerabilities: Upgrade any software or systems with known security vulnerabilities.
• Disaster recovery plans: Develop guidelines to restart operations after a huge incident.
• Forensic analysis: Find out the cause of the breach to avoid such incidents in the future.

Corrective controls also enable the organisations to recover from the incidents with minimum disruption. They are also critical in enhancing future security against threats because they close their security loopholes.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 6

In order to achieve the first learning outcome, students should be able to describe and identify the fundamental business operations that take place in the revenue and expenditure cycles and the most important information processing processes that occur in each of the cycles.​

Revenue Cycle: Processing and Activities

Revenue cycle is a collection of processes that a business undertakes in order to sell goods or services and receive payment from customers.​

• Sales Order Processing: Accepting the orders of the customers, verifying the inventory, and assembling products to be shipped.​
• Shipping: This is the delivery of goods or services to the customers once the order has been processed.​
• Billing and Accounts receivable: Coming up with invoices and monitoring the accounts receivable due.​
• Cash Collection: Accepts payment of money by the customers and records the money in the accounts.​

Activities in this cycle are information processing activities, which involve recording orders, updating inventory, issuing invoices and matching payments with invoices. Internal controls assist in letting transactions be substantiated and properly documented.​

Expenditure Cycle: Processing and Activities

The expenditure cycle is the process that deals with the process of purchasing goods or services and paying suppliers.​

• Purchase Requisition and Ordering: Determining what to purchase, the choice of suppliers and placing purchase orders.​
• Getting Goods/Services: Receiving against the orders to verify the delivery and quality of Goods/Services.​
• Invoice Verification: The supplier invoices are matched with purchase orders and receipts to verify and verify the accuracy of the invoices before payment.​
• Cash Disbursement: Paying and giving authority to the suppliers according to the terms that are discussed.

Some tasks in this processing of information will involve recording of purchases, updating inventory and checking invoices and making payments. Internal controls aim at ensuring that there is proper authorisation and proper recording to avoid fraud and errors.​

These cycles enable the businesses to have a smooth management of the sales and purchases so that the financial information is properly captured and processed to make decisions and reports.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 7

Business processes are made safer and reliable with the help of a number of control measures that Accounting Information Systems (AIS) deal with the threats in the cycle of revenues and expenditures.​

AIS safeguard the revenue cycle by:

• Separating Duties: This is to ensure that different individuals handle various operations such as sales, invoicing, and the collection of payments.​
• Authorisation Protocols: Authorised employees are only permitted to approve sales or credit, and this minimises the possibilities of fraud or uncollectable sales.​
• Digital Signatures and Automated Checks: Sales orders and payments are checked with the help of digital signatures and field checks, and completeness checks to ensure that data is valid and correct.​
• Access Controls: Restricting the supply of sensitive customer and transaction information, based on passwords and software privileges.​
• File Backups & Encryption: To ensure that sales and payment information is not lost or modified, or compromised with frequent backups and encryption.​

AIS safeguard the expenditure cycle by:

• Approval of Purchases: Only authorised employees are allowed to submit or approve the orders, and this will minimise the risks associated with purchasing unnecessary or overpriced products.​
• Purchase Order, receipts and supplier invoice matching: Automated invoice verification verifies purchase orders, receipts, and supplier invoices before payment and identifies errors or duplicates.​
• Inventory Controls: Automated inventory records all the movement that can prevent stockouts, and also purchases.​
• Supplier Performance Tracking: AIS also generates supplier reports to verify the quality, price, and history of the suppliers to purchase from.​

AIS therefore minimises the errors in hands, curbs fraud and secures company resources since all the activities are automatically tracked and strict controls are met at each step. This renders the revenue and expenditure cycles considerably safer and more effective for the organisations.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 8 

Flowcharts are diagrams applied in Accounting Information Systems (AIS) to have an easy understanding, assessment and record of the way information passes and is handled in a business. They assist in the simplification of complex systems into simple steps that can be followed by all.​

How Flowcharts Help in AIS

• Learning Systems: Flowcharts represent every action that serves every process to enable users to view the flow of information, its origin, transformation, and conclusion. As an illustration, a revenue cycle flow chart will demonstrate the route between the process of receiving a sales order and the dispatching of a bill and subsequent payment.​
• Assessment of Systems: A flowchart allows one to see the areas that are prone to bottlenecks, lack of control or where errors may occur. Flowcharts allow managers and auditors to verify whether the process has been established properly and safely.​
• Recording Systems: Flowcharts give a clear record of how the key activities are addressed, and this assists in training, troubleshooting and audits. The flow is simple to read and comprehend by the use of standard flowchart symbols representing documents, decisions, processes, and storage.​

Even very complicated processes of information are easily understood and manageable with the help of flowcharts, assisting the business to make improvements and adhere to certain regulations, such as Sarbanes-Oxley. This renders flowcharts an easy but effective means of documenting and enhancing AIS.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 9

The use of IT controls on accounting information systems serves to ensure that the information is safe through the utilisation of effective tools and methods that provide a reasonable assurance of security.​

Popular Information Security IT Controls

• Access Controls: Control access to information in systems, typically by passwords, user roles, and permission rules. Access is only given to authorised users and which helps in preventing abuse of sensitive data.​
• Encryption: Secures information by encrypting it into an incoherent message. The information can be unlocked only by the correct key holder.​
• Firewalls and Antivirus: Ease prohibited access to networks and computers and prevent malware and computer viruses within the network and damaging information.​
• Audit Trails and Monitoring: The activities done in the system are documented. Frequent review assists in the detection and correction of issues or suspicious activity.​
• Backup and Recovery: It is advisable to make copies of important data regularly so that it can be recovered in case of loss or destruction.​
• Secure Configuration: Default settings can be changed, and unwanted features should be disabled to minimise the possibilities of attacks.​
• Training and Awareness: This is where the employees are trained on how to handle information without putting themselves in danger or being in a position to identify threats, such as phishing.​

Such controls assure organisations that their information is secured, which minimises risks and helps organisations comply with security regulations and the law. IT controls are reviewed and continually enhanced in order to match emerging threats and technological changes.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 11

Within an Accounting Information Systems (AIS) setting, information processing activities within the revenue and expenditure cycles are strictly designed and largely automated to facilitate accuracy and efficiency.​

Revenue Cycle Operations

• Receiving and Processing Sales Orders: Customer orders are received and entered into the system. These orders are verified in terms of price, stock and customer credit approval to be processed.​
• Shipping and Delivery: Approved orders get shipped to the warehouse where they are picked and shipped. The AIS synchronises inventory books and eases the process of tracking products until delivery.​
• Billing and Invoicing: Once the shipping is complete, the invoices are created and mailed to the customers. The system compares shipped goods and the order details and documents the outstanding value.​
• Accounts receivable and Cash collection: The AIS will monitor the payments owed, remind them, and record the payments received. It is capable of automating the deposit reconciliation and records.​

Operations of the Expenditure Cycle

• Purchase Requisition and Ordering: Purchase orders are made to the business units, and authorised purchases are made with vendors. These requests and orders are registered in AIS, budgets are verified, and the purchase orders are issued.​Receiving Goods/Services: The AIS compares the received goods/services with the orders and automatically updates the inventory. The system can warn against discrepancies or spoiled goods.​
• Invoice Processing: AIS only compares invoices of suppliers with purchase orders and receipts. Any mistakes or red flags of duplicated invoices are raised.​
• Cash Disbursement: The payments are planned, made and recorded in the system, with the approval being made according to the company policy.​

Significance of AIS Automation

AIS automation enhances speed, decreases the number of manual errors, and facilitates standard internal controls such as authorisation, duties separation, and real-time monitoring of transactions. What is left is credible, current financial information for the management and reporting.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 12

Resource-Event: Agent data model is a conceptual and graphical model in AIS, which is used to bring order to database data of business processes such as sales or buying.

It is oriented to three primary things:

• Resources: Basically, what is utilised by the business or what it donates, whichever is inventory or cash.
• Events: What are the transpired sales, purchases or receipt of cash?
• Agents: Name your agents, whether they are customers, employees or suppliers.

The following is a very simplistic REA model of a sales process in AIS:

• Resources: Inventory, Cash
• Events: Sale, Cash Receipt
• Agents: Customer, Employee

The relationships of the REA data model are:

• Sale transfers the Inventory of the company to the Customer.
• Cash Receipt is the transfer of Cash between the Customer and the company.
• Every Sale is made up of an Employee (selling) and a customer (buying).
• Employees and Customers deal with each Cash Receipt.

At Sale, there is a reduction in Inventory, and there is an increase in Cash from Cash receipts.

• Sale is associated with the Customer and Employee.
• Customer and Employee are associated with Cash Receipt.

With the aid of these diagrams, the AIS database becomes simpler to design, comprehend, and manage, which will minimise the complexity and ensure that all significant aspects of business processes are represented effectively.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 13 

The common execution cycle of an AIS/ERP package is to follow a few systematic stages that would help in a smooth execution and optimal utilisation within an organisation.​

1. Discovery and Approval: Create a project team that consists of employees of critical departments such as the accounting department, the IT department, and the management department. Identify and analyse ERP solutions according to the needs of the company and obtain the consent of senior management with references to the cost, time frames, and advantages.
2. Planning: Complete deals with ERP vendors and strategies to upgrade the infrastructure where necessary. Develop new business procedures that take advantage of ERP. Prepare project plans on timelines, tasks and allocation of resources.
3. Needs Analysis: Perform thorough research of the existing processes through interviews and observations. Carry out gap analysis between business requirements and the ERP functions. Specify the functional and technical requirements of documents.
4. System Customisation and Design: Business process-based configuration of ERP modules. Only customise when there are gaps which have been spotted above. Database structures, reporting and design security.
5. Data Migration: Design and implement the process of transferring old data from the old systems to the new ERP. Proofread the data to avoid mistakes.
6. Testing: Go through system integration testing and also user acceptance testing of your performance and functionality. Fix any issues or bugs that are found during testing.
7. Training: Assign end users according to their roles and the complexity of the system.
8. Go-Live and Deployment: Complete system final readiness. Implement the ERP system and closely observe the operations. Support the transition of users.
9. Post Go-Live Support: Provide continuous technical support, system updates and review performance. Measure the success of the project and determine areas which should be improved continuously. This is an organised method of minimising risk, stakeholder engagement, and aligning the ERP system to business needs to achieve better efficiency and decision-making.

Learning Outcomes Assignment Task 14

To work as a team, in particular ERP or AIS project, the necessary knowledge and interpersonal skills are:

Key Knowledge Areas

• Knowledge of the business process of the project (e.g. accounting, procurement).
• Understanding of the ERP/AIS system functionality and project objectives.
• Role and responsibility awareness in the team.

Significant Interpersonal Skills.

• Communication: Proper and effective communication, where sharing of feedback and thoughts should be completely transparent. One of the most important factors of collaboration is to listen and go through different opinions.
• Collaboration: The skill to work in collaboration with various stakeholders, respecting a variety of opinions and making a contribution to shared objectives.
• Flexibility: Readiness to change the priorities, needs, or problems in the best interest of the project and organisation.
• Conflict Resolution: Proper management of disagreements by engaging in peaceful conversation and solving problems to keep the team on track and remain positive.
• Responsibility: Becoming accountable by attending to given duties and working quality and punctually.
• Problem-Solving: Anticipating problems, providing solutions, and advocating solutions to the team.
• Team Building: Mutual support and trusting each other to build a productive work environment.

The creation of such skills creates a sense of trust, improvement of productivity, and coordinates the team with prospects of success in project implementation, especially the complex and collaborative ERP implementation.

Learning Outcome Assignment Task 15

The skills of written and oral communication, particularly in the case of ERP or AIS projects, require several important skills to demonstrate proficiency:

• Written Communication Skills

Preparing reports, emails, documentation, and project plans clearly and concisely in a way that can be readily understood by all stakeholders.​

Message modification that suits various audiences by using language and format that appeals to their positions and level of knowledge.​

Information sharing must be on a regular basis with the help of different tools like newsletters, collaboration platforms, and structured status updates. 

• Oral expressive abilities

Clear explanation of technical problems and project updates during meetings or presentations so that the non-technical stakeholders can comprehend what is being said.​

To establish comprehension and trust, actively and carefully listen to team members or client feedback and concerns.​

Managing negotiations, conflict resolution without causing tensions, and stimulating dialogue in the project team to continue working and progress.​

• Supporting Skills

Finding simple business consequences out of very technical ideas (translation of technical language to business language).​

Changing the style of communication depending on the audience, context, and the stage of the project so as to make the messages effective.​

Through storytelling and pre-planned presentations to keep stakeholders involved and focused on project objectives.​

These communication skills will be effective in keeping the ERP projects on track, aligning different stakeholders, and facilitating positive collaboration that will result in a successful project outcome.