Summary
Samenvatting Accounting Information System: FCT
- Course
- Institution
Samenvatting voor het vak Accounting Information System: Foundation Course Theory.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
eliash
Content preview
Accounting Information Systems Foundation Course(1) R&S Chapter 1: Accounting Information Systems: An Overview
Accounting information system is a system that collects, records, stores and processes data to produce
information for decision makers and consist of:
• People who use the system
• Processes (procedures and instructions)
• Data
• Software
• Infrastructure
• Controls (including security) to safeguard information
A well-designed AIS can add value to an organization by:
• Improving the quality and reducing the costs of products or services
• Improving efficiency
• Sharing knowledge
• Improving efficiency and effectiveness of its supply chain
• Improving the internal control structure
• Improving decision making
R&S Chapter 2: Overview of transaction processing and enterprise resource planning systems
The operations performed on data to generate meaningful and relevant information are referred to
collectively as the data processing cycle. The four operations are data input, data storage, data
processing and information output.
The first step in processing input is to capture transaction data and enter them into the system. The data
capture process is usually triggered by a business activity. Data must be collected about three facets:
1. Each activity of interest
2. The resource(s) affected by each activity
3. The people who participate in each activity
The second step is to storage the data created. To function properly, an organization must have ready
and easy access to its data. Therefore it is important to understand how data are organized, stored and
how it can be accessed. Some basic concepts are general ledgers, chart of accounts, journals and audit
trails. Walk through this concepts on page 60. Once business activity data have been entered to the
system, they must be processed to keep the databases current. It’s all about creating, reading, updating
and deleting data.
The final step in the data processing cycle is information output. Data are facts or symbols and only
become information if they have meaning, practical use or relevant news value for the recipient. Reports
can be made to provide information about a business activity and can be used to evaluate performance
and reward systems.
Enterprise resource planning system: system that integrate all aspects of an organization’s activities –
such as accounting, human resources, marketing – into one system. This system facilitates information
among the company’s various business functions and manages communications with stakeholders.
1
,L&L Chapter 1: Organizations, management and the networked enterprise
Information technology (IT) consist of all the hardware and software that a firm needs to use in order to
achieve its business objectives. It can be defined as a set of interrelated components that collect,
process, store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization.
Three activities of information systems produce information organization’s needs.
• Input: captures raw data from organization or external environment
• Processing: converts raw data into meaningful form
• Output: transfers processed information to people or activities to use it.
• Feedback is required to evaluate or correct the input stage.
Organizations are trying to become more competitive and efficient by digitally enabling their core
business processes and evolving into digital firms. There is a growing interdependence between the
ability to use information technology and the ability to implement corporate strategies and achieve
corporate goals. Firms invest heavily in information systems to achieve six strategic business objectives:
• Operational excellence
• New products, services, and business models
• Customer and supplier intimacy
• Improved decision making
• Competitive advantage
• Survival
To fully understand information systems, you must understand the broader organization, management
and information technology dimensions of systems and their ability to provide solutions for decision
making and control. In order to obtain meaningful value from information systems, organizations must
support their technology investments with appropriate complementary investments in organizations and
management.
Information systems comes out of different perspectives, conflicts, compromises and agreements. These
parts combined form the organization. Management’s job is to make sense out of the many situations
faced by organizations, make decisions and formulate action plans to solve these challenges. Information
technology provides data for this decision making and control.
L&L Chapter 2: Global e-business and collaboration
Business processes refer to the manner in which work is organized, coordinated and focused to produce
a valuable product or service. These activities are supported by flows of material, information and
knowledge among the participants in business processes. There are multiple ways information
technology improves business processes:
• Increasing efficiency of existing processes • Automating steps
• Changing flow of information • Replacing sequential steps with parallel steps
• Eliminating delays in decision making • Supporting new business models
2
,L&L Chapter 3: Information systems, organizations and strategy
There are four generic strategies, each of which often is enabled by using information technology and systems:
Strategy Description Example
Low-cost leadership Use information systems to produce products and services at a lower price than competitors Walmart
while enhancing quality and level of service
Product differentiation Use information systems to differentiate products, and enable new services and products Uber, Apple
Focus on market niche Use information systems to enable a focused strategy on a single market niche; specialize Hilton Hotels
Customer and supplier intimacy Use information systems to develop strong ties and loyalty with customers and suppliers Toyota
Because of the Internet, the traditional competitive forces are still at work, but competitive rivalry has become much more intense. This
technology is based on universal standards that any company can use, making it easy for rivals to compete on price alone and new competitors
to enter the market. Because information is available for everyone, the bargaining power of customer has raised. This development is a big
threat to some industries, such as travel agencies and printed encyclopedia. However, it also created new markets and provides new
opportunities for building brands with very large and loyal customer bases. Amazon, YouTube and Facebook are examples.
Although the four generic strategies give some ideas, it does not provide an idea of what exactly to do and with which methodology. Here’s
where the business value chain model is helpful. This model highlight specific activities in the business where information systems are most likely
to have a strategic impact. These activities can be categorized as
either primary activities or support activities.
The value chain framework is made up of five primary activities -
inbound operations, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and
sales, service - and four secondary activities - procurement and
purchasing, human resource management, technological
development and company infrastructure. A value chain analysis is
when a business identifies its primary and secondary activities and
sub activities, and evaluates the efficiency of each point. A value
chain analysis can reveal linkages, dependencies and other patterns
in the value chain.
3
, The firm’s value chain is linked to the value chains of its suppliers distributors and customers. After all,
the performance of most firms depends not only on what goes on inside a firm but also on how well the
firm coordinates with direct and indirect suppliers, delivery firms and customers. By working with other
firms, industry participants can use information technology to develop industrywide standards for
exchanging information or business transactions electronically. Such efforts increase efficiency and
decrease unwanted information-asymmetry.
The value web is a collection of independent firms using
highly synchronized information technology to
coordinate value chains to produce products or service
collectively. This approach is more customer driven and
less linear operation than traditional value chain.
Internet and networking technology have inspired
strategies that take advantages of firm’s abilities to
create networks or network with each other. Network-
based strategies include the use of network economics, a
virtual company model and business ecosystems.
Network economics refers to market situations where
the economic value being produced depends on the
number of people using a product. For certain products
and markets, the real economic value comes from the
fact that other people use the product. Email has value because it allows us to communicate with
millions of others. From this perspective, information technology can be strategically useful in terms of
customer intimacy and market opportunities.
Virtual company model refers to a company which uses networks to link people, assets and ideas
enabling it to ally with other companies to create and distribute products and services without being
limited by traditional organizational boundaries or physical locations. This is useful when a company
finds it cheaper to acquire products, services or capabilities from an external vendor pr when it needs to
move quickly to exploit new market opportunities and lacks time and resources to respond on its own.
Business ecosystems is another term for these loosely coupled but interdependent networks of
suppliers, distributors, outsourcing firms, transportation service firms and technology manufacturers. AN
example of a business ecosystem is the mobile internet platform. In this ecosystem there are four
industries: device makers, wireless telecommunication firms, independent software applications
providers and internet service providers. Each has its own interest but these elements together create a
competitive new mobile digital platform ecosystem.
4
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller eliash. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $14.12. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
64438 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now