Unit Outline* ACCT8532. Accounting Information Systems. Semester 2, 2011 Crawley. Mr Kevin Burns

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1 Unit Outline* ACCT8532 Accounting Information Systems Semester 2, 2011 Crawley Mr Kevin Burns Business School * This Unit Outline should be read in conjunction with the Business School Unit Outline Supplement available on the Current Students web site

2 ACCT8532/Crawley/KB/ All material reproduced herein has been copied in accordance with and pursuant to a statutory licence administered by Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), granted to the University of Western Australia pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Copying of this material by students, except for fair dealing purposes under the Copyright Act, is prohibited. For the purposes of this fair dealing exception, students should be aware that the rule allowing copying, for fair dealing purposes, of 10% of the work, or one chapter/article, applies to the original work from which the excerpt in this course material was taken, and not to the course material itself. The University of Western Australia

3 UNIT DESCRIPTION Introduction Welcome to Accounting Information Systems ACCT8532, a compulsory unit in the Master of Professional Accounting and Master of Professional Accounting (Advanced). This unit focuses on the role of accounting systems within an organization and puts material from other accounting units into practical context. You will gain a wider view of accounting systems, their present role and the impact that future developments (especially technological) are likely to have on them. Unit content This unit is about the interplay between accounting information and business processes within organisations. Data is gathered from business processes as they happen. The data is stored, processed and reported to provide information from which decisions are made that affect how business processes operate. Some generic cycles of activities are found in most organisations and these are analysed. Tools that make it possible to explore specific aspects of the business processes are introduced. Accounting information is also used for statutory reporting and computer based systems are used in most organisations to provide the basis from which these requirements can be satisfied. Such systems are considered without getting really technical. Lastly all reporting depends on the quality of the information, which in turn is determined by corporate governance and the internal controls built into the systems that collect and store the data. Ethical issues and basic safeguards for systems that collect and store data are explored for each type of generic business cycle. The goal of the unit Students will gain an understanding of how accounting information systems work so they can measure their cost-effectiveness, assess their reliability and the reliability of the information produced for decision making purposes. Learning outcomes On completion of this unit, you should be able to: Build on their understanding of the role of accounting within an organization. Accept a view of accounting as an information system. Independently learn to use a computer based accounting information system to record transactions typical to the needs of a small to medium enterprise. Analyse, describe and document aspects of business processes that are relevant to accounting information systems. Recognise threats to the quality of accounting information and identify appropriate controls. Become aware of the issues involved in the analysis and design of computer based systems for accounting information. Use and further develop problem solving and teamwork skills. 3

4 Educational principles and graduate attributes In this unit, you will be encouraged and facilitated to develop the ability and desire to: apply, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information from multiple sources to make decisions about the financial performance of entities; communicate orally to a professional standard to peers in class room discussion; work effectively in both an independent and team situation to resolve problems and make decisions about the accounting information systems of entities; recognise, understand and respond to potential ethical and control issues confronting accountants. TEACHING AND LEARNING RESPONSIBILITIES Teaching and learning strategies The classes will be a mixture of lecture, discussion, computer lab and group work. The computer teaching labs are booked for before and after the class and some sessions will include time at the computer with teaching staff in attendance. Lectures and discussions will be captured on Lectopia so you can review the material in your own time. There will be reading and/or other work set to complete tasks and as preparation for the following week. RATP quizzes will be used to ensure that students are suitably prepared for the class activities. The only way to learn software is to use it at your own pace, trying to solve you own problems. Demonstrations of software are little help but teaching staff support to help you when you are struggling can save time. To this end, classes have been scheduled for the start of the MYOB classes to ensure you can navigate the software and have the confidence to continue the learning process. If you need more help after the manned classes have finished, please tell the lecturer-in-charge. Teaching and learning evaluation You will be asked to complete a Students Unit Reflective Feedback (SURF). The SURF is completed online and is a university wide survey and deals only with the unit. You will receive an from the SURF office inviting you to complete the SURF when it is activated. We encourage you to complete the forms as your feedback is extremely important and can be used to make changes to the unit or lecturing style when appropriate. You are also encouraged to provide informal feedback to the lecturers at any stage during the semester especially if you would like more time on a topic or have a particular interest that you would like the unit to encompass. For instance, a more structured introduction to MYOB has been added to the course this semester as a result of comments from students in semester one. Changes can often be effected within the current semester if you make your views known. 4

5 Attendance Participation in class, whether it be listening to a lecture or getting involved in other activities, is an important part of the learning process, therefore it is important that you attend classes. More formally, the University regulations state that to complete a course or unit students shall attend prescribed classes, lectures, seminars and tutorials. Where a student, due to exceptional circumstances, is unable to attend a scheduled class, they are required to obtain prior approval of the unit coordinator to be absent from that class. Any student absent from class without having had such absence approved by the unit coordinator may be referred to the faculty for advice and may be required to withdraw from the unit. CONTACT DETAILS We strongly advise students to regularly access their student accounts. Important information regarding the unit is often communicated by and will not be automatically forwarded to private addresses. Unit coordinator/lecturer Name: Mr Kevin Burns Kevin.burns@uwa.edu.au Kevin.burns@cbs.curtin.edu.au Phone: Consultation hours: By appointment Lecture times: Thursday 5:00pm 8:00pm Weeks 1-6 and 8-13 BUSNS:EYLT Lecture venue: Week 7 only ZOOL:G10 18 th August to 29 th September Thursday from 5pm to 8pm Computer Labs Computer Lab G85, Computer Lab G86, Computer Lab G87 5

6 TEXTBOOK(S) AND RESOURCES Unit website All unit material will be available through WebCT. All assignments will be submitted through Perdisco which is administered separately, a web link to Perdisco can be found in WebCT. Recommended/required text(s) Romney, MB, Steinbart, PJ 2009, Accounting Information Systems, 12 th edn, Pearson Education, New Jersey The Perdisco practice set is required to do the MYOB work. You must purchase an electronic version of this through the company or use their Electronic Special Reserve (ESR). Each student will be given a unique set of data with which to work, so sharing a copy of the practice set is not an option. The MYOB arrangements are detailed in a separate document. Software requirements The Business School labs have MYOB v18. You can also download a trial version of MYOB v19 from the MYOB site. You may complete and submit the MYOB assignment using either v18 or v19. Please note that if you use v18 at home you can use the same software in the Business School labs. Version 19 is NOT backwards compatible so you will not be able to use the company file you created at home on the Business School computers. The group assignment requires you to document business processes by drawing various diagrams. You will need to use a computer based drawing tool which could be as simple as those available in Word or PowerPoint or more sophisticated such as Microsoft Visio which is available in the labs. You can also use Signavio which is available on-line. 6

7 UNIT SCHEDULE Week # Chp Topic Notes 1 1 Aug 2 8 Aug 3 15 Aug 4 22 Aug 5 29 Aug 6 5 Sept 7 12 Sept 8 1 Introduction to AIS, Systems, Data and Information 2 Business Processes 3 Introduction to MYOB Documentation Techniques Lab MYOB navigation 3 Documentation Techniques Lab MYOB, Perdisco 4 Relational Databases 5-9 Information security, audit and control Lab MYOB, Perdisco 5-9 Information security, audit and control 19 Sept 5-9 Information security, audit and control Lab MYOB, Perdisco 18 Sept MYOB closes NON TEACHING WEEK 26th SEPT 30th SEPT 9 3 Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct 5-9 Information security, audit and control supp supp supp 14 Revenue, Expenditure, Production and HR cycles, ERP Revenue, Expenditure, Production and HR cycles, ERP Revenue, Expenditure, Production and HR cycles, ERP GL and reporting cycles Revision - Questions Exam Revision 7

8 ASSESSMENT MECHANISM The purpose of assessment There are a number of reasons for having assessable tasks as part of an academic program. The assessable tasks are designed to encourage you to explore and understand the subject more fully. The fact that we grade your work provides you an indication of how much you have achieved. Providing feedback on your work also serves as part of the learning process. Assessment mechanism summary Item Weight Due date Submission Remarks MYOB 25% 30 Sept Online by Perdisco Perdisco, individual, two attempts Mid Semester 25% TBC Multiple choice questions only. 1 Hour Exam Final exam 50% TBA 2 hours + 10 mins reading Note 1: Note 2: Results may be subject to scaling and standardisation under faculty policy and are not necessarily the sum of the component parts. Your assessed work may also be used for quality assurance purposes, such as to assess the level of achievement of learning outcomes as required for accreditation and audit purposes. The findings may be used to inform changes aimed at improving the quality of Business School programs. All material used for such processes will be treated as confidential, and the outcome will not affect your grade for the unit. Assessment components MYOB (25%) Electronic practice set through Perdisco A separate document provides the detail about what is expected and how to go about doing the work. You perform the work using MYOB as directed by your copy of the Perdisco practice set. You answer the questions in Perdisco and receive feedback and marks immediately. When the work period ends, your best final mark is automatically returned to the lecturer. Mid-Semester Exam (25%) The Mid-Semester Exam will be for a duration of 1 hour. No reading time will be given. The exam will consist of multiple choice questions only and will be closed book. The date, time, and venue of the exam will be announced in due course. Final Exam (50%) The final exam will be 2 hours with 10 minutes reading time. Any topic covered in class or the nominated chapters of the book may be included. Sample questions will be discussed during lectures and workshops in the last week of semester. Later in the semester, you should check faculty notice boards or the UWA website for details of the time and location of the final exam. Applications for a deferred final exam must be made to the Sub- Dean, Mr Paul Lloyd. 8

9 Submission of assignments Electronic practice set through Perdisco The practice set will provide each student with a unique accounting scenario and therefore must be completed on an individual basis. Please note that it is a large activity, taking up to 20 study hours to complete over many days or weeks. Please ensure you leave yourself enough time to complete this activity before its submission deadline. Submission is to be completed online; however it is possible to print each page of the practice set to work on it offline. Once each page has been submitted, you will be provided with immediate feedback on your performance. Student Guild Phone: (+61 8) Facsimile: (+61 8) enquiries@guild.uwa.edu.au Website: Charter of Student Rights and Responsibilities The Charter of Student Rights and Responsibilities outlines the fundamental rights and responsibilities of students who undertake their education at UWA (refer ). Appeals against academic assessment The University provides the opportunity for students to lodge an appeal against assessment results and/or progress status (refer ). 9