An Overview: Business Processes, Accounting System and Internal Control

C An Overview: Business
Processes, Accounting System

and Internal Control
© 2006 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 10/e Romney/Steinbart 1 of 43
INTRODUCTION
• Questions to be addressed in this chapter

include:
– What is the meaning of system, data, and
information?
– What is an accounting information system (AIS)?
– Why is the AIS an important topic to study?
– What is the role of the AIS in the value chain?
– How does the AIS provide information for decision
making?
– What are the basic business processes?
– What is internal control?
SYSTEMS, DATA, AND INFORMATION
• A system is:
– A set of interrelated components
– That interact
– To achieve a goal
• Most systems are composed of smaller

subsystems . . .
• . . . And vice versa!
• Every organization has goals.

– The susbsystems should be designed to
maximize achievement of the organization’s
goals
– Even to the detriment of the subsystem itself
– EXAMPLE: The production department (a
subsystem) of a company might have to
forego its goal of staying within its budget in
order to meet the organization’s goal of
delivering product on time.
• The systems concept encourages integration

(i.e., minimizing the duplication of recording,
storing, reporting and processing).
• Data are facts that are collected, recorded,
stored, and processed by an information system.
• Organizations collect data about:
– Events that occur
– Resources that are affected by those events
– Agents who participate in the events
• Information is different from data.

• Information is data that have been
organized and processed to provide
meaning to a user.
• Usually, more information and better
information translates into better
decisions.
• However, when you get more information

than you can effectively assimilate, you
suffer from information overload.
– Example: Final exams week!
• When you’ve reached the overload point,
the quality of decisions declines while the
costs of producing the information
increases.
Benefits of information
- Cost of producing information
Value of information
Benefits of information may include:

• Reduction of uncertainty
• Improved decisions
• Improved ability to plan and schedule activities
Costs may include time and resources spent:

• Collecting data
• Processing data
• Storing data
• Distributing information to users
Costs and benefits of information are often
difficult to quantify, but you need to try when
you’re making decisions about whether to
provide information.
• Characteristics that make information

useful:
– Relevance
It reduces uncertainty by helping you predict
what will happen or confirm what already has
happened.

useful:
– Relevance
– Reliability
It’s dependable, i.e., free from error or bias
and faithfully portrays events and activities.

useful:
– Relevance
– Reliability
– Completeness
It doesn’t leave out anything that’s important.

useful:
– Relevance
– Reliability
– Completeness
– Timeliness
You get it in time to make your decision.

useful:
– Relevance
– Reliability
– Completeness
– Timeliness
– Understandability
It’s presented in a manner you can
comprehend and use.

useful:
– Relevance
– Reliability
– Completeness
A consensus notion—the nature of the
– Timelinessinformation is such that different people
would tend to produce the same result.
– Verifiability

useful:
– Relevance
– Reliability
– Completeness
– Timeliness
You can get to it when you need it and in a
– Verifiability
format you can use.
– Accessibility
• Information is provided to both:

– External users
– Internal Users

– External users
– Internal Users
• External users primarily use information

that is either:
– MANDATORY INFORMATION—Required by
a governmental entity, such as Form 10-K’s
required by the SEC; or
– ESSENTIAL INFORMATION—Required to
conduct business with external parties, such
as purchase orders.
• In providing mandatory or essential

information, the focus should be on:
– Minimizing costs
– Meeting regulatory requirements
– Meeting minimum standards of reliability and
usefulness

– External users
– Internal Users
• Internal users primarily use discretionary

information.
• The primary focus in producing this
information is ensuring that benefits
exceed costs, i.e., the information has
positive value.
WHAT IS AN AIS?
• An AIS is a system that collects, records,

stores, and processes data to produce
information for decision makers.
• It can:
– Use advanced technology; or
– Be a simple paper-and-pencil system; or
– Be something in between.
• Technology is simply a tool to create,
maintain, or improve a system.
WHAT IS AN AIS?
• The functions of an AIS are to:

– Collect and store data about events,
resources, and agents.
– Transform that data into information that
management can use to make decisions
about events, resources, and agents.
– Provide adequate controls to ensure that the
entity’s resources (including data) are:
• Available when needed
• Accurate and reliable
WHY STUDY ACCOUNTING
INFORMATION SYSTEMS?
Occupational
Culture Strategy
AIS design is
affected by AIS
information
technology, the
organization’s
strategy, and the
organization’s Information
culture. Technology
Occupational
Culture Strategy
Information technology
affects the company’s AIS
choice of business
strategy. To perform
cost-benefit analyses on
IT changes, you need to
understand business Information
strategy. Technology
Occupational
Culture Strategy
While culture affects

the design of the AIS,
AIS
it’s also true that the
AIS affects culture by
altering the
dispersion and
availability of Information
information. Technology
ROLE OF THE AIS IN THE VALUE CHAIN
• The objective of most organizations is to

provide value to their customers.
• What does it mean to deliver value?
• Let’s peek in on a conversation at Joe’s
pharmacy . . .
Well, Mr. Pharmaceutical

Salesman, your proposal looks
good, but your prices are about
5% higher than your competitors.
That’s true, but we’re

comfortable with that
because of the value-
added that we bring to
this arrangement.
What is that “value-added,”

and how do you convert it
into dollars?
Blah—blah—blah–
customer service–
blah—blah--blah
• While “adding value” is a commonly used

buzzword, in its genuine sense, it means making
the value of the finished component greater than
the sum of its parts.
• It may mean:
– Making it faster
– Making it more reliable
– Providing better service or advice
– Providing something in limited supply (like O-negative
blood or rare gems)
– Providing enhanced features
– Customizing it
• Value is provided by performing a series of

activities referred to as the value chain.
These include:
– Primary activities
– Support activities
• These activities are sometimes referred to
as “line” and “staff” activities respectively.

These include:
• Primary activities include:

– Inbound logistics
Receiving, storing, and distributing the
materials that are inputs to the
organization’s product or service.
For a pharmaceutical company, this activity

might involve handling incoming chemicals
and elements that will be used to make their
drugs.

– Operations
Transforming those inputs into products or
services.
For the pharmaceutical company, this step

involves combining the raw chemicals and
elements with the work of people and equipment to
produce the finished drug product that will be sold
to customers.

– Operations
– Outbound logistics
Distributing products or services to customers.
For the pharmaceutical company, this step involves

packaging and shipping the goods to drug stores,
doctors, and hospitals.

– Inbound logistics Helping customers to
buy the organization’s
– Operations
products or services.
– Marketing and sales A pharmacy rep may
visit with drug stores,
doctors, etc. to inform
them about their
products and take
orders.

Post-sale support provided to
customers such as repair and
maintenance function.
– Operations
A pharmaceutical firm will
typically not be repairing it’s
– Marketing andproduct
sales (though the product may
– Service be periodically reformulated).
The pharmaceutical company is
more likely to be providing
advisory services to pharmacists,
etc.

These include:
• Support activities include:

– Firm infrastructure
Accountants, lawyers, and administration.
Includes the company’s accounting
information system.

– Human resources
Involves recruiting and hiring new
employees, training employees, paying
employees, and handling employee
benefits.

– Human resources
– Technology
Activities to improve the products or services
(e.g., R&D, website development).
For the pharmaceutical company, these activities

would include research and development to
create new drugs and modify existing ones.
• Support activitiesBuying
include:
the resources (e.g.,
materials, inventory, fixed
assets) needed to carry out the
– Human resources entity’s primary activities.
– Technology
In the pharmaceutical company,
– Purchasing the purchasing folks are trying
to get the best combination of
cost and quality in buying
chemicals, supplies, and other
assets the company needs to
run its operations.
• Information technology can significantly

impact the efficiency and effectiveness
with which the preceding activities are
carried out.
• An organization’s value chain can be
connected with the value chains of its
customers, suppliers, and distributors.
Smith Supply Co. For example, the inbound logistics of

Inbound Logistics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., links to the outbound
Operations logistics of its suppliers.
Outbound Logistics
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Marketing & Sales
Inbound Logistics
Service
Operations
Outbound Logistics Customer Pharmacy
Marketing & Sales Inbound Logistics
Service Operations
Outbound Logistics
Marketing & Sales
Service
Smith Supply Co. And the outbound logistics of

Inbound Logistics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., links to the inbound
Operations logistics of its customers.
Outbound Logistics
Marketing & Sales
Inbound Logistics
Service
Operations
Service Operations
Outbound Logistics
Marketing & Sales
Service
Smith Supply Co. The linking of these separate value chains

Inbound Logistics creates a larger system known as a supply
Operations chain.
Outbound Logistics
Marketing & Sales
Inbound Logistics
Service
Operations
Service Operations
Outbound Logistics
Marketing & Sales
Service
Smith Supply Co. The linking of these separate value chains

Inbound Logistics creates a larger system known as a supply
Operations chain.
Outbound Logistics
Marketing & Sales
Inbound Logistics
Service
Operations
Information
technology can Marketing & Sales Inbound Logistics
facilitate synergistic Service Operations
linkages that improve Outbound Logistics
the performance of Marketing & Sales
each company’s value
Service
chain.
INFORMATION NEEDS AND
BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
• Businesses engage in a variety of activities,
including:
– Acquiring capital
– Buying buildings and equipment Each activity
– Hiring and training employees requires
different types
– Purchasing inventory of decisions!
– Doing advertising and marketing
– Selling goods or services
– Collecting payment from customers
– Paying employees
– Paying taxes
– Paying vendors
BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
• Businesses engage in a variety of activities,
including:
– Acquiring capital
– Buying buildings and equipment Each decision
– Hiring and training employees requires
different types
– Purchasing inventory of information.
– Doing advertising and marketing
– Selling goods or services
– Collecting payment from customers
– Paying employees
– Paying taxes
– Paying vendors
BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
• Types of information needed for decisions:
– Some is financial
– Some is nonfinancial
– Some comes from internal sources
– Some comes from external sources
• An effective AIS needs to be able to
integrate information of different types and
from different sources.
INTERACTION WITH EXTERNAL AND
INTERNAL PARTIES
External
AIS Parties
• The AIS interacts with external parties,

such as customers, vendors, creditors,
and governmental agencies.
INTERNAL PARTIES
Internal External
Parties AIS Parties
• The AIS also interacts with internal parties

such as employees and management.
INTERNAL PARTIES
Internal External
Parties AIS Parties
• The interaction is typically two-way, in that

the AIS sends information to and receives
information from these parties.
BUSINESS CYCLES
• A transaction is:
– An agreement between two entities to
exchange goods or services; OR
– Any other event that can be measured in
economic terms by an organization.
• EXAMPLES:
– Sell goods to customers
– Depreciate equipment
BUSINESS CYCLES
• The transaction cycle is a process:

– Begins with capturing data about a
transaction
– Ends with an information output, such as
financial statements
BUSINESS CYCLES
• Many business activities are paired in

give-get exchanges
• The basic exchanges can be grouped into
five major transaction cycles.
– Revenue cycle
– Expenditure cycle
– Production cycle
– Human resources/payroll cycle
– Financing cycle
BUSINESS CYCLES

give-get exchanges
– Revenue cycle
– Financing cycle
REVENUE CYCLE
• The revenue cycle involves interactions

with your customers.
• You sell goods or services and get cash.
Give Get
Goods Cash
BUSINESS CYCLES

give-get exchanges
– Revenue cycle
– Financing cycle
EXPENDITURE CYCLE
• The expenditure cycle involves

interactions with your suppliers.
• You buy goods or services and pay cash.
Give Get
Cash Goods
BUSINESS CYCLES

give-get exchanges
– Revenue cycle
– Financing cycle
PRODUCTION CYCLE
• In the production cycle, raw materials and

labor are transformed into finished goods.
Give Raw Get

Materials & Finished
Labor Goods
BUSINESS CYCLES

give-get exchanges
– Revenue cycle
– Financing cycle
HUMAN RESOURCES/
PAYROLL CYCLE
• The human resources cycle involves
interactions with your employees.
• Employees are hired, trained, paid,
evaluated, promoted, and terminated.
Give Get
Cash Labor
BUSINESS CYCLES

give-get exchanges
– Revenue cycle
– Financing cycle
FINANCING CYCLE
• The financing cycle involves interactions with

investors and creditors.
• You raise capital (through stock or debt), repay
the capital, and pay a return on it (interest or
dividends).
Give Get
Cash cash
BUSINESS CYCLES
• Thousands of transactions can occur

within any of these cycles.
• But there are relatively few types of
transactions in a cycle.
BUSINESS CYCLES
• EXAMPLE: In the revenue cycle, the

basic give-get transaction is:
– Give goods
– Get cash
BUSINESS CYCLES
• Other transactions in the revenue cycle include:

• Handle customer inquiries • Update sales and Accts Rec.
• Take customer orders for sales
• Approve credit sales • Receive customer payments
• Check inventory availability • Update Accts Rec. for
• Initiate back orders collections
• Pick and pack orders • Handle sales returns,
discounts, & bad debts
• Ship goods
• Prepare management reports
• Bill customers
• Send info to other cycles
Note that the last activity in any
cycle is to send information to other
cycles.
BUSINESS CYCLES
• Click on the buttons below if you wish to

see the transactions that occur in the other
cycles:
Expenditure Human Res./
Cycle Payroll Cycle
Production Financing
Cycle Cycle
BUSINESS CYCLES
• Every transaction cycle:

– Relates to other cycles
– Interfaces with the general ledger and
reporting system, which generates information
for management and external parties.
Finished Goods
Revenue Expenditure Production

Cycle Cycle Cycle
General Ledger
and Reporting • The revenue cycle
System – Gets finished
goods from the
production cycle
– Provides funds to
the financing cycle
Human Res./ Financing – Provides data to
Payroll Cycle Cycle the General Ledger
and Reporting
System
Raw
Mats.
Cycle Cycle Cycle
Data
General Ledger
and Reporting • The expenditure
System cycle
– Gets funds from
the financing cycle
– Provides raw
materials to the
Human Res./ Financing production cycle
Payroll Cycle Cycle – Provides data to
the General Ledger
and Reporting
System
Finished Goods
Raw
Mats.
Cycle Cycle Cycle
General Ledger
and Reporting • The production cycle:
System – Gets raw materials
from the expenditure
cycle
– Gets labor from the
HR/payroll cycle
– Provides finished
Human Res./ Financing goods to the revenue
Payroll Cycle cycle
Cycle
– Provides data to the
General Ledger and
Reporting System
Cycle Cycle Cycle
General Ledger
and Reporting • The HR/payroll
System cycle:
– Gets funds from
the financing cycle
– Provides labor to
the production
Human Res./ Funds Financing cycle
Payroll Cycle Cycle – Provides data to
the General Ledger
and Reporting
System
Cycle Cycle Cycle
General Ledger
and Reporting • The Financing cycle:
System – Gets funds from
the revenue cycle
– Provides funds to
the expenditure
and HR/payroll
cycles
Human Res./ Funds Financing – Provides data to
Payroll Cycle Cycle the General Ledger
and Reporting
System
Cycle Cycle Cycle
Data
General Ledger Information for
Internal & External Users
and Reporting
System
•
Data
The General Ledger
and Reporting System:
– Gets data from all of
Human Res./ Financing the cycles
Payroll Cycle Cycle – Provides information
for internal and
external users
BUSINESS CYCLES
• Many accounting software packages

implement the different transaction cycles
as separate modules.
– Not every module is needed in every
organization, e.g., retail companies don’t have
a production cycle.
– Some companies may need extra modules.
– The implementation of each transaction cycle
can differ significantly across companies.
BUSINESS CYCLES
• However the cycles are implemented, it is

critical that the AIS be able to:
– Accommodate the information needs of
managers
– Integrate financial and nonfinancial data.
TRANSACTION PROCESSING:
THE DATA PROCESSING CYCLE
• Accountants play an important role in data
processing. They answer questions such as:
– What data should be entered and stored?
– Who should be able to access the data?
– How should the data be organized, updated, stored,
accessed, and retrieved?
– How can scheduled and unanticipated information
needs be met.
• To answer these questions, they must
understand data processing concepts.
• An important function of the AIS is to
efficiently and effectively process the data
about a company’s transactions.
– In manual systems, data is entered into paper
journals and ledgers.
– In computer-based systems, the series of
operations performed on data is referred to as
the data processing cycle.
• The data processing cycle consists of four
steps:
– Data input
– Data storage
– Data processing
– Information output
steps:
– Data input
– Data storage
– Data processing
DATA INPUT
• The first step in data processing is to

capture the data.
• Usually triggered by a business activity.
• Data is captured about:
– The event that occurred
– The resources affected by the event
– The agents who participated
DATA INPUT
• A number of actions can be taken to

improve the accuracy and efficiency of
data input:
– Turnaround documents
• EXAMPLE: The stub on your telephone bill that you tear off and
return with your check when you pay the bill.
• The customer account number is coded on the document, usually
in machine-readable form, which reduces the probability of human
error in applying the check to the correct account.
DATA INPUT

data input:
– Source data automation
• Capture data with minimal human intervention.
• EXAMPLES:
– ATMs for banking
– Point-of-sale (POS) scanners in retail stores
– Automated gas pumps that accept your credit card
DATA INPUT

data input:
– Well-designed source documents and data
entry screens
• How do these improve the accuracy and efficiency of data
input?
DATA INPUT

data input:
• What does it mean if a document number is missing in the
entry screens
sequence?
– Using pre-numbered documents or having

the system automatically assign
sequential numbers to transactions
DATA INPUT

data input:
• What does it mean if there are duplicate document
entry screens
numbers?
– Using pre-numbered documents or having

the system automatically assign
sequential numbers to transactions
DATA INPUT
• A number of actions can be taken to improve the

accuracy and efficiency of data input:
– Well-designed source documents and data entry
screens
– Using pre-numbered documents or having the system
automatically
• EXAMPLE: assign
Check sequential
for inventory numbers to
availability before
completing an online sales transaction.
transactions
– Verify transactions
steps:
– Data input
– Data storage
– Data processing
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© 2006 Prentice Hall Business Publishing Accounting Information Systems, 10/e Romney/Steinbart
DATA STORAGE
• Data needs to be organized for easy and

efficient access.
• Let’s start with some vocabulary terms
with respect to data storage.
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
A ledger is a file used to store cumulative
information about resources and agents. We
typically use the word ledger to describe the set
of t-accounts. The t-account is where we keep
track of the beginning balance, increases,
decreases, and ending balance for each asset,
liability, owners’ equity, revenue, expense, gain,
loss, and dividend account.
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
– Following is an example of a ledger account
for accounts receivable:
GENERAL LEDGER
ACCOUNT: Accounts Receivable Account Number: 120
Date Description Post Ref Debit Credit Balance

01/01/05 42,069.00
01/03/05 Sales S03 1,300.00 43,369.00
01/13/05 Cash collections CR09 4,600.00 38,769.00
01/23/05 Sales S04 5,600.00 44,369.00
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
The general ledger is the summary level
information for all accounts. Detail information is
not kept in this account.
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
Example: Suppose XYZ Co. has three
customers. Anthony Adams owes XYZ $100. Bill
Brown owes $200. And Cory Campbell owes
XYZ $300. The balance in accounts receivable
in the general ledger will be $600, but you will not
be able to tell how much individual customers
owe by looking at that account. The detail isn’t
there.
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
• Subsidiary ledger
The subsidiary ledgers contain the detail
accounts associated with the related general
ledger account. The accounts receivable
subsidiary ledger will contain three separate t-
accounts—one for Anthony Adams, one for Bill
Brown, and one for Cory Campbell.
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
The related general ledger account is often
called a “control” account.
The sum of the subsidiary account balances

should equal the balance in the control
account.
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
• Coding techniques
• Coding is a method of systematically assigning numbers or
letters to data items to help classify and organize them. There
are many types of codes including:
– Sequence codes
– Block codes
– Group codes
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
• With sequence codes, items (such as checks or invoices) are
numbered consecutively to ensure no gaps in the sequence.
The numbering helps ensure that:
– All items are accounted for
– There are no duplicated numbers, which would suggest errors or
fraud
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
• When block codes are used, blocks of numbers within a
numerical sequence are reserved for a particular category.
• EXAMPLE: The first three digits of a Social Security number
make up a block code that indicates the state in which the
Social Security number was issued:
– 001-003 New Hampshire
– 004-007 Maine
– 008-009 Vermont
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
• When group codes are used, two or more subgroups of
digits are used to code an item.
• EXAMPLE: The code in the upper, right-hand corner of many
checks is a group code organized as follows:
– Digits 1-2 Bank number
– Digit 3 Federal Reserve District
– Digits 4-7 Branch office of Federal Reserve
– Digits 8-9 State
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DATA STORAGE
• Ledger
• General ledger
• Group coding schemes are often used in assigning general
ledger account numbers. The following guidelines should be
• Subsidiary
observed: ledger
– The code should be consistent with its intended use, so make
sure you know what users need.
– Provide enough digits to allow room for growth.
– Keep it simple in order to:
• Minimize costs
• Facilitate memorization
• Ensure employee acceptance
– Make sure it’s consistent with:
• The company’s organization structure
• Other divisions of the organization
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• The chart of accounts is a list of all general ledger accounts an organization
uses.
•
DATA STORAGE
Group coding is often used for these numbers, e.g.:
– The first section identifies the major account categories, such as asset,
liability, revenue, etc.
– The second section identifies the primary sub-account, such as current
• Ledger
asset or long-term investment.
– The third section identifies the specific account, such as accounts
• General ledger
receivable or inventory.
– The fourth section identifies the subsidiary account, e.g., the specific
customer code for an account receivable.
•
•
The structure of this chart is an important AIS issue, as it must contain
Coding techniques
sufficient detail to meet the organization’s needs.
• Chart of accounts
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DATA STORAGE
• Table 2-4 in your textbook contains the chart of accounts for
S&S.
• Ledger
– What is the account number for federal unemployment taxes
• Generalpayable?
ledger
– What is the account number for cost of goods sold?
• – What is the range of account numbers for expenses?
Subsidiary ledger
– With this chart of accounts, can S&S easily distinguish the
• Codingcosts
techniques
they incur for automobile insurance from the costs for
health insurance?
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• In manual systems and some accounting packages, the
first place that transactions are entered is the journal.
DATA STORAGE
– A general journal is used to record:
• Non-routine transactions, such as loan payments
• Summaries of routine transactions
• Adjusting entries
• Ledger • Closing entries
– A special journal is used to record routine transactions.
• General most
ledger
common special journals are:
The
• Cash receipts
• Cash disbursements
• Credit sales
• Credit purchases
• Journals
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DATA STORAGE
• An audit trail exists when there is sufficient
• Ledger
documentation to allow the tracing of a
• transaction
General ledgerfrom beginning to end or from the
end back to the beginning.
• The inclusion of posting references and
• document
Coding numbers enable the tracing of
techniques
transactions through the journals and ledgers
• Chartand
of therefore
accounts facilitate the audit trail.
• Journals
• Audit trail
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DATA STORAGE
• Now that we’ve learned some storage

terminology, let’s return to the data
storage process.
• When transaction data is captured on a
source document, the next step is to
record the data in a journal.
• A journal entry is made for each
transaction showing the accounts and
amounts to be credited.
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DATA STORAGE
• If you took a principles of financial accounting class, you

probably worked with journals that looked something like
this:
01/15/04 Accounts receivable 2,200
Sales revenue 2,200
01/18/04 Cash 1,800

Accounts receivable 1,800
01/21/04 Salaries expense 900

Cash 900
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DATA STORAGE
• You may not have gotten much experience with

special journals, but in most real-world
situations, journal entries really work like this.
– Entries are originally made in the general journal only
for
• Non-routine transactions.
• Summaries of routine transactions
– Routine transactions are originally entered in special
journals. The most common special journals are:
• Credit sales
• Cash receipts
• Credit purchases
• Cash disbursements
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DATA STORAGE
• Let’s work through an example with a

special journal. In this case we’ll use the
sales journal.
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DATA STORAGE
• On Dec. 1, a sale is made to Lee Co. for

$800. Lee Co. was sent Invoice No. 201.
Page 5 Sales Journal

Invoice Account Account
Date Number Debited Number Post Ref. Amount
12/01/04 201 Lee Co. 120-122 800.00
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DATA STORAGE
• The general ledger account number for accounts

receivable is No. 120. Lee Co. was about the 122nd
customer, so their subsidiary account number is 120-
122.
12/01/04 201 Lee Co. 120-122 800.00
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DATA STORAGE
• The next sale on Dec. 1 was made to May

Co. for $700.

12/01/04 201 Lee Co. 120-122 800.00
12/01/04 202 May Co. 120-033 700.00
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DATA STORAGE
• The third and final sale on Dec. 1 was

made to DLK Co. for $900.

12/01/04 201 Lee Co. 120-122 800.00
12/01/04 202 May Co. 120-033 700.00
12/01/04 203 DLK Co. 120-111 900.00
124 of
DATA STORAGE
• Suppose the company making these sales posts

transactions at the end of each day.
Consequently, at day’s end, they will post each
individual transaction to the accounts receivable
subsidiary ledger:
– An $800 increase in accounts receivable (debit) will
be posted to Lee Co.’s subsidiary account (120-122).
– A $700 debit will be posted to May Co.’s subsidiary
account (120-033).
– A $900 debit will be posted to DLK Co.’s subsidiary
account (120-111).
125 of
DATA STORAGE
• Then a summary journal entry must be made to

the general journal. The sales for the period are
totaled. In this case, they add up to $2,400.

12/01/04 201 Lee Co. 120-122 800.00
12/01/04 202 May Co. 120-033 700.00
12/01/04 203 DLK Co. 120-111 900.00
TOTAL 2,400.00
120/502
126 of
DATA STORAGE
• The “120/502” that appears beneath the total indicates

that a summary journal entry is made in the general
journal with a debit to accounts receivable (120) and a
credit to sales (502).
12/01/04 201 Lee Co. 120-122 800.00
12/01/04 202 May Co. 120-033 700.00
12/01/04 203 DLK Co. 120-111 900.00
TOTAL 2,400.00
120/502
127 of
DATA STORAGE
• The entries in the general journal are periodically (or

automatically) posted to the general ledger. The $2,400
debit to accounts receivable will be posted to the
accounts receivable control account, and the $2,400
credit will be posted to the general ledger account for
sales.
12/01/04 Accounts receivable 2,400
Sales revenue 2,400
12/01/04 Cash 1,800

Accounts receivable 1,800
12/01/04 Salaries expense 900

Cash 900
128 of
DATA STORAGE
• From time to time, the subsidiary account

balances will be added up, and this sum
will be compared to the balance of the
control account.
• What does it mean if they aren’t equal?
129 of
DATA STORAGE
• Review so far:
– When routine transactions occur, they are recorded in
special journals.
– When non-routine transactions occur, they are recorded in
the general journal.
– Periodically, the transactions in the special journal are totaled,
and a summary entry is made in the general journal.
– The individual line items in the special journal are posted to
the subsidiary ledger accounts.
– The items in the general journal are posted to the general
ledger.
– Periodically, the balances in the general ledger control
accounts are compared to the sums of the balances in the
related subsidiary accounts.
130 of
DATA STORAGE
• Click the button below if you wish to

go through a summary of the
remaining steps in the accounting
cycle:
See Remainder
Of
Accounting Cycle
131 of
COMPUTER-BASED STORAGE
CONCEPTS
• Now let’s moving on to discussing some
computer-based storage concepts, including:
– Entity
– Attribute
– Record
– Data Value
– Field
– File
– Master File
– Transaction File
– Database
135 of
CONCEPTS
• An entity is something about which information
is stored.
• In your university’s student information system,
one entity is the student. The student
information system stores information about
students.
• What are some other entities in your student
information system?
136 of
CONCEPTS
• Attributes are characteristics of interest with
respect to the entity.
• Some attributes that a student information
system typically stores about the student entity
are:
– Student ID number
– Phone number
– Address
• What are some other attributes about students
that a university might store?
137 of
CONCEPTS
• A field is the physical space where an attribute is
stored.
• The space where the student ID number is
stored is the student ID field.
Col. 1-9 Col. 10-30 Col. 31-40 Col. 41-50

328469993 SIMPSON ALICE 4053721111
328500732 ANDREWS BARRY 4057440236
529036409 FLANDERS CARLA 4057475863
138 of
CONCEPTS
• A record is the set of attributes stored for a
particular instance of an entity.
• The combination of attributes stored for Barry
Andrews is Barry’s record.
Col. 1-9 Col. 10-30 Col. 31-40 Col. 41-50

328469993 SIMPSON ALICE 4053721111
328500732 ANDREWS BARRY 4057440236
529036409 FLANDERS CARLA 4057475863
139 of
CONCEPTS
• A data value is the intersection of the row and
column.
• The data value for Barry Andrews’ phone
number is 405-744-0236.
Col. 1-9 Col. 10-30 Col. 31-40 Col. 41-50

328469993 SIMPSON ALICE 4053721111
328500732 ANDREWS BARRY 4057440236
529036409 FLANDERS CARLA 4057475863
140 of
CONCEPTS
• A file is a group of related records.
• The collection of records about all students at
the university might be called the student file. If
there were only three students and four
attributes stored for each student, the file might
appear as shown below:
Col. 1-9 Col. 10-30 Col. 31-40 Col. 41-50
328469993 SIMPSON ALICE 4053721111
328500732 ANDREWS BARRY 4057440236
529036409 FLANDERS CARLA 4057475863
141 of
CONCEPTS
• A master file is a file that stores
cumulative information about an
organization’s entities.
• It is conceptually similar to a ledger in a
manual AIS in that:
– The file is permanent
– The file exists across fiscal periods
– Changes are made to the file to reflect the
effects of new transactions.
142 of
CONCEPTS
• A transaction file is a file that contains
records of individual transactions (events)
that occur during a fiscal period.
• It is conceptually similar to a journal in a
manual AIS in that:
– The files are temporary
– The files are usually maintained for one fiscal
period
143 of
CONCEPTS
• A database is a set of interrelated, centrally-
coordinated files.
• When files about students are integrated with
files about classes and files about instructors,
we have a database.
Student Class
File File
Instructor
File
144 of
steps:
– Data input
– Data storage
– Data processing
145 of
DATA PROCESSING
• Once data about a business activity has

been collected and entered into a system,
it must be processed.
146 of
DATA PROCESSING
• There are four different types of file

processing:
– Updating data to record the occurrence of an
event, the resources affected by the event,
and the agents who participated, e.g.,
recording a sale to a customer.
– Changing data, e.g., a customer address
– Adding data, e.g., a new customer.
– Deleting data, e.g., removing an old customer
that has not purchased anything in 5 years.
147 of
DATA PROCESSING
• Updating can be done through several

approaches:
– Batch processing
148 of
DATA PROCESSING
• Batch processing:
– Source documents are grouped into batches,
and control totals are calculated.
– Periodically, the batches are entered into the
computer system, edited, sorted, and stored
in a temporary file.
– The temporary transaction file is run against
the master file to update the master file.
– Output is printed or displayed, along with error
reports, transaction reports, and control totals.
149 of
DATA PROCESSING

approaches:
– On-line Batch Processing
150 of
DATA PROCESSING
• On-line batch processing:

– Transactions are entered into a computer
system as they occur and stored in a
temporary file.
– Periodically, the temporary transaction file is
run against the master file to update the
master file.
– The output is printed or displayed.
151 of
DATA PROCESSING

approaches:
– On-line, Real-time Processing
152 of
DATA PROCESSING
• On-line, Real-time Processing

– Transactions are entered into a computer
system as they occur.
– The master file is immediately updated with
the data from the transaction.
– Output is printed or displayed.
153 of
DATA PROCESSING

approaches:
– On-line, Real-time Processing
• If you’re going through enrollment,
which of these approaches would you
prefer that your university was using?
• Why?
154 of
steps:
– Data input
– Data storage
– Data processing
155 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT
• The final step in the information process is

information output.
• This output can• be in the form of:
Documents are records of
– Documents transactions or other company data.
• EXAMPLE: Employee paychecks or
purchase orders for merchandise
• Documents generated at the end of
the transaction processing activities
are known as operational documents
(as opposed to source documents).
• They can be printed or stored as
electronic images.
156 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT

information output.
• Reports are used by employees to
• This output can becontrol
in the form of:
operational activities and by
managers to make decisions and
– Documents design strategies.
– Reports • They may be produced:
– On a regular basis
– On an exception basis
– On demand
• Organizations should periodically
reassess whether each report is
needed.
157 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT

information output.
• This output can be in the form of:
– Documents • Queries are user requests for specific
pieces of information.
– Reports • They may be requested:
– Queries – Periodically
– One time
• They can be displayed:
– On the monitor, called soft copy
– On the screen, called hard copy
158 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT
• Output can serve a variety of purposes:

– Financial statements can be provided to both
external and internal parties.
– Some outputs are specifically for internal use:
• For planning purposes
• Examples of outputs for planning
purposes include:
– Budgets
• Budgets are an entity’s formal expression of
goals in financial terms
– Sales forecasts
159 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT

• For management of day-to-day operations
• Example: delivery schedules
160 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT
• Performance reports are outputs that are
used for control purposes.
• Output can• serve a variety
These reports of purposes:
compare an organization’s
standard orcan
– Financial statements expected performance
be provided with
to both
its actual outcomes.
• Management by exception is an
– Some outputs are specifically
approach to utilizing for internal use:
performance
reports
• For planning that focuses on investigating and
purposes
acting on only those variances that are
significant.
• For control purposes
161 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT

• For control purposes
• For evaluation purposes
• These outputs might include:
– Surveys of customer satisfaction
– Reports on employee error rates
162 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT
• Behavioral implications of managerial

reports:
– YOU GET WHAT YOU MEASURE!
163 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT
• Suppose an instructor wants to improve student
learning.
– He decides to encourage better attendance by
grading students on attendance (i.e., measuring it).
– The result will be better student attendance, i.e., you
get what you measure.
– The improved attendance may or may not improve
learning outcomes.
– Students may be getting better grades when
attendance is measured, but not learning more.
– Some students may in fact reduce their studying
because they believe they can use the attendance
score to boost their grade. This behavior would be
a dysfunctional result of the measurement.
164 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT
• Budgets can cause dysfunctional behavior.

– EXAMPLE: In order to stay within budget, the IT
Department did not buy a security package for its
system.
– A hacker broke in and devastated some of their
data files.
– Critical security measures were foregone in order
to meet budgetary goals.
– The resulting costs far outweighed the savings.
165 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT
• Budgeting can also be dysfunctional in

that the focus can be redirected to
creating acceptable numbers instead of
achieving organizational objectives.
• Does this mean organizations shouldn’t
budget?
166 of
INFORMATION OUTPUT
• The saying goes, “Not many people sit

around and have a roast goose fall in their
lap.”
• In other words, if you want a roast goose,
you have to aim.
• With financial results, you’re also unlikely to
achieve when you don’t aim.
• Just be careful where you aim!
167 of
WHAT IS INTERNAL CONTROL?
Internal control is a process effected

by plan management and other
personnel, and those charged with
governance, and designed to provide
reasonable assurance regarding the
achievement of objectives in the
reliability of financial reporting.
168 of
COMPONENTS OF INTERNAL
CONTROL
169 of
CONTROL ENVIRONMENT
“Discipline is the bridge between Goals and

accomplishment.” A positive control
environment provides discipline and
structure. The management should maintain
the integrity and ethical values within the
institution. The way the agency delegates
authority for operating activities and
reporting relationships is highly essential.
170 of
RISK ASSESSMENT
Every institution faces various internal as

well as external risks which need to be
identified and assessed through a
standardized internal control framework.
Quantitative and qualitative ranking,
forecasting and strategic planning
should be used to identify potential risks.
171 of
CONTROL ACTIVITIES
Risk mitigation steps through internal

control activities is an integral part of an
entity’s planning. These activities can
take a preventive (predicting potential
problems before they occur) or detective
(identifying and acting against
undesirable activities that have occurred)
form.
172 of
CONTROL ACTIVITIES
173 of
INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION
You have to understand management’s
information technology, accounting, and
communication systems and processes.
This includes internal controls to
safeguard assets, maintain accounting
records, and back up data.
174 of
MONITORING
This component involves understanding

how management monitors its controls
and how effectively. The best internal
controls are worthless if the company
doesn’t monitor them and make changes
when they aren’t working.
175 of
FLOWCHARTING
Flowchart is a symbolic diagram of a

specific part of an internal accounting
control system indicating the sequential
flow of data and/or authority.
176 of
177 of
178 of
179 of
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END
181 of

An Overview: Business Processes, Accounting System and Internal Control

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An Overview: Business Processes, Accounting System and Internal Control

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C An Overview: Business

Processes, Accounting System

• Questions to be addressed in this chapter

• Most systems are composed of smaller

• Every organization has goals.

• The systems concept encourages integration

• Information is different from data.

• However, when you get more information

Benefits of information may include:

Costs may include time and resources spent:

• Characteristics that make information

• Characteristics that make information

• Characteristics that make information

• Characteristics that make information

• Characteristics that make information

• Characteristics that make information

• Characteristics that make information

• Information is provided to both:

• Information is provided to both:

• External users primarily use information

• In providing mandatory or essential

• Information is provided to both:

• Internal users primarily use discretionary

• An AIS is a system that collects, records,

• The functions of an AIS are to:

While culture affects

• The objective of most organizations is to

Well, Mr. Pharmaceutical

That’s true, but we’re

What is that “value-added,”

• While “adding value” is a commonly used

• Value is provided by performing a series of

• Value is provided by performing a series of

• Primary activities include:

For a pharmaceutical company, this activity

• Primary activities include:

For the pharmaceutical company, this step

• Primary activities include:

For the pharmaceutical company, this step involves

• Primary activities include:

• Primary activities include:

• Value is provided by performing a series of

• Support activities include:

• Support activities include:

• Support activities include:

For the pharmaceutical company, these activities

• Information technology can significantly

Smith Supply Co. For example, the inbound logistics of

Smith Supply Co. And the outbound logistics of

Smith Supply Co. The linking of these separate value chains

Smith Supply Co. The linking of these separate value chains

• The AIS interacts with external parties,

• The AIS also interacts with internal parties

• The interaction is typically two-way, in that

• The transaction cycle is a process:

• Many business activities are paired in

• Many business activities are paired in

• The revenue cycle involves interactions

• Many business activities are paired in

• The expenditure cycle involves

• Many business activities are paired in

• In the production cycle, raw materials and

Give Raw Get