Information Systems

Past papers:
Mcqs:
1. The following statements have been made about transaction processing systems and executive
information systems:
(i) A transaction processing system collects and records the transactions of an organisation
(ii) An executive information system is a way of integrating the data from all operations within the
organisation into a single system
Which of the above statements is/are true?

A. (i) only
B. (ii) only
C. Both (i) and (ii)
D. Neither (i) nor (ii)

2. Which of the following is an external source of information?

A. Value of sales, analysed for each customer

B. Value of purchases, analysed for each supplier
C. Prices of similar products, analysed for each competitor company
D. Hours worked, analysed for each employee

3. A manufacturer and retailer of kitchens introduces an enterprise resource planning system.

Which of the following is NOT likely to be a potential benefit of introducing this system?

A. Schedules of labour are prepared for manufacturing

B. Inventory records are updated automatically
C. Sales are recorded into the financial ledgers
D. Critical strategic information can be summarised
Practice kit questions:
1. The following statements have been made about information systems.
(1) Feedback is information produced from a system that is used by management to take
action to control further inputs to the system.
(2) Information for benchmarking purposes may be obtained from both internal and
external sources.
Which of the above statements is/are true?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Neither 1 nor 2
D. Both 1 and 2

2. For which of the following reasons are controls needed over internally generated information?
(1) To prevent information overload
(2) To prevent unauthorised dissemination of information

A. Reason (1) only

B. Reason (2) only
C. Neither reason
D. Reasons (1) and (2)

3. The following statements have been made about data and information.
(1) In-depth analysis of data on a database in order to identify undiscovered trends or
patterns in the data is known as data mining.
(2) Large public databases are a major source of feedback for many commercial
organisations.
Which of the above statements is/are true?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Neither 1 nor 2
D. Both 1 and 2

4. Data used by the management that has been obtained from an official government source is an
example of:

A. External primary data

B. External secondary data
C. Internal primary data
D. Internal secondary data

5. Which one of the following terms is used to describe an information system that provides senior
executives with online access to important information obtained from both internal and
external sources?

A. Executive information system

B. Enterprise resource planning system
C. Management information system
 D. Transaction processing system

6. The following statements have been made about operational control.

(1) Budgeting is commonly associated with decision making at the operational planning
level within a management hierarchy.
(2) Operational control decisions in general are more narrowly focused and have a shorter
time horizon than management control decisions.
Which of the above statements is/are true?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Neither 1 nor 2
D. Both 1 and 2

7. The following statements have been made about management information and management
information systems.
(1) Management information is often produced from transaction processing systems.
(2) The data used in management information systems comes mainly from sources within
the organisation and its operations.
Which of the above statements is/are true?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Neither 1 nor 2
D. Both 1 and 2

8. The following statements have been made about data and information.
(1) Automated systems for data capture are generally more reliable than data capture
requiring input by individuals.
(2) As a general rule, secondary information is more expensive to collect than primary data.
Which of the above statements is/are true?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Neither 1 nor 2
D. Both 1 and 2

9. Which one of the following is often used to protect an intranet from unauthorised access by an
external hacker?

A. Anti-virus software
B. Data encryption
C. Firewall
D. Passwords
10. Which of the following methods would be LEAST effective in ensuring the security of
confidential information?

A. Monitoring emails
B. Encryption of files
C. Dial back facility
D. Universal passwords

11. A government department generates information which should not be disclosed to anyone who
works outside of the department. There are many other government departments working
within the same building.
Which of the following would NOT be an effective control procedure for the generation and
distribution of the information within the government department?

A. If working from home, departmental employees must use a memory stick to transfer data, as
laptop computers are not allowed to leave the department.
B. All departmental employees must enter non-disclosed and regularly updated passwords to
access their computers.
C. All authorised employees must swipe an officially issued, personal identity card at the
entrance to the department before they can gain access.
D. All hard copies of confidential information must be shredded at the end of each day or locked
overnight in a safe if needed again.

12. Local managers within organisations often use operational reports. Which of the following
features of reports would be most true of an operational report?

A. Summarised information
B. Mainly external information on local competition
C. Accurate information on current position
D. Infrequent

13. Strategic reports have many features, which of the following would be most likely true of a
strategic report?

A. Prepared regularly
B. Normally considered accurate and reliable
C. Highly summarised showing overall trends
D. Demonstrates current position

14. The qualities of good information contained in reports are more easily remembered using the
mnemonic ACCURATE. Which one of the following is not normally associated with a quality of
good information?

A. Adaptable to the needs of the user

B. Acceptable to the user
C. Accurate
D. Understandable by the user
15. Which of the following could be described as an expert system?

A. An ATM dispensing cash provided there is enough money in the account

B. A stock management system, which highlights stock-outs
C. A marketing database holding records of past advertising campaigns and the sales generated
by those campaigns
D. A tax calculator which predicts the level of tax payable in different scenarios

16. Where would you most likely find information concerning the frequency of machine breakdowns
causing lost production?

A. The fixed asset register

B. The machine maintenance schedule
C. Production output reports
D. The purchase ledger account for the supplier that provides replacement machine parts

17. Which of the following sources of information would be considered internal?

A. Interviewing potential customers

B. Reading business magazines
C. Receiving updates from tax authorities
D. Looking through sales records for the last year

18. The following statements have been made about using external information:
(1) External information is usually more reliable than internal information.
(2) External information can be general and vague, and may not really help an organisation
with decision making
Which of the above statement is/are true?

A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. Neither (1) nor (2)
D. Both (1) and (2)

19. You have been presented with a summary report of sales in the last month, with a breakdown
of totals per product, and with variances from the corresponding monthly sales plan.
This report is an output from:

A. A transaction processing system

B. A management information system
C. An executive Information system
D. None of the above

20. Electronic Executive Information Systems (EIS) and Expert Systems (ES) are examples of:

A. Customer relationship management software

B. Database management systems
C. Computer networking
D. Decision based software
21. A manufacturer and retailer of kitchens introduces an enterprise resource planning system.
Which of the following is NOT likely to be a potential benefit of introducing this system?

A. Schedules of labour are prepared for manufacturing

B. Inventory records are updated automatically
C. Sales are recorded into the financial ledgers
D. Critical strategic information can be summarized

22. The following are all types of information systems:

i. A Management Information System producing management accounts showing margins
for individual customers.
ii. An Expert System holding specialist tax information.
iii. An Executive Information System giving access to internal and external information in
summarised form, with the option to drill down to a greater level of activity.
Which of the above would NOT be suited to all levels of management in an organisation?

A. (i)
B. (ii)
C. (iii)
D. None of the above is suited to all levels.
23. Long-term sales forecasts are an example of accounting information used at which level of
control in an organisation?

A. Strategic planning
B. Management control
C. Tactical control
D. Operational control