Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION TO
ACCOUNTING
INFORMATION
SYSTEMS
Central Themes
of This Text

 Business processes
 Information systems
Business Processes

 A sequence of
activities:
 for acquiring goods
and services
 for producing goods
and services
 for selling goods and
services
Business Processes

 Models of business
processes viewed in
terms of transaction
cycles.
 Each transaction cycle
involves several
events.
 Business Processes

 Three main transaction

cycles:
 An acquisition
(purchasing) cycle is the
process of purchasing and
paying for goods/services.
 A conversion cycle is the
process of transforming
resources acquired into
goods/services.
 A revenue cycle is the
process of providing goods
or services to customers
and collecting cash.
Typical Business
Processes

 Production
 Sales
 Information Systems

 A management
information system (MIS)
is a system that
 captures data about an

organization
 stores and maintains

the data
 provides meaningful

information for
management.
 Information Systems

 An MIS can be viewed as

a set of subsystems that
provide information for
such functions as:
 production
 marketing
 human resources
 accounting
 finance
 Management
Information Systems

 MIS captures
 data about business

processes
 aggregates, summarizes,

and organizes data

 produces information that

helps monitor and control

business processes
 ERP systems integrate all

aspects of a firm’s
business processes.
 Accounting
Information System

An AIS is a subset of

an organization’s MIS that
provides:
 accounting and

financial information
 other information

obtained in the routine

processing of
accounting transactions
Uses of Accounting
Information Systems

 Producing external
reports
 Supporting routine
activities
 Decision support
 Planning and control
 Implementing internal
control
Role of Accountants
in Relation to AIS

 User
 Manager
 Consultant
 Evaluator
 Provider of accounting
and tax services
 Keyterms

 Accounting information
system (AIS)
 Applications
 Assurance services
 Business process
 Enterprise resource
planning system (ERP)
 Keyterms
 Events
 Internal control
 Management information
system (MIS)
 Off-the-shelf software
 Transaction cycles