La Trobe Business School
Accounting and Information Systems
ACC1AIS
LMS Subject link
https://lms.latrobe.edu.au/course/view.php?id=122744
SUBJECT LEARNING GUIDE
Teaching Period
Subject Coordinator
Semester 2, 2022
Alireza Vafaei
SUBJECT DETAILS
Subject Code:
ACC1AIS
Subject Title:
Accounting and Information Systems
Teaching Period:
Semester 2, 2022
Location(s):
BU, SY, BE
Credit Points:
15 CP
Delivery Mode:
Blended
AQF Level:
Level 5
ENROLMENT REQUIREMENTS
Prerequisites:
ACC1AMD
Co-requisites:
Nil
Assumed Skills & Knowledge:
Nil
Special Study Requirements:
Nil
Additional subject requirements:
Class materials: Weekly workshop materials are available on the LMS.
STAFF CONTACTS
Subject Coordinator:
Alireza Vafaei
Email:
[email protected]
Tel:
03 9479 2709
Location:
DWB 320, Bundoora Campus
Consultation time/s:
Thursday 4.00 pm 5.00 pm
Location Coordinator:
Amy Lee, Sydney
Email:
[email protected]
Tel:
0416 210 816
Location:
Sydney Campus
Consultation time/s:
TBA
Subject Learning Guide_ Dec 2021
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ABOUT THIS SUBJECT
The digital transformation of business operations has led to an increasing demand for accounting and
business professionals to develop information and communications technology (ICT) skills. This subject
is designed to develop your ICT skills in the context of accounting practice. You will learn the impact of
ICT on an organisations environment and how it is used to analyse data and support operational and
management decision making. Systems design and development, database management systems,
database design, relational database, responsible data management, and emerging accounting
technologies are also discussed.
SUBJECT INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (SILOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject, you should be able to:
1
Explain the role of accounting information systems and technology in business processes
to support operational and management decision making
2
Apply relevant ICT to analyse data, and identify, report and manage risks in an organisation
3
Use an accounting software package to manage business processes
4
Assess the adequacy of ICT processes and controls, and develop strategies for
improvement
GRADUATE CAPABILITIES (GC)
GC
GC Point
COMMUNICATION
Digital Capability
DISCIPLINE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
INQUIRY AND ANALYSIS
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
INQUIRY AND ANALYSIS
Research and Evidence-Based Inquiry
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
Adaptability and Self-Management
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
Ethical and Social Responsibility
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LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Timetable details are available at https://www.latrobe.edu.au/students/your-course/timetables. Students
should also regularly check this subjects LMS site for updated information.
Session
Learning Activities
Contact hours
1
Introduction and Foundation of AIS: Basic theory and Business
processes
2 hours
2
Basic System Development and DBMS: flowcharts, files, database
systems
2 hours
3
Introduction to AIS Development Strategies: Purchasing software, inhouse development, outsourcing, business process management and
prototyping
2 hours
4
AIS for Revenue cycle: Sales, shipping, billing, cash collection
2 hours
5
AIS for Expenditure cycle: Purchasing cycle, production operations, and
cost accounting
2 hours
6
AIS for General ledger and reporting: General ledger, reporting cycle,
update GL, post adjusting entries, preparing financial statements
2 hours
7
Dashboard Design: Using Excel and Power BI
2 hours
8
Fraud, Control and Audit in AIS
2 hours
9
Introduction to cybercrime
2 hours
10
Introduction to AIS for Auditing
2 hours
11
System Design in AIS
2 hours
12
Revision
2 hours
Total
24 hours
SELF-DIRECTED STUDY
In addition to the learning activities specified, you are expected to allocate approximately 10 hours per
week of self-directed study in this subject. This time includes subject preparation, completing learning
activities, readings, assessment preparation and other related work to enhance your participation in this
subject and your learning at La Trobe.
Subject Learning Guide_ Dec 2021
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LEARNING RESOURCES & TECHNOLOGIES
Resource Type
Title
Author and Year
Publisher
Prescribed textbook
Accounting
Information
Systems. 15th
Global Edition
Marshall B. Romney, Paul J. Steinbart,
Scott L. Summers and David A. Wood,
2020. ISBN : 9781292353364
Pearson
Prescribed textbook
Accounting
Information
Systems. 5th
Edition
Alison Parkes, Brett Considine, Karin
Olesen, Yvette Blount, 2016.
ISBN:978-0-730-33620-4
John Wiley and Sons
Required
ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK SUMMARY
Week
Session
%
Week 5
5%
Week 12
Week 7
5%
20%
Assessment
Contribution
Feedback method
SILOs assessed
Practical
demonstration
Individual
Turnitin rubric
SILO1, SILO2
Practical
demonstration
Individual
Turnitin rubric
SILO1, SILO2
Assignment
Group
Turnitin rubric and written
feedback
SILO2, SILO3,
SILO4
Turnitin rubric and written
feedback
SILO3
Feedback is provided
upon request.
SILO1, SILO2,
SILO4
(equivalent to 250
words per student)
(equivalent to 250
words per student)
(equivalent to 1,000
words per student)
Week 10
TBA
20%
50%
Practical
demonstration
Combined
Final Exam
Individual
(equivalent to 1,000
words per student)
(equivalent to 2,000
words per student)
Additional information about assessment & feedback
Students should keep a copy of all assignments submitted for assessment.
HURDLE REQUIREMENTS
There are no Hurdle Requirements for each assessment. You need to achieve at least 50% overall to pass
this subject.
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GENERAL ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
SUBMITTING WRITTEN WORK WITH TURNITIN
Turnitin is a web-based text-matching software system used at La Trobe University to assist you in writing
your assignments and checking for similarity with existing published work. Please remember to allow
adequate time to submit your assignment to Turnitin. It is your responsibility to have your assignment
submitted by the assessment due date. Not receiving an originality report is not an acceptable reason for
requesting an assignment extension unless it is a required part of the assessment.
POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES
The University has a comprehensive policy framework to which both staff and students must adhere. You
should familiarise yourself with those policies, procedures and guidelines likely to affect you especially the
following:
Academic Integrity
Academic Progress Review
Assessment Policy
Adjustments to Assessment, including extensions to submission dates and Special Consideration
Health and Safety (OHS)
Privacy
Validation and Moderation, including applications for review and re-mark
ADJUSTMENTS FOR ASSESSMENT
You may be affected by a range of adverse circumstances while you are preparing for or undertaking an
assessment task. There are avenues for adjustments to your assessment depending on the circumstances
you face. For more detailed information refer to the Assessment Procedure Adjustments.
REQUEST AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO SUBMIT AN ASSIGNMENT TASK
Where you know in advance that you will not be able to submit an assessment task by the due date due to
adverse circumstances that have affected you during the preparation of the task, you will need to request
an extension of time to submit. This must be done at least three days prior to the due date. Penalties
normally apply if you submit an assessment after the due date. Poor time management is not an
acceptable reason for an extension.
To apply, go to https://www.latrobe.edu.au/students/admin/forms/request-an-extension/request
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
If you have experienced serious short term, adverse and unforeseen circumstances that substantially affect
your ability to complete an assessment task to the best of your potential, you may be eligible to apply for
Special Consideration. To do this or find more information, go to http://www.latrobe.edu.au/specialconsideration
Subject Learning Guide_ Dec 2021
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STUDENTS WITH A LEARNING ACCESS PLAN (LAP)
Students who have a Learning Access Plan must apply for any additional adjustments they may need via the
same channels but may have access to more flexible arrangements depending on their circumstances.
Please refer to your LAP.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic integrity means being honest in academic work and taking responsibility for learning the
conventions of scholarship. Academic integrity education is integral to the learning experience at La Trobe
University. The University requires its academic staff and students to observe the highest ethical standards
in all aspects of academic work, and it demonstrates its commitment to these values by awarding due
credit for honestly conducted scholarly work, and by penalising academic misconduct and all forms of
cheating.
The penalty for submitting an assignment under your name that is the work of a third-party may be severe,
even leading to exclusion from the University without readmission. Refer to the Academic Integrity Schedule of Responses and Penalties for Academic Misconduct within the Academic Integrity Policy.
You should understand and be able to practice integrity in all your academic work, and be familiar with the
Academic Integrity website and complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) found in your LMS.
If you have any specific questions regarding Academic Integrity about your assessment, your Subject or
Course Coordinator will be able to assist.
STUDENT FEEDBACK ON SUBJECT SURVEYS
The Student Feedback on Subjects (SFS) Survey is one of the quality assurance processes that occur across
the University. In this survey, you can tell us about your learning experiences in this subject. We value your
feedback. Your views are taken seriously and assist us to improve the learning experience for future
students through the LTU Subject Monitoring process.
The surveys will be available for you to complete towards the end of the subject teaching period. Feedback
from previous students who completed this subject is available in the LMS site for this subject.
For more information you may contact [email protected].
CHARTER OF STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As a La Trobe coursework student, you have rights and responsibilities. La Trobe statutes and regulations,
as well as policies and procedures govern your rights and responsibilities. La Trobe University aspires to
provide an outstanding student experience conducive to scholarly activity and supportive of your learning
goals.
The Charter of Student Rights and Responsibilities is a summary of your rights and responsibilities as a
student at La Trobe. The Charter was developed in consultation with La Trobe students.
https://policies.latrobe.edu.au/document/view.php?id=225.
STUDENT COMPLAINTS
The Student Complaints Management System (SCM) is a formal mechanism for students to lodge
concerns about any aspect of their university experience. A student complaint may be about any aspect of
Subject Learning Guide_ Dec 2021
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university life, such as an administrative matter, a problem with a subject or course, or the conduct of a
student or staff member.
For more information about the Student Complaint process and how to lodge a complaint, visit the
Complaints and Feedback page at: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/students/support/complaints.
GETTING HELP AND SUPPORT AT UNI
A range of services at La Trobe can assist you with your studies, health and wellbeing.
For the full range of services and facilities available for you, go to Student Help and Support at
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/students/support.
STUDYING ONLINE
When you are in studying an online subject, please be sure that you can continue to access our learning
support services through the Learning Hub (academic skills, English language, Maths and Science) via Zoom
appointments that you can book by accessing the Learning Hub LMS page or by emailing the
[email protected].
You also have access to assignment feedback and online study support chat through Studiosity that can be
accessed from any subject LMS page. You can also access the Library services remotely through the library
website.
LIBRARY
Your Library offers many ways to support your study. To discover more about how the Library can help,
visit your Library website and explore the following essential resources:
Achieve@Uni
https://www.latrobe.edu.au/students/study-resources/learning/achieve Learn skills to help complete your assessments
Assessment Planner
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/library/assessment-thesis-support/plan-my-assessment
Create a personal assessment schedule
Expert Help Guides
https://latrobe.libguides.com/ – Find expert discipline and specialist help for your research
Referencing at La Trobe University
http://latrobe.libguides.com/referencing/ – Understand how and why to reference
Academic Referencing Tool
www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/referencing-tool – Get detailed examples of referencing styles
Chat to library staff
www.latrobe.edu.au/library – Access the text chat service from the Library website
Contact us
www.latrobe.edu.au/library/about/contact – Call or email your Library
Subject Learning Guide_ Dec 2021
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ASK LA TROBE
ASK La Trobe is a service open to all La Trobe students who need guidance with administrative matters
during their time at La Trobe. ASK La Trobe can provide you with help relating to enrolments and
timetabling, fees and financial support, exams, results and graduations & student life and support services.
Go to ASK La Trobe Current Students at http://latrobe-current.custhelp.com/app/home and start by
looking at our FAQs or visit us at your campus ASK La Trobe Help Zone.
If you cant find what youre looking for:
Call 1300 La Trobe (1300 528 762)
Ask a question online at http://latrobe-current.custhelp.com/app/ask
Visit the ASK La Trobe Help Zone. Join the queue for the Bundoora, Bendigo or city campuses using
the QLess: Virtual Queuing system.
LEARNING AND SUPPORT PROGRAMS
There are many resources, including services, to help you with your academic studies at La Trobe. Go to
the Learning and Support Programs page at http://www.latrobe.edu.au/students/study-resources/learning
for further information.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Your health and wellbeing are an important part of being a successful student. Studying can be stressful
and many factors can affect your mental and physical health, in and outside of the University.
Check out the services available to you at La Trobe to support your health and wellbeing at
www.latrobe.edu.au/wellbeing.
Subject Learning Guide_ Dec 2021
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Exercise 1
Describe some inputs, processes and outputs of an accounting information system.
Inputs: Sales order (record purchase requests from customers), purchase data (data about purchases
initiated with our vendors), Receiving data (data about arriving goods), shipping data (data about
goods sent to customers), invoices (received from vendors)
Processes: Check data is valid, sort data, manipulate data
Outputs: Invoice (sent to customer), cheque (sent to vendor), profit and loss report, accounts
receivable report
Exercise 2
What is the difference between data and information?
Data are the raw facts relating to or describing an event. For example, data relating to a sale could
include the customers name, address, salesperson ID, the sale number, sale date, items purchased,
quantity purchased and so on. On its own this data is not all that useful. However, through the
application of rules and knowledge the data can be made meaningful, thus converting it to
information. For example, the collection of data relating to sales may be summarised into sales by
customer or sales by product, to provide information about high spending customers or slow moving
products.
Exercise 3
Explain the difference between a strategy of cost leadership and differentiation. (LO1)
Cost leadership is a strategy that involves an organisation selecting activities with its process that
minimise costs in the provision of the goods or services. Typically such strategies will see little choice
or flexibility for example standardised goods or services with little options for customisation, since
customisation and flexibility add to the cost of production.
A differentiation strategy sees an organisation distinguish itself through greater attention to customer
needs and individual customer requirements. It allows higher prices to be charged since such a
strategy is stereotypically seen as being of higher quality.
A comparison of the two strategies brings out differences in:
Flexibility in the resultant business processes.
Focus of the strategy (cost management vs specialisation/customer attention).
End price (cost leadership generally seen as cheaper).
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Exercise 4
Describe the differences between the functionally based and process-based organisation. How do
these differences affect how the organisation operates?
The functionally based organisation is designed around the concepts of a clear division of tasks,
specialisation of labour and tight vertical control and coordination. The functional based organisation
tends to focus more on what gets done for example each functional division doing their specific task
and specialising on that task. Such an organisational structure is hierarchically based. The process
based organisation focuses more on how things are done. As a result it looks at how value is delivered
to the end customer, emphasising the interaction between the different business functions, or a
horizontal view of the organisation.
Exercise 5
What are the organisational advantages and disadvantages of the functionally based and process
based organisational designs?
The organisational benefits and disadvantages of the functional and process based organisational
designs are summarised in the table below.
FUNCTIONAL
PROCESS
BENEFITS
Clear division of labour
Vertical control
Specificity of tasks
Customer driven
More efficient resource use
possible
Flexibility
DISADVANTAGES
Can be bureaucratic and cumbersome
Communication problems / delays
Information flows can be delayed
Focuses on the wrong things
Slow to react to change
Less vertical control
Change to process emphasis can create
resistance
Exercise 6
How can ERP systems enable a process-based organisation?
ERP systems enable process based-organisations by supporting the sharing of corporate data and
permitting the establishment and monitoring of computerised process workflows.
Exercise 7
Describe briefly two of the methods of making changes to a business process, namely TQM and BPR.
Business Process Reengineering is the process of making radical and drastic changes to an existing
business process, with the intention of achieving large improvements in process performance.
Continuous improvement or Total Quality Management is a less drastic approach to organisational
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improvement. TQM is more of a continual process of improvement, involving many small
improvements or gradual changes to a process rather than one large set of changes, as is advocated
by BPR enthusiasts.
Exercise 8
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of TQM?
Some advantages and disadvantages of TQM are summarised in the table below.
ADVANTAGES
Gradual change is less risky than radical
change
Can improve the morale of employees through
increased empowerment
If successful can bring about improvement /
benefits for the organisation
DISADVANTAGES
Can take a long time before visible change is
achieved
Risk of losing sight of big issues while focusing
on small improvements
Exercise 9
Explain what is meant by the term clean slate approach in the discussion of BPR.
The clean slate approach is viewed by many as one of the key features behind any attempt at Business
Process Reengineering. As the name suggests, it involves starting from a clean slate, or blank piece of
paper, when re-engineering the organisation. This start from scratch point of view is critical to BPRs
unassuming nature and its emphasis on challenging key assumptions behind existing business
processes. However it is not without fault, many see the clean slate approach as too extreme for most
organisational change requirements. The argument for the clean slate approach is that it avoids the
mistake of simply automating existing processes, which may be poorly designed or fundamentally
flawed to begin with, forcing the design new processes within the organisation.
Exercise 10
List and describe, through the use of examples, the principles of BPR.
PRINCIPLE
Combine jobs and let workers make
decisions
Create a single reference point for
customers
DESCRIPTION
The role of the employee is now across the process,
rather than just one particular task. Potentially
they can be involved from start to finish within the
process.
This helps customer satisfaction, giving the
customer a single reference point regardless of the
nature of their enquiry. Some Australian banks are
tending towards this approach, with client
managers allocated customers, in preference to
the traditional functional approach, for example
loans manager, accounts manager and so on.
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Perform steps in a natural order and at
their logical location
Allow processes to vary
Reduce the impediment of controls and
reconciliations
If activities can be performed simultaneously then
allow that to happen, and avoid the passing of
work around to different locations if possible.
Not all cases are homogenous. As a result allow
variation in the execution of processes to cater for
different circumstances.
Controls, while an important part of an
organisation, can slow down processes. BPR
questions the value of controls for example
hierarchies and reconciliations and calls for nonvalue adding controls to be removed.
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HOMEWORK PROGRAM (Week 2)
Accounting Information Systems (ACC1AIS)
Online lectures/activities- It is recommended that student should complete the online learning
activities before attending the weekly workshop. These include the online lectures and any associated
online material.
Reading guide
References: Parkes, A., Considine, S., Olesen, K., Blount, Y., & Speer, D. Accounting Information
Systems (5th edition, 2016), John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Chapters 3 & 4.
Review questions:
1. What are the advantages of database systems?
Answer:
Database systems are designed to eliminate the repetition of data and the incidence of inconsistent
data by ensuring data is structured so that it is stored in only one location. This structure allows for
data sharing across the organisation and provides the foundation on which any database can be
developed. The incidence of errors is reduced considerably by independent data structures, with
only one location for entering and manipulating data.
Program maintenance is also reduced because there is only one centrally located point, the database
management system (DBMS), that requires reprogramming for all data (this will be covered in the
next section). This increases the speed and flexibility with which the organisation can prepare
information that is crucial to decision making.
The centralisation of data and the DBMS enforces consistent standards for data structures and
storage across the organisation. It also aids data and system security by having only one access point
into the database to control. Given this, and as indicated above, privacy, security and adequate
backups to the system are important.
2. What are the four steps in developing ER diagrams?
Answer:
The development of an E-R diagram is an iterative process involving four steps.
Step 1. Develop a general narrative of the organisations operations including the business process,
policies and business rules.
Step 2. Construct the E-R diagram by identifying the internal and external entities and the
relationships among them from the narrative in step 1. Cardinalities and business rules can also be
assigned based on the narrative.
Step 3. Have the E-R diagram reviewed by each area of the organisation with ownership of the
operations, policies and processes.
Step 4. Make the necessary modifications to incorporate any newly discovered entity relationship
components.
This four-step process should be repeated until the designers and users agree that the E-R diagram is
complete and represents the relationships and the rules that govern the organisations entities.
3. Discuss the outcomes of the first, second, and the third normal forms and the actions required
to achieve them.
Answer:
First normal form
Outcome: A table has no repeating groups.
Action: Select a primary key that uniquely identifies each line in the table.
Second normal form
Outcome: A table is in first normal form and has no partial dependencies. A partial
dependency is where the attribute is not wholly dependent on the primary key but on part
of it.
Action: Draw dependency arrows. Remove partial dependencies and make the attributes
fully dependent on their primary keys.
Third normal form
Outcome: A table is in second normal form and has no transitive dependencies. A transitive
dependency is where an attribute is dependent on the primary key but via a non-key
attribute.
Action: Remove transitive dependencies by making the non-key attribute that an attribute is
dependent on a primary key in a new table with the attribute. Also leave the non-key
attribute as a foreign key in the existing table so the attribute is dependent on the primary
key but via a non-key attribute.
WORKSHOP PROGRAM (Week 2)
Accounting Information Systems (ACC1AIS)
Online lectures/activities- It is recommended that student should complete the online learning
activities before attending the weekly workshop. These include the online lectures and any associated
online material.
Reading guide
References: Parkes, A., Considine, S., Olesen, K., Blount, Y., & Speer, D. Accounting Information
Systems (5th edition, 2016), John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Chapters 3 & 4.
Workshop questions:
1. Best Bikes is a large bicycle retailer that also manufactures its own brand, assembles made-toorder bicycles from purchased components and sells fully assembled branded names. You
have been employed as a consultant to Best Bikes. You are asked three questions:
(a)
What databases are available to help Best Bikes capture, store, manage and
manipulate data for decision making and reporting?
(b)
How do these databases operate?
(c)
What are their advantages and disadvantages?
2. Beautiful Flowers Company has been running an outdated file system for many years. It has just
employed you as a consultant to advise it on updating its file system to a database. The
businesss managers know that the initial stages before implementation involve database
modelling and database design but they do not understand the implications of this.
(a)
Explain to the managers of Beautiful Flowers Company the objectives of database
modelling in its situation.
(b)
Discuss the role and development of E-R diagrams in database modelling.
(c)
Explain to the companys managers how database design will be conducted
including the function of normalisation.
3. Using the entity-relationship diagram in figure 3.44 for the partial order entry system:
(a)
Write relationship sentences for all of the relationships.
(b)
Discuss what each of the relationships mean in terms of how the business works.
(c)
Does the business allow partial picks (i.e. only part of the goods on the sales order
to be picked)?
(d)
Does the business allow partial shipments (i.e. only part of the goods that have been
picked to be shipped)?
(e)
Are all shipments invoiced in full or partially (i.e. does the business allow partial
invoices)?
HOMEWORK PROGRAM (Week 2)
Accounting Information Systems (ACC1AIS)
Online lectures/activities- It is recommended that student should complete the online learning
activities before attending the weekly workshop. These include the online lectures and any associated
online material.
Reading guide
References: Parkes, A., Considine, S., Olesen, K., Blount, Y., & Speer, D. Accounting Information
Systems (5th edition, 2016), John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Chapters 3 & 4.
Review questions:
1. What are the advantages of database systems?
2. What are the four steps in developing ER diagrams?
3. Discuss the outcomes of the first, second, and the third normal forms and
the actions required to achieve them.
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