Accounting Information System - overview

We begin with system, a system is a set of interrelated......
given an example, a car, normally a car has wheels, seats, doors etc.....that interact and to achieve a goal...

4: some times a large system consist smaller subsystems, for example, engine system in the car.

5: be reminder that those subsystem's goal should be designed to maximize achievement of the orgainzation goal

6: we have two terms to describe the relationship of subsystem goals.....

7: when we design a system, we are encouraged to integration subsystem, for example if there two functions can be achieved by one subsystem, we should not create two subsystem to do so.

The next is data, we call those collected, recorded, stored and processed fact in In Sys as data.
these data can be an event related for example a sales transaction, resource related for example an inventory to be sold out or agent related an example is salesperson who do the sales . we will go through these later.

8. Information is different from data. Information is more meaningful.

Data... data is raw. It simply exists and has no significance beyond its existence (in and of itself). It can exist in any form, usable or not. It does not have meaning of itself. for example 23 is a data

Information... information is data that has been given meaning by way of relational connection. for example "the tempeture is 23 degree" that is an information.

normally, we have more information, we can make better decision.

9: however, if the information is overload, we have no benefit from it. For example, if i give you 4 questions as examination tips, you will feel this is useful, However, if i give you 400 questions as examination tips, it is overload.

10 to 12: we have an equation to calculate the value of information. that is .....

13 in following few slide, we will discuss what make information useful.
- relevance. you got an exam tips but the exam is referring another university, this is not useful

14. reliability. if the exam tips is from an informal channel, say online forum, it may not reliable

15. completeness, if I tell you the exam question is extracted from page ? this is incompletenesss, because i leave the most important thing blank

16. the information must timeliness, if tell you what will be exam after the examination date, it's useless.

17. understandability. if I tell you the exam tips in german, this is useless

18: verifiability ......this is refer the information must understand by different people to produce the same result.

19: the last one is accessiblity, if i tell you the coming exam paper and its model answer is locked in my home. this information for you is useless.

20. when a system produce information, it target to two kinds of user, the external one and internal one.

21: firstly is external one.

22: the external user

23: however, when we provide this information , our focus should be on.....

24:other than the external user, information also provided to internal users

25: the internal users desire many different kind of inforamtion, it could be change frequently, in many forms or different pupose...so we say

26 in following section, we will go through What is AIS.
We have mentioned that, system is designed for specify goal
while information system is for decision making purpose.
so , AIS by its name, is an accounting system designed for decision making purpose.
we say AIS........

26: ............we must remember the system must include these four activites !........
actually this is not limited in computer based.................very important, the technology is s...

27: the function of AIS is:

28: AIS is important in accounting field because......................just like if you a the soccer player, you have to know the soccer game rule before you enter the game. Similiary, accountant to provide information must understand where the info come from, how it generates, and the overall platform etc.

29: AIS course is differ from other course......

30 AIS is critical to career success, acutally i've show the job market cases at the beginning of the course.

31 and 33: [XXX] this one just give you an example of AIS important.

33: ...........you will learn more later.

34: AIS course is not a simple inforamtion system course.

35: AIS also impact.........

36-38: this is a tringle relationship......

39: In following section, we go though the value chain. the objective.....for example, we buy a humberger, this is not only buy the humberger, but also the package, the shop decloration, the smile of the casher....

40 to 43 [xxxx]

44: we may already leard "adding value" before, it means.....

45 to 56 {~~~~drawing ~~~~}

57 to 61 (~~~talk~~~}

62 to 64 : there are three level of decision....

65 to 67: ......

68. in brief .....

69 a corporation have to balance the unlimited opportunitites and limited resourese when invest in technology. so management have to evaluation base on return and strategy.

70 to 74: Michael Porter suggested twobasic business strategies....

75 to 79 (.........)

80. a company is impossible to to everthing, so choose a position...

81 {xxxx}

82 so the role of AIS is provide .... / ........

83: in the value chain, the AIS....


Learning outcomes:
- To appreciate What AIS is,
- Why AIS is important and
- Understanding the meaning of system, data, information, value chain, decision, strategy.



System:
Every oraganization has its goal(s)
System is designed to achieve goals
System has many componants so called "sub-system"
Each sub-system has its own function, but they are interact
These function (activities) may conflict or congruence with goals
The system concept encourage integration

Data:
Accounting information system is a kind of System
The goal of AIS is handle data
Data is a fact that collected, recorded, stored and processed by AIS
Data is about the fact of event, resources and agents

Information:
Data is meaningless, while information is meaningful (keyword: meaning)
We are based on information to make decision
The benefit of Information is measured by
- Cost of producing information / value of information
A good information has 7 characteristics
- (relevance, reliability, completencess, timeliness, understandability, verifiability, accessibility)
Information is provided to internal and external (mandatory or essential) users

Value Chain:
Value added is a commonly used buzzword
It means making the value of the finished component greater than the sum of its parts.
It is provided by performing a series of activities.
This series of activities is so called value chain
Value chain is include two kinds of activities
- Primary activities (direct relate to product, for example the costs of logistics staff, sales staff, post sales support costs etc)
- Support activities (indirect relate to product but supporting the operation of the organization)
Information technology can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these activities.
In very short, building on the data and information, the value of AIS is help management to make decisions and strategy

Decisions and Strategy:
Types of decisions
- (by degree: Structured, Semi-structured, Non-structure)
- (by scope: Occupational control, Management control decisions, Strategic planning)

Types of strategy (suggested by Michael Porter)
- product-differentiation strategy
- low-cost strategy

Types of strategy position
- variety-based strategic position
- needs based strategic position
- access based strategic position