The Ohio State University
Fisher College of Business
Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems


ACCT&MIS 531 -- Accounting Information Systems


Spring Quarter 1997


Table of Contents



Course Information

Instructor:   Waleed A. Muhanna, Ph.D.
Office:       448 Hagerty Hall  (Phone: 292-3808;  E-mail: muhanna.1@osu.edu)
Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 2:00-3:30, and by appointment.

Reading Materials

  1. Romney, M. B., P. J. Steinbart and B. E. Cushing, Accounting Information Systems, Seventh Edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1997. (Required)
  2. Assignments, lecture outlines, relevant articles, and documents which will be available electronically through the class home page on the
    World-Wide Web at URL:
    http://www.cob.ohio-state.edu/~wmuhanna/amis531.html

Course Description

Recent advances in computer and communication technology have sparked an information revolution that is radically transforming the way we do business and the very nature of work. Perhaps no where has the impact of information technology been more pronounced than on the accounting system and the accounting profession itself.

Accounting is generally concerned with the identification, collection, processing, analysis, interpretation and communication of economic information about an organization, and as such, there is considerable degree of affinity between the accounting and information systems fields. Accountants, as information specialists, must acquire a common body of knowledge relating to information systems if they are to succeed in today's increasingly competitive, computer laden and technologically driven business environment.

Accountants typically play four major roles with respect to information systems and their products: as users, evaluators, controllers, and builders. ACCT&MIS 531 is intended to help you play such roles effectively by providing you with a comprehensive introduction to computers in business, particularly for accounting applications. The course is broad in its breadth and is oriented toward principles, concepts, and ideas rather than primarily toward the technical aspects of information systems. The objective of this course is to give you the "core" of systems knowledge (except for the topic of programming) which will help you:

  1. understand the relationship between accounting information systems and other systems in the organization, within an overall information systems framework;
  2. acquire the background knowledge and language necessary to communicate effectively with information systems professionals and participate in the design, development and evaluation of accounting information systems;
  3. understand basic security and control issues as well as auditing considerations relating to computer-based accounting information systems; and
  4. acquire a working knowledge of basic spreadsheet and database concepts and data analysis tools, and become familiar with the World Wide Web and the Internet as business communication and computing platforms.

Prerequisites

The official prerequisites for this course are ACCT&MIS 212 and CIS 200/211. Operationally, you should have familiarity with computers such as may be achieved via any programming course.

Assignments Exams

To get the most out of the lectures, assigned readings should be done in advance of the class in which topics will be discussed. In addition to the reading requirements from the text and the supplementary reading materials (both electronic and in hard-copy format), there will an assignment almost every week. Some assignments are reasonably simple, while others will involve more thought and effort to complete -- all are designed to reinforce materials discussed in class or to challenge you to gain new knowledge through exercise and personal discovery.

The assignments fall into two categories: (1) cases and problems (often from the main textbook); and (2) computer assignments involving the use of Excel and Access software packages. Homeworks are to be handed-in manually or submitted electronically on or before the class period of the indicated due date. Late work will not be accepted for credit, except for the most unusual and independently corroborated cases. I suggest you start your assignments at least three days in advance. This way you can avoid the rush for lab space and have an opportunity to see me if you need help or have questions before the due date. Plan ahead; you'll thank yourself later.

A limited amount of cooperation on homework and lab assignments is permitted. You may discuss with classmates general solution strategies. However, everyone must independently do and turn in their own work. Each student must be sure s/he understands (and can reproduce if asked) what is turned in. Whenever you do collaborate with someone else, you are asked to include in your paper a description of the extent of collaboration and your collaborators' names. Stated collaborators will not be subjected to any penalty whatsoever.

There will be two in-class exams. The first is scheduled to be held on Thursday, May 1st. The second exam will be held during the final examination period on Tuesday, June 10th at 5:30PM. The second exam is not cumulative. Exams must be taken at their scheduled times; no make up exams will be given, except for the most unusual circumstances in accordance with university rules.

Course Grading

30% of your final grade will be based on homeworks (about 150 points total). The exams (100 points each) will each account for 35% of your grade. The grading scale will be approximately as follows: 90-100% = A; 85-89% = A-; 75-84% = B range; 65-74% = C range; 55-64% = D range; below 55% = E. Class participation and attendance are important and will be considered as subjective elements of your final grade, particularly in borderline cases.

Computer Use and Facilities

In addition to the lecture discussions focusing on concepts and principles, you'll learn how to use two specific software packages: Excel and Access. Knowledge of both tools will serve you well as an accounting student and a business professional. The homepage contents include tutorials that can be followed easily. After reading the tutorials and experimenting with the packages in the lab, you should be able to do the assigned homework.

We are also going to discuss the Internet and you will get exposure to a variety of Internet-related services and tools. The course, as indicated above, has its own home page on the WWW. I will assume that you will check (at least twice a week) the page for course related information and assignments.

All the software you will need will be available in the two COB labs in Hagerty Hall. You can also use other (UTS) labs around campus, including the one in 406HH. Those who have access to a machine at home can conveniently access the class home page via HomeNet (available for a nominal charge at the OSU Bookstore) and Netscape browser (available for downloading free of charge).

Feedback and Continuous Improvement

Students are strongly encouraged to visit with me in my office or use e-mail to ask questions, to express concerns about any aspect of the course, or to clear up possible points of confusion. Please note that I may not always be able to make all of the changes suggested, but I will do my very best to correct any problems and accommodate your suggestions.

Course Outline

The following schedule is tentative. Alterations and possible additional reading assignments will be posted to the course home page at least one week in advance. Please make sure to check the home page regularly.

The reading assignments are from the textbook (TB) or materials distributed in class or made available electronically through the course home page (HP).

DATEClass TopicReading Assignments
4/1/97 Introduction: A Framework for IS TB: Chapter 1
4/3/97 Elements and Procedures of AIS TB: Chapter 2
4/8/97 Computer Lab:
Modeling and Data Analysis using MS Excel 		HP: Intro. to Excel
4/10/97 The Technology of AIS: Computer Hardware Architecture TB: Chapter 7
10/5/95 The Technology of AIS: Software Architecture and Principles TB: Chapter 8
4/17/97 Principles of Data Communication TB: Chapter 9
4/22/97The Internet and Electronic Commerce HP: TBA
4/24/97 -
4/29/97 		Database Management Systems TB: Chapters 4
5/1/97 FIRST EXAM
5/6/97 Computer Lab: MS Access TB: Chapters 5
HP: Access Tutorial
5/8/97 -
5/13/97 		Database Design and Manipulation TB: Chapter 6
5/15/97 Systems Development Life Cycle I TB: Chapters 3 & 10
5/20/97 Systems Development Life Cycle II TB: Chapters 11 & 12
5/22/97Control of AIS TB: Chapters 13 & 14
5/27/97 Auditing Computer-based IS TB: Chapters 15 & 16
5/29/97Computer Security: Viruses and Encryption HP: TBA
6/3/97 Decision Support and Expert Systems HP
6/5/97Emerging Technologies and Applications HP
6/10/97 SECOND EXAM (5:30 PM)



Other Recommended Readings

The following supplementary books are all available at the Business Library in Page Hall.
  1. Boockholdt, James L., Accounting Information Systems : Transaction Processing and Controls, Irwin, 1994. (A competitor to your textbook focusing on control issues.)
  2. Date, C. J., An Introduction to Database Systems, Addison-Wesley, 1983. (A classic book on database concepts and techniques for database management.)
  3. Davis, W. S., Systems Analysis and Design: A Structured Approach, Addison-Wesley, 1990. (A nice text book on computer based information systems analysis and design.)
  4. Laudon, K. C. and J. P. Laudon, Management Information Systems : Organization and Technology, Macmillan, 1994. (Contains additional material on information technology and application systems. Another competitor to your textbook with a broader scope and greater depth.)
  5. Krol, Ed, The Whole Internet: User's Guide, Richard O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 1994. (An introductory guide to the Internet.)
  6. Sprague, R. H., and E. D. Carlson, Building Effective Decision Support Systems, Prentice-Hall, 1982. (An introduction to a class of systems designed to support the decision-making process.)
  7. Thierauf, R. J., Expert Systems in Finance and Accounting, Quorum Books, 1990. (A guide to Expert Systems tools and applications in finance and accounting.)

Up to Table of Contents

Waleed A. Muhanna / wmuhanna@cob.ohio-state.edu