CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY - NORTHRIDGE
Department of Accounting & Information Systems

IS 530 : Accounting Information Systems

Fall 2016 Semester

Instructor:                   Dr. DAT- DAO NGUYEN
Office:                         JH 3221 (Juniper Hall / College of Business Building)
Office Hours:             Tuesday from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM
                                    or by appointment                               
e-mail:                        datdao.nguyen@csun.edu
Web page:                  http://www.csun.edu/~dn58412/

SCHEDULE OF CLASS MEETINGS

       Class Number                Time                                       Location
             13435         Tuesday 7:00 PM - 9:45 PM              JH 2212
			           from OCT 25 o DEC 13 

COURSE OVERVIEW

This graduate course provides a survey on business contexts - specifically major business processes/ accounting cycles - and methodologies for developing effective, efficient information systems for the business. The course intends to equip accounting professionals / business managers with the knowledge on Systems Development Life Cycle so that they understand the works of their IS counter-parts in providing information systems for the core activities in their companies. The IS professionals also benefit from the course with the knowledge on business contexts and user requirements of the systems to be developed. Ultimately, the course provides a common ground for the co-operations among systems stakeholders to warrant an effective and efficient information system to capture, process, and report quality information for business decision makings.

On completion of this course, students will be able to understand and apply the following key concepts/issues in Accounting Information Systems:

• Business activities performed in major business processes/ accounting cycles and the flows of accounting data and information in those processes/cycles. Collection and processing of data about those business activities.
• Systems Development Process and System Analysis &  Design techniques to design an effective Accounting Information Systems  (AIS) in order to provide information needed for decision making in each business process.
• Fundamental concepts of relational database in contemporary AIS.
• The use of Information Technology (IT) in AIS to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business activities.
• Internal control objectives and specific controls to achieve those objectives.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In today’s business environment, an accounting professional is no longer a conservative person sitting in the back office and trying to keep accounts balanced. A modern accounting professional becomes a critical source of internal and external business information to other managers for making effective, efficient decisions at all corporate levels to gain competitive advantage for their business. Consequently, the accounting professional should understand information requirements of the core business processes and how to implement an information system (IS) with cutting-edge information technologies (IT) to record, process, and report quality business data. As a business manager, an accountant should not simply get output from an information system, but he/she must also understand how data have been processed properly without errors and frauds. A professional equipped with solid knowledge on a modern accounting information system will be a key player to work effectively with other managers and field specialists in the process of defining selecting, and deploying appropriate information systems for the business.

This course provides graduate students with an understanding of requirements, design, and control of major business processes/accounting cycles integrated in an enterprise system. Topics include Systems Analysis and Design methodologies and techniques for Accounting Information System (AIS) development, issues in control and audit of systems fraud and abuse, and controls for systems reliability.

Required class work includes individual Class Journal reports and assignments on Systems Modeling with Microsoft Access, Excel, and Quickbook Accounting.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Understanding the requirements, design, and control of major accounting cycles/business processes integrated in an Enterprise System: Revenue Cycle - Sales and Cash Collections, Expenditure Cycle- Purchasing and Cash Disbursements, Production Cycle, Human Resources Management and Payroll Cycle, General Ledger and Reporting System.
2. Understanding Systems Analysis & Design methodologies and techniques: Process Modeling, Data Modeling, Development Strategies, Project Management, Implementation, and Operation.
3. Understanding Control and Audit of Accounting Information Systems: Controls for Computer Crimes (Fraud and Abuse,) and Systems Reliability (Information Security, Confidentiality, Privacy, Processing Integrity, and Availability.)
4. Applying some business major Information Technologies and Software in Accounting Information Systems (AIS).

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS

   Owen (2015). Using Quickbooks Accountant 2014. Cengage Learning. (ISBN: 9781285183428)  [The text should have a trial version of Quickbooks Accountant 2014 on CD.]

   Additional materials will be posted / distributed in class.

   An USB thumb-drive to save your class hands-on (large Excel, Access, and Accounting data files)

   Three blank CD's (or DVD's as needed) to save and submit your assignments

SUGGESTED REFERENCES

   Adamski, Finnegan & Scolland (2014). New Perspectives Microsoft Access 2013 Comprehensive. Course Technology. ISBN 978-1-285-09920-1
    Parson et al. (2014). New Perspectives Microsoft Excel 2013 Comprehensive. Course Technology. ISBN 978-0-285-16933-0

CLASS WORK

The final course grade is composed of:

• Individual Class Journal Packet and Homeworks(45%)
• 3 (Three) Individual Assignments on AIS Development using Microsoft Excel, Access, and Accounting Package (45% @ 15% each)
• Class participation (10%)

For every week, write a 2-page (Times-News Roman 12, single-spaced) Class Journal for each lecture topic (Lecture 1, Lecture 2 ...etc) to record the issues that you have learned from the class meeting (lecture note, textbook, discussion ...) Class Journal packet may include some extra homeworks.

Due to the accelerate format of the class, there are 7 in-class meetings and 1 compreshensive exam session. Students are responsible for reading class materials on their own. A typical meeting includes a brief review of major / difficult topics in the assigned lecture materials then most of the class time will be hands-on AIS modeling with Microsoft Acess Excel, and Quickbook Accounting.

The Comprehensive Exam part on Accounting Information Systems at the end of the course is not part of the class work, but it will contribute credit to the Comprehensive Exam Requirement of the MSA degree.