Acc 681 Accounting Information Systems

Fall, 1997.

Jagdish S. Gangolly

November 11, 1997

I have placed here the Guidelines for the Group Projects. Please read the handout carefully. It describes what I expect in the written report as well as in the oral presentations. Should you have questions, please ask in the class or see me.

November 10, 1997

I have placed on the web a mid-term test I gave to my undergraduate class two weeks ago. It is in Postscript format, and so is viewable/printable only if the PC has the postscript drivers. The Gateway machine in the Tax Library has the drivers, and the Netscape browser on that machine has been configured to browse postscript documents. So, if you are browsing on that machine, you can view the TEST.

I am trying to have the postscript drivers installed on the other machine in the library, but it may take a few days.

The suggested solution to the test is also available.

October 20, 1997

You should take the on-line quizzes for the chapters 5, 6 & 7 in the Murthy & Groomer text by October 30, 1997 (5pm). You can, of course, take these quizzes earlier if you feel you are ready to take them.

The Chapter 5 quizz will NOT count towards the grade, but you are required to take it to get a passing letter grade in the course. The quizzes for chapters 6 & 7 WILL count towards the course grade.

October 16, 1997

The following clarifies the confusion regarding the group homework I had assigned in the class last week.

  • This is a group home work. It is due on October 28, 1997. I shall be collecting it on that day in the class.
  • Things to do:
  • Create tables in Access for each of the relations (Sales regions, customerss, sales orders, items ordered, collections, and orders collections) in the problem from chapter 6 of MG Text that I discussed in the class. You should also specify the attributes for each relation.
  • Create the data model for the problem using Access.
  • Deliverables: These must be printouts from Access
  • The relationships diagram in Access
  • The list of tables in the Access database that you have created.
  • For each table, the details about the attributes, keys, etc.

    • October 8, 1997

    You should take the on-line quizzes for chapters 3 and 4 of the MG text by 5pm on October 17, 1997. These quizzes will not count towards the assignment of letter grades in the course. However, to receive a letter grade in the course, you should take these quizzes.

    You should take the on-line quizz for chapter 5 of the MG text by 5pm on October 21, 1997. This quizz will not count towards the assignment of letter grades in the course. However, to receive a letter grade in the course, you should take this quizz.

    I have placed on reserve in the library a packet of materials in a black 3-ring binder. It contains the materials from the practice set Systems Understanding Aid for Auditing by Arens & Ward. If you are in a group that chose the accounting project, you should go through the materials relevant to your group project. Please make an appointment by October 15, 1997 to see me as a group.

    September 21, 1997

    I have placed a handout on Ch4 in the MG textbook. You will find the link in the Tentative Schedule.

    September 17, 1997

    I have placed a handout on unix, vax, pine, etc at http://www.albany.edu/acc/courses/fall97/acc681/unix.html. Please read it carefully. By next tuesday you should be quite familiar with the use of class newsgroup.

    September 15, 1997

    For the rest of the semester, please post all questions to the class newsgroup. If you have individual questions on matters other than the content of the course, please address them to acc681@cnsunix.albany.edu and NOT to gangolly.

    You should take the chapter 2 on-line quizz by 5:00PM on September 25, 1997. This quizz will be graded and count towards the final course grade. Remember that you can take each quizz just once. Also, we may not have covered each minute detail in the chapter 2. So it is important that you read the chapter thoroughly.

    September 11, 1997

    You will need to take the first on-line quizz on chapter 1 at Cybertext.com by 5PM on September 18, 1997. This will only be a practise quizz, so that you will get used to taking quizzes on-line. Therefore, I shall NOT count the scores on this quizz for grading.
    You should open the textbook on-line by logging on at Cybertext, and click on "Take a Quizz". It is the last item in the Table of Contents (just below Appendix). Should you have any problem, please post the questions on the newsgroup.

    September 6, 1997.

    I have placed the final version of the course outline at the Course Homepage. Even if you have visited it before, I urge to visit again, since the final version is substantially revised. It also contains the tentative schedule including readings by class day. You should use it throughout the semester to plan your readings.

    August 28, 1997.
    Welcome to Acc 681. Hope you will find this an interesting and useful career. Since this is the only systems course that most of you will be taking, it is comprehensive in coverage and quite up-to-date.
    This is the announcements page for Acc 681 (Gangolly, Fall semester, 1997). A separate homepage for the course will be posted on September 9, 1997 at http://www.albany.edu/acc/courses/fall97/acc681. However, during the semester you should occasionally visit this page. All important announcements made during the semester will be posted by date here.

    You are expected to have an account on the unix cluster before the class on September 4. During the semester, you will be using this account to communicate with each other and with me. You also will be using it to post (and read postings by others in the class) items on the newsgroup for the course (sunya.class.acc681), and to post your work on your own webpages. The final group project reports also will need to be posted on the webpages here.

    The main text for the course is:
    Accounting Information Systems: A Database Approach by Uday S. Murthy & S. Michael Groomer (Cybertext Publishing, 1997).
    Since it is an electronic web-based book, you should subscribe to it on line at http://www.cybertext.com by setting up an account (by setting up an account there by filling the account form). You can download the text of the book on to your floppies/PC through any internet browser (such as Netscape Navigator/Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer). During the semester I shall also be placing on reserve, in the library, a paper copy of this textbook. During the semester, you will be taking on-line quizzes from individual chapters in the book directly at the web site of cybertext , and therefore it is imperative that you set up accounts there.

    In addition to the above, I will be using the following texts during the semester. You may buy them at the Bookstore:
    Unix Handbook SUNYA Computing Center
    HTML: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition by Chuck Musciano & Bill Kennedy (O'Reilly & Associates) ISBN 1-56592-235-2
    Access Database Design & Programming: What You Really Need to Know to Develop with Access, 1st Edition by Steven Roman June 1997 (O'Reilly & Associates) ISBN 1-56592-297-2

    Updated August 20, 1997 by Jagdish S. Gangolly.