Acc681 Accounting Information Systems

Fall, 1997

Jagdish S. Gangolly

This handout discusses the group project in order to provide you the basis for working on the projects. The deliverables are meant as guidelines only.

I expect each group to meet with me in my office during the office hours every week till Thanksgiving. At these meetings, we will take stock of what each group has accomplished, and evaluate the progress in the project. Such evaluations are an integral part of the evaluation of the group projects, and will be reflected in the points assigned to the presentations. I shall announce what I expect each group to document for these meetings.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the team project are:

• To provide you some hands-on experience in declaring at least some of the specifications for an accounting information system.
• To provide you a taste of the team approach to designing an accounting information system.
• To provide you an opportunity for developing the ability to describe an accounting information system.
• To provide you some hands-on experience in using Microsoft Access.

SELECTING THE PROJECT TOPIC:

By now, each group should have selected one of the components of the manual accounting system described in the practice set Systems Understanding Aid. Examples are: Sales, Cash Receipts/Accounts Receivable, Cash disbursement/Accounts Payable, Purchases, Payroll, Inventory. Each group also should have, by now, arrived at a consensus as to the Entity-Relationship diagram as well as the data model diagram for the system chosen.

GRADING

The group project carries 200 points towards the course grade. The group oral presentations in the class, after thanksgiving, carries 50 points. The written report that is due on December 2, 1996 carries 150 points.

I give below in some details the requirements as well as the deliverables for the group oral presentations and the written report.

GROUP ORAL PRESENTATIONS (12/2, 12/4, & 12/9):

Each group will have approximately 25 minutes to make this presentation. The presentation must be professional in spirit. You must assume that this is the presentation that you would make to your client in accounting practice. It should include the description of the proposed system and should be organized to convince the client that it is superior to the existing system. You should demonstrate the system that you are proposing, or at least provide sufficient information in your presentation so that the client has an adequate understanding of what you did in the project.

In the oral presentations, you should briefly discuss

• the system you are studying & the scope of your project,
• the structure & functions of the existing system,
• the structure & functions of the system you are proposing (highlighting the differences, if any)
• your understanding of the user requirements, if any, that in your opinion the present system does not satisfy,
• your understanding of the problems with the existing system (eg., inefficiencies, redundancies, missing information if any, user queries that are difficult to answer by the existing system, etc.), These requirements must be incorporated in the system you are proposing,
• the model of the data in the system you are proposing,
• the inputs for the system that you are proposing (the forms that you have designed),
• illustrate at least some of the queries and reports that you designed for your proposed system.

GROUP WRITTEN REPORT (Deliverables):

A very brief written progress report that should include each of the items in the bullet list above. This report should not exceed five pages (double-spaced, with fonts not less than 10 points). You may, however, attach copies of the transparencies/slides you use in your presentation. This report is due at the beginning of the class on December 2, 1997.

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Updated by Jagdish S. Gangolly on November 1, 1997.