AccountingPrinciplesAccountingInformationSystems幻灯片.pptxVIP

;;Accounting information system (AIS) collects and processes transaction data and communicates financial information to decision makers. Includes: All steps in the accounting cycle. Documents that provide evidence of transactions. Manual or computerized accounting system.;Cost Effectiveness - Benefits must outweigh the costs.;Software programs (functions include sales, purchases, receivables, payables, cash receipts and disbursements, and payroll). Generate financial statements. Advantages: Typically enter data only once. Many human errors are eliminated. More timely information.;CHOOSING A SOFTWARE PACKAGE ENTRY-LEVEL SOFTWARE Easy data access and report preparation Audit trail Internal control Customization Network Compatibility ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS;Curbing Fraudulent Activity with Software The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) requires that companies demonstrate that they have adequate controls in place to detect significant fraudulent behavior by employees. The SOX requirements have created a huge market for software that can monitor and trace every recorded transaction and adjusting entry. This enables companies to pinpoint who used the accounting system and when they used it. These systems also require “electronic signatures” by employees for all significant transactions. Such signatures verify that employees have followed all required procedures, and that all actions are properly authorized. One firm that specializes in compliance software had 10 clients prior to SOX and 250 after SOX. Note that small businesses have no standards like SOX and often do not have the resources to implement a fraud–prevention system. As a result, small businesses lose nearly $630 billion to fraud each year. To address this problem, more sophisticated software is being designed for small business fraud prevention. Sources: W. M. Bulkeley and C. Forelle, “Anti-Crime Program: How Corporate Scandals Gave Tech Firms a New Business Line,” Wall Street Journal (December 9, 200