Chapter 1 ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS: AN OVERVIEW TEACHING TIPS This chapter provides general coverage of many of the text's major themes. It's usually a good idea to indicate how the topics covered in this chapter will be covered in more detail later in the course. Many instructors will not assign any problem from the end of this chapter. This can be done without any loss of overall continuity in the course. If the course will emphasize internal controls, it might be desirable to cover in class one of the general cases on internal control from the back of Chapters 4, 7, or 8. This should be done to stimulate student interest, but the instructor should not worry if the students in the course fail to analyze the case correctly. In some ways, teaching systems can be more difficult than teaching other areas. In many cases there are no clear-cut debits and credits to be made, and judgment is often required. This can make some students feel uncomfortable. So it's usually good to emphasize this at the beginning of the course to properly set students' expectations. The point should also be made that systems are an important area of professional examinations. One of the biggest risks in teaching systems is that it can easily become dry and boring. I have found that the best way to overcome this is to generate as much class discussion as possible on many of the major points in the chapter. Accordingly, I always make class participation about one-fourth of the total course grade. I tell students on the first day of class that as a starting point I will give all students the same number of points (reflecting a class average) for participation. Then, at the end of the course, I will typically add or subtract 5, 10, or 15 points to/from each student's grade according to the participation. Many students typically stay at the average, so only noteworthy students end up with an adjustment. I always use a seating chart, unless the class is small. Many of my students have had jobs. So one question that I constantly ask throughout the term is "Has anyone experienced this before in their job or otherwise?" ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS An accounting information system is a collection of resources, such as people and equipment, designed to transform financial and other data into information. Accounting information systems perform this transformation whether they are essentially manual systems or thoroughly computerized. Information and Decisions. The users of accounting information fall into two broad groups: external and internal. Higher level managers require less information detail than lower level managers. A distinction might be drawn between two broad classes of accounting information: mandatory and discretionary. Conceptually, information should satisfy a cost-benefit criterion. In meeting mandatory information requirements, the primary consideration is minimizing costs while meeting minimum standards of reliability and usefulness. When the provision of information is discretionary, the primary consideration is that the benefits obtained exceed the costs of production. Information Systems. A "computer-based" information system is a collection of computer hardware and software designed to transform data into useful information. Electronic Data Processing (EDP or DP): the use of computer technology to perform an