Chapter 01 - Role and Purpose of Accounting Information Systems 1-2 1. Reading review questions a. What is an accounting information system? An accounting information system, like all systems, is a collection of inter-related parts designed to achieve a specific goal. In the case of AIS, that goal is to prepare information for decision making. b. Describe the purpose of the FASB conceptual framework. Discuss how it relates to your study of accounting information systems. The FASB conceptual framework was published in 1977; its intended purpose was to provide some guidance for the development of future accounting principles. The framework relates to the study of AIS in many ways, including identifying the elements of financial statements tracked by the AIS and specifying the characteristics information should have to make it useful for decisions. c. List and discuss the five parts of a generic accounting information system. The five generic parts of the AIS are: inputs (such as source documents), processing (such as with general ledger software), outputs (such as the general purpose financial statements), storage (such as in master and transaction files) and internal control (such as separation of duties). d. Compare and contrast sponsored information, practitioner/public information, and scholarly information. All three types of information can, under the right circumstances, be useful. Sponsored information is a lot like advertising; someone has paid a fee to have the information disseminated. Practitioner information focuses on the application of ideas to some specific case, such as a journal article that explains how a company estimates bad debts. Scholarly information meets much more rigorous standards for peer review, generalizability and research design. e. Identify five broad criteria you can use to evaluate information on the Internet and in other sources. The University of Maryland University College offered five criteria for information evaluation. They are: authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency and coverage. f. In a manner specified by your instructor (e.g., individually or with a group, as a written paper or as an oral presentation), prepare an original response to one or more of the questions for this chapter’s “AIS in the Business World.” I was very fortunate to have three assistants available to prepare responses to the AIS in the Business World vignettes for the third edition; I’ve posted their responses on my AIS