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Syllabus
33:010:458
Accounting Information Systems
Fall 1996
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MEMORANDUM
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Accounting
Information Systems Students
September 4, 1996
The syllabus for this course is attached to
this memorandum. It contains details of the
proposed timetable for the semester, together
with information about grading, homework,
examinations, and my course philosophy and
policies.
The syllabus
indicates Office Hours when I will set aside time
to deal with any questions or concerns you may
have. However, although I have a number of
scheduled commitments, I am usually in and around
the School of Business throughout the week
(except for Tuesdays, when I expect to be in
Newark). If you have a quick question, feel free
to drop in at any time; if you have an issue that
you feel will require a more lengthy discussion
or a considered response, and you are not able to
meet with me during the advertised Office Hours,
please feel free to make an appointment to see me
at some other mutually convenient time.
Your study of
Accounting Information Systems will encourage you
to integrate your existing knowledge of business
processes and accounting information, and to add
to them knowledge and skills relating to the
application of information technology. It will
begin at a very general level, but rapidly
proceed to the development of very specific
skills in building systems to provide valuable
information in support of business decision
making. Success in accounting requires
considerable knowledge, skill and dedication.
This course aims to provide you with the first
two ingredients - but you will need to supply the
third yourself. Since most students have had
limited exposure to AIS, there is a great deal of
new information to learn, and I believe it will
be essential to your success that you keep up to
date with the material on a regular basis. The
course has been specifically designed to
encourage you to do so, and to identify as early
as possible those students who do not. This
process can begin only with your effective
preparation before class. Our class time
will be devoted to consolidating your
understanding, and providing a structured
framework for your knowledge. Computer
assignments and projects will be used to help
begin the process of converting the new knowledge
into practical skills. There will be a
significant amount of group work: this reflects
the work environment of the accountant in
practice, and is intended more to maximize
learning opportunities than to minimize
individual effort.
The various
policies and procedures for the course will be
followed strictly and without exception. Review
and discussion questions are designed to provide
a focus for your reading from the textbook, and a
vehicle for your own assessment of how
successfully you have studied a Chapter. They are
primarily learning aids, rather than evaluation
techniques. Every effort will be made to grade
homework, projects and examinations promptly and
accurately. Grades will be posted anonymously on
my office door. In order to benefit from your
efforts, please be sure to check your homework
answers. Otherwise you will have made most of the
effort for only a fraction of the potential
benefit.
Although you are
encouraged to seek help from your classmates or
from me if you encounter difficulties when you
are working homework problems, you should not
copy work that is to be submitted for grades from
others. This applies mainly to multiple choice
questions. Review and discussion questions will
be discussed in class, and minicases will form
the basis for group presentations. Computer
assignments and projects will be worked and
submitted in pairs. Needless to say, examinations
are expected to be the results of your own
efforts alone.
My goal is that
if you make the effort required to succeed in
this class, you will be well prepared for a
future career in accounting, and ready to face
the challenges of a rapidly changing business
environment. This will require hard work on all
sides. I am sure you will expect me to be
prepared for every class, and I intend to be. In
return, I expect you to be both present and
prepared. In addition, I expect you to
participate in classroom activities to the
fullest extent possible given the number of
people present. Remembering and understanding the
material are both necessary; they will take time,
and will require regular study. It is most
unlikely that pre-examination cramming will be
successful as a study technique.
I will be giving
this course my best effort throughout the
semester, and I need you to do the same if I am
to achieve my goal. I am looking forward to
working with you. Accounting Information Systems
play a vital role in supporting the effective
management of business enterprises, and you will
see that I take a serious view of the commitment
we will all need to make if the course is to be a
success. However, nothing in this memorandum is
meant to suggest that we should not enjoy our
semester together. Studying can be both rewarding
and fun in itself, but if you see opportunities
for adding fun to our class that I have missed,
please do not hesitate to draw them to my
attention. I wish you every success in studying
AIS.
Yours sincerely
Peter R Gillett
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| Room:
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BE 251 / BE 251 / BE 252
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| Time: |
MW 1.10 - 2.30 / 2.50 - 4.10 /
7.40 - 9.00
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| Instructor: |
Professor Peter R. Gillett
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| Office: |
Levin 257
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| Telephone: |
(908) 445 4765
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| Fax: |
(908) 445 3201
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| E-mail: |
gillett@everest.rutgers.edu |
| Office Hours: |
MW 10.30 - 12.00, 4.10 - 4.55 or
at other times by appointment
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| Texts: |
Accounting, Information
Technology and Business Solutions. Hollander,
Denna & Cherrington (Irwin, 1996).
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Building Accounting Systems:
A Transaction Cycle Approach. Perry &
Schneider.(South-Western, 1995).
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| Recommended: |
Wall Street Journal
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OBJECTIVES
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At the conclusion of
this course, students should have gained:
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an enhanced understanding of
organizations and business processes
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an awareness of the role of
information and accounting systems in business
management
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an understanding of traditional
accounting information systems and criticisms of
them
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an understanding of
transaction-based accounting information systems
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familiarity with the
development, documentation and control of
accounting information systems
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familiarity with the use of
database management software in developing modern
accounting information systems
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experience of working in large
and small groups
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an opportunity to practice
presentation skills
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exposure to the use of a range
of personal productivity tools (word processing,
spreadsheets, presentation graphics)
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exposure to a widely-used
accounting software package.
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BACKGROUND
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Students who have not taken
prior courses in computers and their
applications, or who do not have a basic
understanding of microcomputers, may have to
spend additional time learning computer hardware
and software concepts, and familiarizing
themselves with the use of word processing and
spreadsheet software. Students should expect
classes to be a mixture of lecture, discussion
and demonstration, and should anticipate the need
to develop personal skills during the semester in
addition to learning textbook material. Prior
preparation for class is expected. Attendance and
active participation are strongly encouraged.
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GRADING
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Total
Possible Points:
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Review &
Discussion Questions (14 x 10) |
140
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Group Presentations
of Minicases |
150
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Multiple Choice
Questions (10 x 10) |
100
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Computer Assignments
(13 x 20) |
260
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Peachtree Project |
50
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Mid-Term Examination
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300
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Final Examination |
500
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TOTAL |
1500
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Final
Grades:
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Grade |
Points
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A |
1350 - 1500
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B |
1200 - 1349
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C |
1050 - 1199
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D |
900 - 1049
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F |
0 - 899
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Course grades will
be determined by reference to the above table, except
that any student who has submitted all graded
homework and assignments and taken the mid-term
examination, and whose score prior to the final
examination is 850 or more, will receive a final
grade no worse than the grade on the final
examination.
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EXTRA CREDIT
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An optional extra credit project
will be worth 75 points. Students are invited to
document and summarize developments in business
computing and information systems reported in the
Wall Street Journal and elsewhere during the
year.
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HOMEWORK AND ASSIGNMENTS
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All homework and assignments are
due at the beginning of the class period shown on
the attached schedule. Solutions to review and
discussion questions may be prepared in rough
note form, and will be used primarily as a basis
for in-class discussion. However, in each
relevant class period a number of students chosen
at random will be required to turn in their
notes. Grades for these assignments will
primarily be based on the quality of in-class
discussion; the exception is that grades for the
randomly selected students will reflect the
extent of their preparation as evidenced by the
completeness and quality of their notes.
Minicases will
form the basis of in-class group presentations;
each group will make one such presentation during
the course of the semester, and all members of
the group will receive the same grade for the
presentation; each group member must participate
in the presentation and must prepare visual aids
using POWERPOINT. Members of other groups are
expected to debate the solutions with the
presenters, and every group must turn in a
word-processed solution to each minicase. Review
and discussion questions and minicases do not
require "correct" solutions in order to
gain full credit.
Solutions to
multiple choice questions must be turned in on
the Scantron forms provided at the time, and will
be graded based on one point for each correct
solution. As all these assignments will be
discussed in class, late assignments will not be
graded.
Grades related
to discussion will be assigned based on my
assessment of how consistently and how
effectively you contribute to the learning
experiences of the class by your active
participation. Factors assessed will include, but
will not necessarily be limited to, demonstrated
preparation of assigned discussion questions,
posing or answering questions during class, and
student-lead discussions. A pre-condition of your
participation, of course, will be your physical
presence in class. Quality of participation is
more important than quantity; too much is no
better than too little; the ability or intention
to participate is not a substitute for actually
doing so. Be adventurous: wrong answers will gain
you nothing - but they will not lose you points
you have already gained!
Computer
assignments and projects involving EXCEL, ACCESS
or PEACHTREE will be worked in pairs; each
student in a pair will receive the same grade.
The instructor will indicate in class those
computer assignments for which diskettes should
be turned in as well as hard copy. Late
assignments will be accepted for grading, but
there will be a 10% penalty for each day that the
assignment is late.
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EXAMINATIONS
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There will be a single mid-term
examination on the day shown on the timetable.
Graded examinations will not be returned, but may
be reviewed in my office, together with
solutions.
You must take
the Final Examination in order to pass the
course. The Final Examination will be
comprehensive, but greater emphasis will be
placed on new material covered since the
mid-term.
A single make-up
examination will be given if necessary for
students unable to take an examination during its
scheduled period due to documented medical
problems, participation in other
university-sanctioned activities, or required
religious observances.
Examinations
will be closed book, and calculators will be
neither required nor permitted. Examination
questions will be a mixture of multiple choice,
essay questions and problems, and may cover any
material in assigned sections of the
textbooks or handouts (whether or not they
surfaced in class discussions), any matters
discussed in class (whether or not they are in
the textbook or handouts), and matters arising
from the computer assignments and projects.
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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
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University policy on academic
integrity will be strictly enforced. All
suspected violations will be pursued and maximum
penalties may be expected to be imposed. Academic
dishonesty is always unacceptable, and never more
so than in a professional school.
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WITHDRAWAL POLICY
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The last day to withdraw from
this course with a "W" grade is October
28. Should you choose to withdraw between October
22 and October 28 (i.e., after the mid-term
examination) a grade of WP will be assigned if
your total score at the time I receive formal
notification is at least 60% of the possible
points available. Otherwise, a grade of WF will
be assigned. Late withdrawals will be given the
appropriate letter grade based on the actual
number of points accumulated at the time of
withdrawal.
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INCLEMENT WEATHER
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The class will meet as scheduled
if the University is open. Should the University
close for any reason, any assignments due that
day will be accepted at the next class meeting,
but subsequent assignments will not be postponed.
If the University is closed on a day that an
examination is scheduled, then the examination
will be deferred until the next class meeting.
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ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
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Peter R. Gillett is an Associate
Professor in the Department of Accounting and
Information Systems of the Faculty of Management
at Rutgers. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in
Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of
Oxford, and a Ph. D. in Business from the
University of Kansas, where he was the Ronald G.
Harper Doctoral Fellow in the School of Business,
and held the Ernst & Young Doctoral
Fellowship in the Ernst & Young Center for
Auditing Research and Advanced Technology.
Prior to joining
Kansas, he spent from 1975 to 1992 in
professional practice as an auditor, EDP auditor,
and management consultant. After nine years with
Price Waterhouse in London, he joined Grant
Thornton's National office as National Computer
Audit Partner, and subsequently assumed roles as
Partner in charge of Advanced Audit Techniques,
and European Director of Audit Methods.
Dr. Gillett has
taught courses on Managerial Information Systems,
Accounting Information Systems, Auditing and
Advanced Auditing. He is a member of the
Editorial Board of Auditing: A Journal of
Practice and Theory, in which he has also
published. In addition to numerous articles in
professional journals in the UK, he has recently
contributed a chapter on audit judgment to a
monograph on Auditing Practice, Research and
Education published by the AICPA.
His current
research is studying the use of uncertain
reasoning techniques in audit planning models.
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