Five Interacting Components of Accounting Information Systems

1. Hardware
2. Software
3. Data
4. People
5. Prodecures
Six Importance of IT to Accountants
1. Information technology must be compatible with and support the other components of an AIS
2. Accounting professionals often help clients make hardware and software purchases
3. Auditors must evaluate computerized systems
4. They are often asked to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of an existing system
5. IT profoundly affects the way they work today and will work in the future
6. It is vital to passing most accounting certification examinations
Peripheral equipment typically surround the computer and help it process data
Input equipment enable users to enter data into a computer system
Output equipment enable users to see the processed results
Secondary Storage Devices enable users to store data for future references
Communications equipment enable users to transmit data over data networks
Input starting point of the input-processing-output cycle
Input Devices
1. Source document the starting point for collection accounting data in many AISs
-provide evidence of a transactions authenticity
2. POS (point-of-sale) devices gather and record pertinent data electronically at that time
Smart cash registers connect to off-site computers
Bar code readers interpret the universal product code commonly printed on
supermarket and variety store items
3. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition the banking industry pioneered the development of
magnetically encoded paper; odd-looking numbers printed on the bottom of your checks
4. Optical Character Recognition uses optical, rather than magnetic,readers to interpret data
found on some source documents
Mark-sense media use simple rectangles or ovals as characters that you blacken
with a pencil
Turnaround documents- documents that are initially prepared by the company, then
sent to individuals, and finally returned to the organization for further data processing
5. Plastic Cards with Magnetic Strips can store permanent information and therefore provide
input data when required
6. Microcomputer Input Devices
Keyboards perhaps the most common input device
Computer mice, touch pads, joysticks enable users to control a screen cursor, create
graphic images, reposition screen objects, or select items for display menus
Touch screens enable users to make menu choices simply by touching a display screen
with a finger or stick
Web cams provide live video input to a computer
Computer pens or styluses permit users to enter data on video screens and are
especially popular with signature screens at store checkout counters or personal data
assistant (PDA)
Personal Data Assistants enable users to make phone calls as well as maintain
personal data such as address books, appointment calendars, and check registers
7. Digital Cameras accountants use them for documenting:
Inventories of large assets
Damage to vehicles or offices due to accidents, vandalism, or natural disasters for
insurance purposes
New or existing employees for identification and security purposes
8. Biometric Scanners - authenticate users based on who they are
Behavioral systems