DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSAND MANAGEMENT

Online COURSE SYLLABUS

Fall, 2020
Module Title Accounting Information Systems 
Module ID ACCT0345002
Prerequisites ACCT 0105
Credit 3 hours 
Instructor  Rihab  Alzubaidi 
OFFICE Wilson -413 C
PHONE 413-572-8395
EMAIL [email protected]
OFFICE HOURS online
PLATO: http://www.wsc.ma.edu/plato/

Module Description:
This is an introductory module in accounting information systems. It includes consideration of issues
such as transaction processing and transaction processing cycles, the use and effects of computers and
other relevant technology on accounting, database and file systems, internal accounting and
administrative controls, and information technology audits.

Module Objectives:

The objectives of this course are to provide students with an understanding of the following key
concepts:
 The basic activities performed in the major business cycles.
 What data need to be collected ton enable managers to plan, evaluate, and control the business
activities in which an organization engages.
 How Information technology developments can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
business processes.
 How to design accounting information systems to provide the information needed to make key
decisions in each business cycle.
  

REQUIRED TEXT
1. Romney, Marshall B. Accounting Information Systems / Marshall B. Romney, Paul John
Steinbart - 14th ed.p.cm. Includes index.
2018- Person Education, Inc
ISBN 0134474023
Other supported text 
2. Glenn Owen ,Using Excel and Access 2010 for Accounting , 3rd edition 2012 – South-Western
, Cengage Learning 
ISBN -10:1-111-53267-2

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ISBN-13:978-11-1153267 3
3. Glenn Owen ,Using QuickBooks Pro for Accounting  2012 , South-Western , Cengage
Learning 
ISBN -10:0-324-66404-4
4. James Perry , Richard Newmark , Building Accounting Systems Using ACCESS 2010,
 8 edition 2012, South-Western, Cengage Learning 
th

TEACHING APPROACH
I believe in getting you involved in the learning process to the maximum extent possible. For this
reason, and because of the time pressures in this course, you may be reading, and completing
assignments, before the material is discussed in class. I expect you to be prepared for each class by
reading the assigned material and completing the assignments as best you can, participating in the
discussions of the various topics, and to be responsive when called on. I believe that you will find that
this approach leads to a higher level of learning and deeper understanding.

Online Course Format: 

The content of the course will be presented online in teaching units, which correspond to textbook
chapters. Each Learning Unite will contain a wide variety of materials that will help you master the
textbook chapter content. They include lecture outlines and notes, audio lectures, PowerPoint
presentations, problems with answers, homework assignments, relevant and interesting web links,
weekly discussion forum, and chapter quizzes.
 For each Learning Unit, you will read assigned materials and complete assignments and assessments
by posted due dates. 
In order to successfully complete the course, you are expected to read all assigned readings and take
the chapter quiz for each Learning Unit. The quizzes are provided to help you master the material and
check your comprehension. The quizzes are timed and can only be taken once. The quizzes grades will
be included in your final grade. 
Learning units will be available in time over the course of the semester. You are expected to check
PLATO on a regular basis (every day) for new or changed course readings and assignments. 
There will also be four exams. These exams are timed and can only be taken once. 

BLACKBOARD AND E-MAIL:

This course will use Blackboard extensively for communication purposes. I will post announcements
and make course materials available to you through Blackboard. Please make sure you check the
course page regularly. As needed, I will send a weekly email toward the end of the week containing
announcements, upcoming events, etc. Doing so will avoid my spending time in class on these matters.
I will use your email as listed in Blackboard, so please make sure your profile information in
Blackboard is up to date!

Attendance/Class Participation: 
In my opinion, class attendance, the course notes, and keeping up with the lab assignments/homework
are the most important components of this course. This course will move very quickly, and the
concepts will build on previous material, so it is very important that you keep up with the material
from the start. In order to succeed in this class, I strongly advise that you attend the lecture class and
complete the assignments in a timely manner. In addition, if you are unsure about a topic, I suggest
you complete the practice problems listed in this syllabus. Active participation in class sessions will
also increase your likelihood of success in this class. The reason that these components are important
is that they will help you keep up with the material, think through it before and during class

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discussion, and prepare for the exam. Students are expected to attend each scheduled class meeting, to
be on time, and to be prepared for each class session. 

Exams
 There will be four exams, including a Final Exam.  The midterm and final exams may contain
different questions; work out problems and computer application in accounting exams. 
The exams will be available and will have a time limit for completion. There are no make-up exams in
this course.
If you have extenuating circumstances that would cause you to miss an exam or quiz deadline, discuss
the issue with me BEFORE the date of the exam or the date of the quiz deadline.  Otherwise, your
request will more than likely be denied, and a grade of zero assigned. Make-up exams will not be
given.

Weekly discussion forum

We will use weekly discussion Forum to facilitate comments and questions throughout the semester.
The student is required to provide three threads in response to the provided topic for each forum. Each
thread must be at least 50 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread,
the student is required to reply to at least 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply should be at least 50
words. 
Participate in chapter’s discussion forum by submitting your three threads which include:
 Prepare your response to at least one of the discussion questions in each chapter 
 Reply to two other people with your thoughtful response.

Chapters Quizzes: 
Under each week’s link in our course, you will find a link entitled “Chapters Quizzes”.  These should
be used to prepare you for the graded assignments for online time. 
You will be allowed to take the chapter quizzes for the chapters covered on each respective exam up to
the date and time of each respective exam. Each chapter quiz contains 20 questions, mostly multiple
choices.  In addition, you will only be allowed to take each chapter’s quiz ONCE.   

Homework assignment
The assignments will be posted on the course website. You may work in groups to discuss the
assignments, but each of you must develop and prepare your own unique responses. It is NOT
acceptable to copy from another source. 

GRADING
The course grade is composed of the following:
First Exam (chapters 1, 2 and 3) 15%
Second Exam (chapters 12, 13 and 14) 15 % 
Third Exam (chapters 15, 16 and 4)             15 % 
Final Exam (chapters 8, 10 and 20) 15 %
Homework (assignments)                                                               10 %
Threads posted in discussion forum                                                   10 %
Chapter quizzes (11 quizzes)                                                 10 %
Accounting Information System project 10%
                        -------------
                                            100 % 

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The final numerical grade will be assigned a letter grade according to the following scale:

A 93-100% C+ 77-79%
A- 90-92% C 73-76%
B+ 87-89% C- 70-72%
B 83-86% D+ 67-69%
B- 80-82% D 60-66%
F Below 60%

Course Homework (Assignments)

Homework ( Assignments)
No Chapter Title Discussion
Problems Case Advising website visit
Question
Chapter 1 : Accounting
1 Information System : An 1.4, 1.6 1.4,1.8 1-1 http://www.fasb.org/pdf/aop_CON2.pdf 
Overview

Chapter 2 : Overview of
2.1,2.5,2.6 www.sap.com/solutions
2 Transaction  Processes 2.1 2-1
,2.7,2.8 www.oracle.com/mid/demo.html.
and ERP system

Chapter 3 : System  
3.1,3.4,
3 documentation 3.1   3-1
3.7,3.12
Techniques
4 First Exam         

5 Chapter 12 : The 12-3 , 12-4 12-1 , 12-2  12-1 http://system.netsuite.com

Revenue Cycle : Sales 12-4 , 12-5   view the Example of a sales Order
and Cash Collections 12-12 ,  Document ( Order Entry Screen)
12-13

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 Chapter 13 : The
13.2  , 13.4
Expenditure Cycle, http://WWW.AOE.com
6 13.2  , 13.5 13.6, 13.10,   13-1
Purchasing and Cash View Example of a packing Slip
13.13
Distribution
Chapter 14 : The 14.2 , 14.4 , 14.1 , 14.2 ,  
7 14-1  
Production Cycle 14.5 14.7,14.8 ,14.9
8 Second Exam        
 
Chapter 15 : The Human 15.1 , 15.2,
9 Resources Management 15.2 , 15.4 15.6 , 15.7 , 15-1
and Payroll Cycle 15.10

Chapter 16 : General 16.1 ,16.2 ,  

16-2 ,
10 Ledger and Reporting 16.1 , 16.3 16.6 , 16.8 ,
16-3
System 16.9 , 16.10
Chapter 4 : Relation  
11 4.1 , 4.3, 4.6 4.3 , 4.4,4,5,4.6 4-1 
Databases
12 Third Exam        
CHAPTER 8:  
8.1 , 8.3 ,
CONTROL FOR INFORMATION
8.4,8.8 8-1 , 8-
13 SECURITY and CHAPTER10 8.1 , 8.6 , 8.7
:PROCESSING INTEGRITY AND 10.2,10.3, 2
AVAILABILITY CONTROLS  10.5, 10.9

CHAPTER  
20:INTRODUCTION TO 20.1,20.4, 20.5,20.6,
14 20-1
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT 20.6 20.10
AND SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
 
15 Final Exam       

ACCT 345 002 Accounting Information Systems -Online - Fall 2019

Course calendar and important dates
week Date Day Events
9/2/2020 Wednesday
9/3/2020 Thursday
Chapter 1 : Accounting Information System : An
Week 1 9/4/2020 Friday
Overview
9/5/2020 Saturday
9/6/2020 Sunday
9/7/2020 Monday Labor Day - No Classes
9/8/2020 Tuesday
Week 2 9/9/2020 Wednesday Chapter 2 : Overview of Transaction Processes and
9/10/2020 Thursday ERP system
9/11/2020 Friday

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 9/12/2020 Saturday
9/13/2020 Sunday
9/14/2020 Monday
9/15/2020 Tuesday
9/16/2020 Wednesday
Week 3 9/17/2020 Thursday Chapter 3 : System documentation Techniques
9/18/2020 Friday
9/19/2020 Saturday
9/20/2020 Sunday
9/21/2020 Monday
9/22/2020 Tuesday
9/23/2020 Wednesday
Week 4 9/24/2020 Thursday First Exam include chapters 1,2 and 3
9/25/2020 Friday
9/26/2020 Saturday
9/27/2020 Sunday
9/28/2020 Monday
9/29/2020 Tuesday
9/30/2020 Wednesday
Chapter 12 : The Revenue Cycle : Sales and Cash
Week 5 10/1/2020 Thursday
Collections
10/2/2020 Friday
10/3/2020 Saturday
10/4/2020 Sunday
10/5/2020 Monday
10/6/2020 Tuesday
10/7/2020 Wednesday
Chapter 13 : The Expenditure Cycle, Purchasing and
Week 6 10/8/2020 Thursday
Cash Distribution
10/9/2020 Friday
10/10/2020 Saturday
10/11/2020 Sunday
10/12/2020 Monday Columbus Day - No Classes
10/13/2020 Tuesday Follow Monday Schedule
10/14/2020 Wednesday
Week 7 10/15/2020 Thursday
10/16/2020 Friday Chapter 14 : The Production Cycle
10/17/2020 Saturday
10/18/2020 Sunday
10/19/2020 Monday
10/20/2020 Tuesday
10/21/2020 Wednesday
Week 8 10/22/2020 Thursday Second Exam include chapters 12, 13 and 14
10/23/2020 Friday
10/24/2020 Saturday
10/25/2020 Sunday
10/26/2020 Monday Chapter 15 : The Human Resources Management and
Week 9
10/27/2020 Tuesday Payroll Cycle

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 10/28/2020 Wednesday
10/29/2020 Thursday
10/30/2020 Friday
10/31/2020 Saturday
11/1/2020 Sunday
11/2/2020 Monday
11/3/2020 Tuesday
11/4/2020 Wednesday
Week
11/5/2020 Thursday Chapter 16: General Ledger and Reporting System
10
11/6/2020 Friday
11/7/2020 Saturday
11/8/2020 Sunday
11/9/2020 Monday
Chapter 4: Relation Databases
11/10/2020 Tuesday
11/11/2020 Wednesday Veteran’s Day - No Classes
Week
11/12/2020 Thursday
11
11/13/2020 Friday
Chapter 4: Relation Databases
11/14/2020 Saturday
11/15/2020 Sunday
11/16/2020 Monday
11/17/2020 Tuesday
11/18/2020 Wednesday
Week
11/19/2020 Thursday Third Exam include chapters 15,16 and 4
12
11/20/2020 Friday
11/21/2020 Saturday
11/22/2020 Sunday
11/23/2020 Monday
CHAPTER 8: CONTROLS FOR INFORMATION SECURITY
11/24/2020 Tuesday
11/25/2020 Wednesday Thanksgiving Recess (begins at 12:30 p.m.)
Week
11/26/2020 Thursday
13 No Classes November 26-27
11/27/2020 Friday
11/28/2020 Saturday
CHAPTER 8: CONTROLS FOR INFORMATION SECURITY
11/29/2020 Sunday
11/30/2020 Monday
12/1/2020 Tuesday
12/2/2020 Wednesday Project due date11/30/2020
Week
12/3/2020 Thursday CHAPTER10: PROCESSING INTEGRITY AND
14
12/4/2020 Friday AVAILABILITY CONTROLS
12/5/2020 Saturday
12/6/2020 Sunday
12/7/2020 Monday
12/8/2020 Tuesday
Week 12/9/2020 Wednesday CHAPTER 20: INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEMS
15 12/10/2020 Thursday DEVELOPMENT AND SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
12/11/2020 Friday
12/12/2020 Saturday

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 12/13/2020 Sunday
12/14/2020 Monday
Review students grade for all activities
12/15/2020 Tuesday
12/16/2020 Wednesday Classes End Day Division
12/17/2020 Thursday Exam Period Begins
Week
12/18/2020 Friday
16
12/19/2020 Saturday
December 17, 18, 21, 22
12/20/2020 Sunday
Final Exam include chapters 8,10 and 20
12/21/2020 Monday
12/22/2020 Tuesday

ACCT 0345-001: Accounting Information Systems Project 

Each student must create, develop and prepare his or her projects. The project will be assessing after
assigned due date. The due dates of the project are 11/30/2020. Students will be graded on their software. 

 Overview 
The purpose of this project is to provide you with an opportunity to apply the skills you learned during the
semester. In particular, you are expected to perform a project with accounting application using Microsoft
Excel Spreadsheet or Microsoft Access database. Your project must be including a report which should
explain the procedures you followed in conducting small accounting system and control valuation and
should detail the factors underlying your recommendation. 

Details 
The accounting system project type you select for design must be approved by the course instructor. I
encourage everyone to email me the name of your accounting system project as early as possible. The
accounting system project will be approved on a first come first serve basis.
Please note, you must choose one of the following cycles (subsystem) for your accounting system project:
 The Revenue Cycle : Sales and Cash Collections
 The Expenditure Cycle, Purchasing and Cash Distribution  
 The Production Cycle
 The Human Resources Management and Payroll Cycle
 General Ledger and Reporting System

Please note the following restrictions: 

Part I: Create and develop the accounting application project: The primary objective of this section of the
project is to develop an understanding of the system background, its key strategies for creating value for
users. Feel free to use any software Excel or Access discussed throughout the course. 
To enhance your understanding of the accounting system project, you may consider exploring any of the
following issues: 
 What is the nature of the system you want to create? 
 What are the important risks (opportunities) faced by the system and how does you plan to deal with
(take advantage of) these factors? 
 What are the key accounting policies of the system design?

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  What are the mine aspects of the information system control you design in your project?
Summarize the results of all work performed in this section in a narrative format. Feel free to include
graphs, charts, etc. Include all calculations in an appendix to the report. 

Part II: Test the accounting application project: in this section of the project you will use a relevant
accounting data as input to your system then compute it and get the output. Once you have developed your
functions (formulas, test the sensitivity of your formulas to changes in input keys, and suggest an
appropriate range of estimated for which you have reasonable confidence. Comment on any differences
between your estimate and the actual data you test. Summarize all of your test procedures and the results of
your system. Be sure to include all calculations/valuation system in an appendix to the report. 

Part III: Summary and Recommendation In the final section of the report, you will summarize the results
of all work performed in Parts I and II, and based on your system design and analyses, provide
recommendation for your system users. Make sure to clearly explain the reasons underlying your
recommendation. 
Note: For help, you can find different articles in the following accounting academic and professional
Journals:
1. The Accounting Review.
2. Journal of Accounting Research.
3. Journal of Accounting.
4. Economics, Contemporary Accounting Research.
5. Journal of Accountancy.
6. CPA Journal.
7. Strategic Finance (formerly Management Accounting)