Chapter 7 - Accounting information systems. After completing this chapter you should be able to: Identify the principles and components of accounting information systems, explain the goals and uses of special journals, describe the use of controlling accounts and subsidiary ledgers. | Chapter 7 ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS Chapter 7: Accounting Information Systems COMPONENTS OF ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS C1 Keyboards Scanners Modems Bar-Code Reader Hardware Software Professional Judgment Increasingly, source documents are electronic files creating a “paperless” system. Accounting information systems consist of people, records, methods, and equipment. The systems are designed to capture information about a company’s transactions and to provide output including financial, managerial, and tax reports. The five basic components of accounting systems are source documents, input devices, information processors, information storage, and output devices. Source documents provide the basic information processed by an accounting system. Examples of source documents include bank statements and checks, invoices from suppliers, billings to customers, cash register files, and employee earnings records. Source documents can be paper, although they increasingly are taking the form of electronic files and Web communications. Input devices capture information from source documents and enable its transfer to the system’s information processing component. These devices often involve converting data on source documents from written or electronic form to a form usable for the system. Keyboards, scanners, and modems are some of the most common input devices in practice today. For example, bar code readers capture code numbers and transfer them to the organization’s computer for processing. Information processors are systems that interpret, transform, and summarize information for use in analysis and reporting. An important part of an information processor in accounting systems is professional judgment. Increasingly, computer technology (both computing hardware and software) is assisting manual information processors. This assistance is freeing accounting professionals to take on increased analysis, interpretive, and managerial roles. COMPONENTS OF ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS C1 . | Chapter 7 ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS Chapter 7: Accounting Information Systems COMPONENTS OF ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS C1 Keyboards Scanners Modems Bar-Code Reader Hardware Software Professional Judgment Increasingly, source documents are electronic files creating a “paperless” system. Accounting information systems consist of people, records, methods, and equipment. The systems are designed to capture information about a company’s transactions and to provide output including financial, managerial, and tax reports. The five basic components of accounting systems are source documents, input devices, information processors, information storage, and output devices. Source documents provide the basic information processed by an accounting system. Examples of source documents include bank statements and checks, invoices from suppliers, billings to customers, cash register files, and employee earnings records. Source documents can be paper, although they increasingly are taking the form of .
