Division of Accounting and Finance

AC2500 Accounting Information Systems and Control Issues
Coursework Reassessment 2014/15
Information Usage and Accounting Systems

Notes

You are Chief Financial Officer for Preston Components Manufacturing plc and wish to install a new Computerised Accounting Information System.
You ask your Financial and Management Accountants to explain to you what information they would like from the system, and why.
The Financial Accountant is responsible for both the General Ledger and all reporting to External Stakeholders.The Management Accountant will be responsible for ensuring the organisation manufactures and sells its products in an efficient and profitable way. This will include Costing, Budgeting and Monthly Management Accounting.
You are required to
A) Discuss the information that the Management Accountant (MA) would need from the new system explaining its usage.
B) Discuss the information that the Financial Accountant (FA) would need from the new system and how they might want it to be available.
C) How would you satisfy the range of needs of each accountant and how would you deal with competing needs?

It is expected that your answer will address the purpose and use of an Accounting Information System and what makes Information useful. You may include some aspects of controls but it is not the main requirement.

The overall length should be around 2500 words (with a 10% margin) any significant deviation from this length will be penalised. All work must be word processed and contain a word count.

Your discussion should, as far as possible, show evidence of original thought, and all quotations should be referenced and acknowledged. There is an expectation that it will include at least SIX external sources, based around Academic textbooks, recommended reading and academic journals.

In order to assess your coursework it has been benchmarked against the work of other students using the guidelines below.
In order to maintain consistency of marking, a sample of work has been internally moderated.
I have been guided in my assessment by the following:

Assessment criteria, with weightings: Coding

Planning and structure (10%) E G A S I

Discussion of MA information (25%) E G A S I

Discussion of FA information and how it can be available (25%) E G A S I

Practical assessment of meeting needs (20%) E G A S I

Use, appropriateness and referencing of examples (10%) E G A S I

Standard of presentation (10%) E G A S I
Key to the coding notation

E = Excellent (70%+) G = Good (60%+) A = Average (50%+)
S = Satisfactory (40%+) I = Inadequate (<40%)