Session:7 Accounting Information Systems
Key Terms
Principles of Accounting, Volume 1: Financial Accounting | Leadership Development – Micro-Learning Session
Rice University 2020 | Michael Laverty, Colorado State University Global Chris Littel, North Carolina State University| https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-financial-accounting
- accounting information system (AIS)
- set of business processes that record transactions using journals and ledgers (for paper systems) and computer files (for computerized systems) to keep track of a company’s transactions, process the data associated with these transactions, and produce output useful for internal and external decision-making and analysis
- accounts payable subsidiary ledger
- special ledger that contains information about all vendors and the amounts we owe them; the total of all accounts in the accounts payable subsidiary ledger must equal the total of accounts payable control account in the general ledger
- accounts receivable control
- accounts receivable account in the general ledger
- accounts receivable subsidiary ledger
- special ledger that contains information about all customers and the amounts they owe; the total of all accounts in the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger must equal the total of accounts receivable control account in the general ledger
- artificial intelligence
- computerized systems that are taught to use reasoning and other aspects of human intelligence to mimic some of the tasks humans perform
- audit trail
- step-by-step trail of evidence documenting the history of a transaction from its inception and all the steps it went through until its completion
- big data
- data sets from online transactions and other sources that are so large that new software and methods have been created to analyze and mine them so they can provide insight into trends and patterns of the business
- blockchain
- underlying technology Bitcoin is built on; provides a single shared ledger used by all of the parties to a transaction resulting in cheaper, more secure, and more private transactions
- cash disbursements journal
- special journal that is used to record outflows of cash; every time cash leaves the business, usually when we issue a check, we record in this journal
- cash receipts journal
- special journal that is used to record inflows of cash; every time we receive checks and currency from customers and others, we record these cash receipts in this journal
- cloud computing
- using the internet to access software and information storage facilities provided by companies (there is usually a charge) rather than, or in addition to, storing this data on the company’s computer hard drive or in paper form
- cryptocurrency
- digital currency that uses encryption techniques to verify transfer of the funds but operates independently of a bank
- data
- parts of accounting transactions that constitute the input to an accounting information system
- data analytics
- analyzing the huge amount of data generated by all the electronic transactions occurring in a business
- data/information storage
- way to save data and information; can be on paper, computer hard drive, or through the internet to save in the cloud
- enterprise resource planning (ERP)
- system that helps a company streamline its operations and helps management respond quickly to change
- expert system
- software program that is built on a database; software asks question and uses the response to ask the next question or offer advice
- forensic accounting
- using accounting and computer skills to look for fraud and to analyze financial records in hard copy and electronic formats
- point of sale
- point of time when a sales transaction occurs
- point-of-sale system (POS)
- computerized system to record and process a sale immediately when it occurs, usually by scanning the product bar code
- purchases journal
- special journal that is used to record purchases of merchandise inventory on credit; it always debits the merchandise inventory account (if using the perpetual inventory method) or the Purchases account (if using the periodic method)
- sales journal
- special journal that is used to record all sales on credit; it always debits accounts receivable and credits sales, and if the company uses the perpetual inventory method it also debits cost of goods sold and credits merchandise inventory
- schedule of accounts payable
- table showing each amount owed and to whom it must be paid; total of the schedule should equal the total of accounts payable in the general ledger
- schedule of accounts receivable
- table showing each customer and the amount owed; total of the schedule should equal the total of accounts receivable in the general ledger
- source document
- paper document or electronic record that provides evidence that a transaction has occurred and includes details about the transaction
- special journal
- book of original entry that is used to record transactions of a similar type in addition to the general journal
- turn-around document
- paper document that starts off as an output document from one part of the accounting information system (billing sends bill to customer), that becomes input to another part of the accounting information system upon completion of the next phase of the process (accounts receivable receives payment made on bill)