University of Adelaide Adelaide Business School

ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS & PROCESSES (M)

TUTORIAL 1 – Answer Guide

BEFORE TUTORIAL 1

Attempt to create a Power BI service account and download Power BI Desktop to

your personal computer using instructions in websites below:

• To create Power BI service account: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-

us/power-bi/fundamentals/service-self-service-signup-purchase-for-
power-bi
• To download Power BI Desktop to personal computer:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/fundamentals/desktop-get-
the-desktop
• NB:
▪ As University of Adelaide students you should be able to create
a Power BI account for free. You should not have to pay for
your Power BI account.
▪ To create your account you must use your University of
Adelaide email address (e.g.:
a1234567@student.adelaide.edu.au, where a1234567 is your
student ID).
▪ Power BI Desktop application download is for your own
personal computer.
▪ Please do not attempt to install Power BI Desktop in Nexus 10
Lab computer. The application is already installed.
▪ Power BI account creation and Power BI Desktop download
will be discussed during Tute 1.
 Tutorial 1 Answers Guide

Discuss issues and questions concerning creating a Power BI service account and
downloading Power BI Desktop application.

NB Student should not attempt to install Power BI Desktop in Nexus 10 lab computer
(nor other University computer on campus). Power BI Desktop application is already
available in Nexus 10 lab computers. Power BI Desktop download is only for
installation into students personal computer, if they wish.
Prepare the answers to the following questions:

Prepare the answers to the following questions:

Question 1
The chapter discussed the idea of a system and its components. Construct a table
listing the objective, inputs, processes, outputs and the external environment that
affects the operation of each of the following systems:

(a) University enrolment system

(b) Public transport ticketing system
(c) Citilink road tolling system

SYSTEM OBJECTIVE INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT EXTERNAL

(a) University To enrol students Student Confirm Enrolment Government
enrolment system into the university Details eligibility to receipt regulations
and manage Subject Details enroll Timetable regarding
enrolment Confirm enrolment details
information during payment HECS
the duration of options requirements
study Store data Privacy Act
(b) To administer Ticket options Confirm valid Approved Government
https://www.adelaide tickets to public Validated ticket options ticket regulations – fee
metro.com.au/Ticket transport users and ticket (for Generate ticket Validation schedules
s/Metrocard record usage of retravel on an Validate ticket confirmation Privacy Act
public transport existing ticket)
(c) To track usage of Car user Confirm valid Customer Government
https://www.citylink. tolled roads and details car usage regulations
com.au/ manage revenue Location Calculate toll, statement Privacy Act
associated with details (start based on start Fines for un-
road usage (around point, end and end points authorised
650,000 point) Update use
transactions per customer
day) accounts

Question 2
Describe some of the external influences that affect an accounting information
system. To what extent do you think these influences dictate the design of an
accounting system?

There could be a range of ideas in response to this question. The obvious one is the
impact that the accounting standards have on a system, since any accounting system
should be able to produce reports that comply with the Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles that are in place and govern a company’s reporting activities.
Additionally, there is the possible mention of factors like the Tax Act. With the
introduction of the GST accounting systems have had to be able to cope with the new
recording and reporting requirements that came with the Goods and Services Tax
being introduced, ranging from having the information available to prepare a Business
Activity Statement to having a general ledger system that accommodates GST
accounting. More generally, tax requirements such as those relating to income tax,
may also be discussed, including their impact on record keeping for events like
payroll and income tax collected. These legislative / authoritative forces would be
Accounting Systems and Processes (M) Tutorial 1 Answers Guide Page 2
expected to have a large impact on the design of the system. For example, following
the introduction of the GST in Australia, many makers of accounting software
packages acted to ensure that their packages were GST compliant.

Question 3
Provide example of how an AIS can improve decision making, and describe the
multistep activities involved in the process.

Decision making is a complex, multistep activity: identify the problem, collect

and interpret information, evaluate ways to solve the problem, select a solution
methodology, and implement the solution. An AIS can provide assistance in all
phases of decision making. Reports can help to identify potential problems.
Decision models and analytical tools can be provided to users. Query languages
can gather relevant data to help make the decision. Various tools, such as
graphical interfaces, can help the decision maker interpret decision model
results, evaluate them, and choose among alternative courses of action. In
addition, the AIS can provide feedback on the results of actions.

An AIS can help improve decision making in several ways:

● It can identify situations requiring management action. For example, a cost report
with a large variance might stimulate management to investigate and, if
necessary, take corrective action.
● It can reduce uncertainty and thereby provide a basis for choosing among
alternative actions.
● It can store information about the results of previous decisions, which provides
valuable feedback that can be used to improve future decisions. For example, if
a company tries a particular marketing strategy and the information gathered
indicates that it did not succeed, the company can use that information to select
a different marketing strategy.
● It can provide accurate information in a timely manner. For example, Walmart has
an enormous database that contains detailed information about sales transactions
at each of its stores. It uses this information to optimize the amount of each
product carried at each store.
● It can analyze sales data to discover items that are purchased together, and can use
such information to improve the layout of merchandise or to encourage
additional sales of related items. For example, Amazon uses its sales database to
suggest additional books for customers to purchase.

Question 4
Evaluate the effectiveness of annual reports in fulfilling the information needs of
the following current and potential users: shareholders, creditors, employees,
customers, and financial analysts.

Annual reports fulfill users' information needs as discussed below.

1. Shareholders. Annual reports meet the statutory requirement that publicly

held corporations are to report annually to stockholders and report on the
stewardship of management to both current and potential stockholders. The
annual report gives shareholders financial and operating information such as
income from operations, earnings per share, the Balance Sheet, Cash Flow
Statement, and related footnote disclosure that potential shareholders need to
evaluate the risks of and potential returns on investment. However, the
volume of data presented in annual reports can result in information overload
that reduces the value of the reports. Confusion can result from reducing
technical concepts to common concepts or by the presentation of duplicate
messages by different forms of media.

2. Creditors. The annual report of public companies provides financial

information as well as trend information. This allows creditors to project
financial solvency and to evaluate the company’s ability to repay loans.

3. Employees. The annual report gives the employees information such as a

description of the company's pension plan and the employee stock incentive
Accounting Systems and Processes (M) Tutorial 1 Answers Guide Page 3
 plan. This gives employees a base from which to compare their benefits
program to those of other companies. Annual reports also provide employees
with a year-end review of the results to which they have contributed during the
year. In this sense, the annual report provides reinforcement and rewards.
The annual report also informs or reminds employees of the organization's
values and objectives and sensitizes them to the aspects of the organization
with which they are not familiar. On the other hand, the employee already
knows how the organization is performing so the annual report does not
provide any substantive additional information.

4. Customers. The annual report provides customers with trend information and
management performance information. They can use this to assess the
company's past and current performance.

5. Financial analysts. The set of audited comparative financial statements

provides the basis for analysis done by financial analysts. Notes, which are
an integral part of the statements, describe or explain various items in the
statements, present additional detail, or summarize significant accounting
policies. Financial analysts are the most sophisticated class of users of annual
reports. However, some data may be too condensed. Analysts may also need
information in addition to that provided in annual reports to facilitate their
analyses.

DURING TUTORIAL 1

• Introductions (of tutor and students)

• Contribute to the class discussion of the above questions.

Please remember that to learn successfully you need to ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE

in the discussions.

TO COMPLETE TUTORIAL 1, COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING:

My tutor’s name is ................................................................................

with email address.................................................................................

Accounting Systems and Processes (M) Tutorial 1 Answers Guide Page 4