Process mapping and scripting in the Accounting Information Systems (AIS) curriculum

The ability to understand, document, and suggest improvements for a business process is an important skill for an accounting student for the following reasons: (1) efficient business processes give businesses a competitive advantage; (2) business process analysis provides auditors with an assessment of business risk; and (3) successful enterprise resource planning implementation depends on understanding and improving existing business processes. It is suggested that students be introduced to process mapping and scripting in an accounting information systems (AIS) course to facilitate their understanding of business processes and help them visualize the interaction between functional areas. The specifics of process mapping are covered and advantages of incorporating process mapping into the AIS curriculum discussed. It is also proposed that scripting, which is used to facilitate configuration, testing of ERP software and communication between the accountant and the programmer, be included in the AIS course. Finally, suggestions for classroom activities are included

Think Before for a Better After

Think before you drive. Think before you trash it. Think before for a better after. These were all slogans used in a campaign on the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Two students worked with their college union and other areas of campus to promote recycling and energy and water conservation. The central goal of this campaign was to influence students to think about their actions and change their behaviors to be more eco-friendly. The recycling opportunities at Cal Poly are plentiful. Students, staff, and faculty members each have two containers in their dorm room or office, one for recycling and one for trash. Trash cans and recycling bins are found side by side across the campus. The means to recycle were available, but people were not consistently using them. On a typical day trash cans were overflowing with recyclables such as soda bottles, newspapers, and plastic juice containers. Beside the full trash containers stood half-empty recycling bins. Why were students not recycling, especially when it required no extra effort? Surveys and personal interviews during the summer quarter of 2002 revealed that many students were unaware of the importance of recycling or were confused about what could be recycled. The survey results also showed that many students perceived energy and water conservation solely as a way to save money. The campaign sought to combat this lack of understanding by educating students about the importance of recycling, teaching them what could and could not be recycled, and convincing them that water and energy conservation are more than just financially motivated. By uniting the entire campus behind the Think Before ideas, students would not be able to ignore the message

Making Better Use of Information: Aiming Towards True North

\u27If I only had the right information, I could make an informed decision\u27. How often have you heard that comment? With the information technology currently at our disposal, one would think that the right information would be available and that all decisions would be sound. However, users must still determine what data provides valuable information and what are the limitations of the soundness of a decision. What has been missing from most decision models is prediction awareness, as well as a \u27true north\u27 compass reading for the organization, based on goals that reflect the system within the organization and that within which the organization operates. We propose that it is easier to identify what information is needed to stay on course (true north) then make that information available to all decision makers, who can then make more holistic informed decisions when such a compass reading exists

Creating Effective Teams in a Classroom Environment

For over a decade, companies have been concerned that new graduates are often not prepared to work in jobs where there they are required to contribute as a member of a team. In response, many educators have adopted team-based learning pedagogies, often referred to as cooperative learning. The use of teams has created additional class management issues and added to the complexity of class dynamics. While most students find team activities helpful, the authors have experienced a variety of problems encountered by various teams. For example, some class teams never function as a team, and the members end up working in subgroups or individually. There is also the risk that one member dominates the other team members or shirks his/her responsibilities. It is important to give students time to develop their interaction skills. To help students get the most out of the team-learning experience and help them develop habits that promote positive team interactions, we present ten in-class team development activities. Because enhancing team skills is of secondary concern (first being mastery of course content), each activity is designed to take at most 15 minutes. The exercises may be used throughout a semester, or the professor may elect to implement one or a few of the activities. Regardless, these activities will help even the best performing teams become more functional, will reduce the likelihood of team conflicts, and help students develop team skills. These activities were modeled after those in Lencioni\u27s Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (2002)

An experimental assessment of business students\u27 performance: Recognizing risk factors associated with misappropriation of assets

This paper reports the results of a study that was conducted to investigate the performance of senior-level business students as it pertains to recognizing certain clues or risk factors that are frequently associated with the misappropriation of entity assets. Based on three of the risk factors identified in SAS No. 82, an experiment was used to examine differences in performance based on academic major, fraud-specific knowledge, and certain experiences of the students. The primary contributions of this study are the discovery that: (1) an increasing number of risk factors; (2) knowledge accumulated in an accounting curriculum; (3) reading additional articles on the topic of employee theft; and (4) direct encounters with employee theft in the workplace were positively and significantly associated with recognizing an increased possibility that employee theft may be occurring. The results also indicate that neither employer-provided fraud training, nor part-time work experience, helped the subjects recognize an increased level of vulnerability of an organization to employee theft

An Evaluation of the Usefulness of Web-based Financial and Environmental Performance Information Provided by Oil and Gas Companies

Environmentally conscious investors require financial information in addition to environmental information to evaluate a company\u27s performance. Sources of such information include organizations that specialize in providing environmental performance data, such as the Council on Economic Priorities (CEP) or the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC). Both of these organizations research, evaluate, and rank companies based on a variety of metrics, and both charge for their service. Through company websites, the Internet offers another potential source of information, since most companies have a web presence. However, information supplied on a company website has the risk of bias (i.e. the website may be a marketing tool for the company). This potential bias leads to the question of whether information provided by firms is sufficient for an environmentally conscious investor to make an informed decision

Training: A Powerful Way to Prevent Fraud

Preventing fraud is a big responsibility for all levels of financial management— manager, controller, and CFO. Since managers are responsible for preventing and detecting fraud, they must constantly ask themselves,“What more can we do?” Most fraud is discovered through internal controls, auditors, and employees who notice suspicious activities. Therefore, you may want to consider training fiscal employees and managers to detect fraud

Evidence on the Effectiveness of Using Tax Credits to Promote Energy Conservation

The country seems to have quickly embarked on a new energy crisis. From Manhattan to Montana, worries are mounting that skyrocketing power prices and rolling blackouts will soon spread from their epicenter in California.... Concern about the power picture extends to the top levels of the Bush Administration as it attempts to hammer out a new energy policy. As politicians search for possible solutions to the current crisis, incentives for energy conservation are often mentioned as a possible remedy. A recent Congressional Research Service Issue Brief describes several potential bills. Two create a refundable tax credit for up to 50% of increased residential energy costs, a third establishes a 15% residential tax credit for homeowners who purchase photovoltaics and solar thermal equipment. Because tax incentives have been used in past crises, a logical step should be to examine the policies used to determine if they were effective and should be utilized in the future. This paper reports the results of a study of the Energy Tax Act of 1978\u27s provisions relating to residential energy credits

Corporate Training Assessment Technique: Risk Factors Associated with Misappropriation of Assets

Due to rapid advances in technology, companies are spending record amounts of money on training as they seek to increase employee skills (Armour 1999). Because managers believe that corporate fraud is a growing problem, an important skill for all employees should be the ability to recognize the risk factors that are frequently associated with fraud. A number of instructional cases have been developed that focus on the problems of employee fraud and unethical management practices. Training materials and professional standards now include more detailed information on the subject of fraud and the auditor\u27s responsibility, as well as management\u27s responsibility, with respect to the detection of fraud. The next logical step is to assess employee training on this topic. In particular, can employees recognize risk factors when they are embedded in an actual instance of misappropriation of assets? We offer a case, based on an actual instance of misappropriation of assets, that may be used as a corporate training assessment technique (CTAT). Since training dollars are an important resource allocation decision, assessment of the training that is provided to employees is essential. Further, since effective teaching produces learning, then evaluation of learning is critical to assessing teaching effectiveness. We also include instructions for using the CTAT, teaching notes, and suggestions for developing additional instructional cases