ACTG 378: ACCOUNTING
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT -- Fall 2008
Monday/Wednesday
4-5:50pm,
Bexell Hall Room 323
CONTENTS
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INSTRUCTOR
Byron Marshall, Ph.D.
Bexell Hall 426
(541) 737-6054
byron.marshall@bus.oregonstate.edu
Byron's web site
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OFFICE HOURS
- Monday 2:00 - 3:00
- Tuesday 10:00 - 11:00
- Wednesday 10:00 -
11:00
- And gladly by
appointment
I would enjoy talking to you!
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COURSE
DESCRIPTION -- ACTG378 is a four unit course.
This course is both a required accounting course and the first course in the
MIS junior sequence.
The Catalog Description: Introduce students to the field of
information management. Topics include information systems technology, the
strategic role of IT, the business applications of networks, databases and
Internet technologies, the system life cycle model, systems analysis and design
methodologies, and the development and implementation of information systems.
PREREQ: BA 213 and (BA 271 or BA 302) and (BA 275 or BA 276) and Junior
standing.
Informally: The rapid evolution and diffusion of information
technology (IT) is transforming businesses and managed organizations. In most
organizations today, IT systems are crucial for daily operations. These systems
are facing new threats and new regulations. To be successful in the
"information age," organizations need people who are knowledgeable
about the operation and implementation of IT-based business applications. The
ACTG378 course has been designed to introduce students to the information
systems field. The lectures, readings, and assignments will introduce a number
of key concepts and timely issues related to the use of Information Systems in
organizations. Specific topics to be addressed include (among other topics):
information systems technology, the business applications of networks and
databases, the development of information systems, the implementation of
systems, IT Governance, and appropriate internal control environments for
IT-based business applications. In addition to the lecture and reading
material, students will apply the techniques we cover in an integrated group
project.
COURSE
MATERIALS
Accounting 378 - Accounting Information Systems Custom ISBN#:
0-558-03910-3
Available only at the OSU Bookstore - but it is relatively inexpensive
Includes Chapters 1 & 3 from "Using MIS" by David Kroenke ISBN:
978-0-13-813248-4
and Chapters 4 & 6 from AIS - Romney & Steinbart ISBN:
978-0-13-601518-5
Some course material will be available in Blackboard.
Activity Diagram examples were done in MS Vision 2007. This program is
installed on the COB lab computers and is also available to COB students for
free through MSDNAA. Links: MSDNAA
instructions Burning
an ISO image
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Tentative Course Schedule -- Fall 2008
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Please read Reading assignments in preparation for
class.
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Week
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Monday
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Wednesday
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Due Thursday
Night
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1
Sep 29
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Welcome - Introduction, Assignments (Slides)
Project Assignment Overview
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Read: Text Chapter - "MIS and You"
- From Kroenke , Using MIS 1st Ed.
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Due: List Group Members
Due:Plan Group
Work-Due Thu., Oct. 2nd
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2
Oct 6
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Transaction Cycles, Organization-Specific Process
Narratives, and Activity Diagrams
(Slides and VISIO Walkthrough)
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Modeling Systems (Slides)
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Due: PRJ1:
Create Narrative Description
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3
Oct 13
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Read: VII
Pillars of Productivity
Read: Why
isn't IT spending creating more value?
** Due: Diagram Activities (Individual)
**
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Read: Text Chapter: "Control and Accounting
Information Systems" - From Romney & Steinbart, AIS 11th
Ed
(Slides)
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Due: PRJ2:
Diagram Activities
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4
Oct 20
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COBIT: Controlling and Auditing IS
(Slides)
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Review & Project Work (Slides)
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Due: PRJ3:
Identify Controls
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5
Oct 27
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Mid Term Exam
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Read: Text Chapter - Relational Databases
(Slides)
From events and information to table design
Creating Master, Transaction, and Junction Tables
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Due: Group Member Evaluations
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6
Nov 3
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Read: Text Chapter - Relational Databases
Hands on with Microsoft Access (Thanks Michael Curry!) Meet in
computerized classroom 324
Import file for
database lab 1
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More hands-on Database Activities
Meet in computerized classroom 324
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Due: PRJ4:
Design Data Structures
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7
Nov 10
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Key Issues and features in today’s large-scale
database-driven systems
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SQL walkthrough – reconciling an AP system
Meet in computerized classroom 324
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Due: PRJ5:
Design Reports
Due: PRJ6: Design Forms
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8
Nov 17
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Computer Hardware and Software: Text Chapter
"Hardware and Software"
– From Kroenke , Using MIS 1st Ed.
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Due: Individual Database Assignment
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9
Nov 24
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How Does the Internet Work?
W3C, Networking, HTTP, and HTML
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Due: Complete Group Project
LOOK OUT This is Wednesday instead of Thursday – It’s
Thanksgiving!
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10
Dec 1
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XML, XBRL, Web Services, and
XBRL
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Dec 8-12, Finals
Week
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Friday,
December 12th, 7:30am
Bexell 323 (our regular classroom) University
Final Schedule
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Contents

STUDENT
EVALUATION
Student evaluation will consist of two related areas--the understanding of
basic concepts and the ability to apply tools and techniques. Students will
demonstrate their understanding of concepts by participating in classroom
discussions and completing written assignments, quizzes, and examinations.
Students will demonstrate their ability to apply tools through completing
assignments and projects.
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Final grade
percentages
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Grade
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Minimum Score
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A
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93%
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A-
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90%
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Grade
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Minimum Score
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B+
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87%
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B
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83%
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B-
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80%
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Grade
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Minimum Score
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C+
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77%
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C
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73%
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C-
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70%
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Grade
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Minimum Score
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D+
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67%
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D
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63%
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D-
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60%
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Individual Assignments, and Quizzes:
· Assignments:
Two assignments are planned
- Individual UML Activity
Diagram: See Group
Project Description
- SQL exercises. These
exercises will be made available in Blackboard.
· Quizzes
may be given during the term. Quizzes will be given during class and are
usually discussed immediately after completion. Individuals not in class will
not be allowed to make up the quiz once it is discussed in class. Quizzes will
be based upon the assigned readings or material previously presented in class.
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to Contents

COURSE
POLICIES
University
wide Student Conduct Polices
Academic Honesty Policy:
Individuals are encouraged to discuss the projects and
assignments outside of class and share ideas. However, unless specified
as a team assignment, each person must individually complete and submit his/her
own work. Students are expected to uphold the OSU standard of conduct for
students relating to academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is defined as an
intentional act of deception in which a student seeks to claim credit for the
work or effort of another person or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated
information in any academic work Students assume full responsibility for the
content and integrity of the academic work they submit. The guiding principle
of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work, examinations,
reports, and projects must be that student's own work for individual
assignments, and the group's own work for group assignments/projects. Students
are guilty of academic dishonesty if they:
- Use or obtain
unauthorized materials or assistance in any academic work; i.e., cheating.
- Falsify or invent any
information regarded as cheating by the instructor; i.e., fabrication.
- Give unauthorized
assistance to other students; i.e., assisting in dishonesty.
- Represent the work of
others as their own; i.e., plagiarism.
- Modify, without
instructor approval, an examination, paper, record or report for the
purpose of obtaining additional credit; i.e., tampering.
The penalty for academic dishonesty is severe. Any student
guilty of academic dishonesty may be subject to receive a failing grade for the
exam, assignment, quiz, or class participation exercise as deemed appropriate by
the instructor. In addition, the penalty could also imply that the student
receive a failing grade for the course and be reported to the University
officials at the College of Business, and the officials at the Office of
Student Affairs.
Behavior in Class:
- Behavior in class should
be professional at all times. The atmosphere within the classroom should
be the same as you might expect in a casual business meeting. People
must treat each other with dignity and respect in order for scholarship to
thrive. Behaviors that are disruptive to learning will not be
tolerated and may be referred to the Office of the Dean of Students for
disciplinary action.
Accommodations:
- Students who have any
emergency medical information the instructor should know of, who need
special arrangements in the event of evacuation, or students with
documented disabilities who may need accommodations should make an
appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the
first week of the term. If additional assistance is required the student
should contact the Office of Disability Services.
This statement is gladly included in cooperation with University
policy: "Accommodations are collaborative efforts between
students, faculty and Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD).
Students with accommodations approved through SSD are responsible for
contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during
the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe
they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained
approval through SSD should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098."
Discrimination or Harassment:
- Discrimination or
harassment will not be tolerated in the classroom. Most cases of
discrimination or harassment violate Federal and State laws and University
Policies and Regulations. Intentional discrimination or harassment will be
referred to the Affirmative Action Office and dealt with in accordance
with the appropriate rules and regulations.
- Unintentional
discrimination or harassment is just as damaging to the offended party,
but it usually results from people not understanding the impact of their
remarks or actions on others, or an insensitivity to the feelings of
others. We must all strive to work together to create a positive learning
environment. This means that each individual should be sensitive to the
feelings of others and tolerant of the remarks and actions of others. If
you find the remarks and actions of another individual offensive, please
bring it to their attention. If you believe those remarks and actions
constitute intentional discrimination or harassment, please bring it to
your instructor's attention.
Arbitration:
- There will be a one-week
arbitration period after graded items (projects, assignments, etc.) are
returned. Within that one-week period, you are encouraged to
discuss any assumptions and/or misinterpretations that you made about the
activity that may have influenced your grade.
Return to Contents

My goal for each of you this term is that you will explore a
large number of important topics. It is a long list but I plan to expose you to
all of this in 10 short weeks.
A successful student will be able to:
- Explain how business
processes, transaction cycles, and IT systems (both AIS and MIS) relate to
and each other explain various roles IS and non-IS users play in IS
acquisition, development, management, and use.
- Document individual
business processes from an information system perspective.
- Explain how internal
controls are implemented in an information system.
- Work productively in a
group environment.
- Recognize limiting and
enabling factors of technology, and describe the forces and processes
governing modern day business computing.
- Understand the
relationships, both historical and current, between the use of
information system technology and business productivity.
- Provide an overview of
information successes and failures and some of their causes.
- Match standard business
data processing needs with standard technologies.
- Demonstrate a
fundamental understanding of how the Internet works. Note: this is not the
same as knowing how to navigate the Internet.
- Recognize the various
Internet and WWW standard setting organizations, their responsibilities
and their governance.
- Describe the function
of basic HTTP commands (GET, HEAD, and POST) and generally describe how
requests and responses move around the internet.
- Explain what a protocol
does and how protocols are a key element in the growth of the Internet.
- Explain the role of the
W3C in guiding the development of the Internet.
- Contrast the basic
purpose and syntax of XML vs. HTML.
- Recognize the
operational and strategic business opportunities of XML-based data
communications such as web services.
- Formulate a simple XML
model of a standard set of business information; e.g., a simple earnings
statement, a sales order, or a customer complaint.
- Explain the role of
XBRL in financial business reporting.
- Conceptually formulate
an XML-based web service for sharing information between a B2B supplier
and consumer.
- List and explain the
general function of the key components of an XBRL document. Generally
identify the function of standard XBRL elements in an example document.
Explain the value of using XBRL.
- Explain general IT
Governance principles, including some key details.
- Design and read the
relational structure of prototypical complexes of business data and
information and distinguish good from bad data models.
- Classify an arbitrary
selection of business processing data into entities, attributes and
relationships.
- Specify primary and
foreign key structures.
- Differentiate master,
transaction, and junction tables, explaining their characteristics and
role in a relational database system.
- Translate back and
forth between standard business information and its relational
representation.
- Name the major
characteristics of industry-strength database systems.
- Describe the basics of
several system modeling techniques.
- List several ways
process modeling can be useful in business.
- List the basic diagrams
of and concepts behind the UML (Unified Modeling Language).
- Create a UML activity
diagram or flow chart for a business process depicting events, actors,
forms, decision points, and data stores.
- Draw simple data models
such as Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERD) or data-oriented UML Class
Diagrams.
- Recognize and describe
the advantages and limitations of psuedo code or structured English.
- List the basic
components of Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) and describe basic DFD balancing
rules.
- Recognize and describe
the advantages and limitations of decision tables.
- Describe the components
of Use-case diagrams and explain their role in the system development
process.
- Demonstrate a basic
understanding of relational database access concepts:
- Explain what makes a
password relatively strong or relatively weak.
- Discuss how an RDBMS
(Relational Database Management System) can support business processes
and controls based on Referential Integrity (foreign keys) and
Transaction Integrity (Roll Back).
- Describe how an RDBMS
supports data documentation. (Diagrams and a database about the
database.)
- Generally interpret an
SQL query. What are the basic key words? What do those key words do?
(SELECT, FROM, WHERE)
- Create simple SQL
statements which create lists of items from the database.
- Adapt more complex
statements to add columns or join to additional tables.
- Understand how SQL
supports list filtering and joining (WHERE), subtotals (GROUP BY),
sorting (ORDER BY), Uniqueness (DISTINCT) and a few other functions (MIN,
MAX, AVG, COUNT, SUM).
- Describe how different
queries can be used to support realistic business tasks.
- Recognize key computer
hardware and software terminology:
- Identify CPU, primary
storage, secondary storage, and IO device descriptors in a PC purchase
specification.
- List several factors
affecting computer performance.
- Contrast compiled and
scripted languages, listing examples and comparing functionality.
- List and briefly
explain several measures of software performance.
- Relate binary numbers
to data encoding, counting forward and backwrads in binary as it to
identify ascii characters.
- Explain key system
characteristics:
- List and explain the
components of the DIKW framework.
- Demonstrate how the
terms modularity and coupling can be used in evaluating business
processes.
- Contrast black/white
box and open/closed as they apply to systems.
- Explain how the terms
extensibility, entropy, and scope apply to the evaluation of systems and
system risks.
- Understand internal
control as it relates to IT in organizations:
- List and describe the
components of COSO.
- List and describe
internal control objectives and components within a coherent framework
using examples from the COBIT framework.
- Differentiate between
execution, information systems, asset protection, and performance
objectives.
- Identify and describe
execution and information systems risks associated with processes in the
acquisition and revenue cycles.
- Explain how various
kinds of internal controls can be used to reduce risk.
- Contrast various types
of controls: application controls, general IT controls, and internal
controls implemented in IT.
- List, define, contrast,
and give examples of preventive, detective, corrective and compensating
controls.
- Do a few rudimentary
tasks in a personal database application (MS Access) and create flow
charts using a drawing application (MS Visio).
These objectives were selected after reviewing existing
courses in our program, talking to industry practitioners, and reviewing the model
curriculum proposed by ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control
Association). The text, examinations, assignments, and project formulation have
all been chosen to support these objectives.

- College of Business
Specific Learning Outcomes
- Each student must
understand and be able to use team building, collaborative behaviors and
project management in the accomplishment of group tasks.
- Each student shall
demonstrate information technology skills as they apply to today’s
business environment.
- Each student shall be
able to converse and to write at an acceptable level for business
communications in English.
- Accounting Option
Specific Learning Outcomes
- Each student shall be
able to apply accounting concepts, principles, standards, and processes.
- Each student shall
demonstrate information technology skills as they apply to today’s
business environment to solve business problems and to communicate those
solutions.
- Each student must
demonstrate analytical skills through finding, organizing, assessing, and
analyzing data appropriate to a given situation.
- Each student shall be
able to impart the knowledge and skills listed above to provide
insightful advisory judgments and recommendations regarding the
accounting for and the business implications of events, conditions,
circumstances, and transactions that give rise to business opportunities
or problems.
- Each student must
demonstrate strong organizational skills and a capacity for responsive
and timely work.
This page is
maintained by Byron Marshall Send E-mail to byron.marshall@bus.oregonstate.edu.