NOTE: ACTG 420 is not being offered during Summer 2008.
The course materials below are for reference purposes only.

ACTG420: ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN -- Spring 2008

Tuesday/Thursday 12-1:50, Bexell Hall Room 412

CONTENTS Course Description Instructor Course Materials Blackboard Tentative Course Schedule Learning Outcomes Student Evaluation Assignments Course Policies

INSTRUCTOR Byron Marshall, Ph.D. Bexell Hall 426 (541) 737-6054 byron.marshall@bus.oregonstate.edu Byron's web site

OFFICE HOURS Tuesday 2:00 - 3:00 PM Wed 10:30 - 11:30 PM Thursday 10:30 - 11:30 AM And gladly by appointment I would enjoy talking to you!

COURSE DESCRIPTION -- ACTG420 is a four unit course.

The Catalog Description: Extends processing and control functions of accounting systems. Emphasizes analysis and design of accounting systems using database management systems. State-of-the-art programs are used to solve business problems. PREREQS: ACTG 317 and ACTG 378

Informally: Given the recent expansion of internal control regulation and the increasing importance and vulnerability of information technology in today's organization's, accountants need to better understand IT planning, acquisition, delivery, and monitoring. ACTG420 surveys key IT issues that are important to managers, accountants, and auditors. This year's offering will touch on IT audits, increasing spreadsheet skills and understanding spreadsheet vulnerabilities, IT acquisition and development, IT service delivery, and IT security in an internetworked world. In addition to reading and discussing a text on IT auditing, students will:

• hear from outside speakers who can provide real-world context and content,
• investigate technologies individually and in groups,
• develop and evaluate spreadsheets with the kind of formulas used by accountants in the real world,
• try out ACL software for data analysis, and
• learn about computer network components and their vulnerabilities.

COURSE MATERIALS Core Concepts of Information Technology Auditing, James E. Hunton, Stephanie M. Bryant, Nancy A. Bagranoff ISBN: ISBN: 978-0-471-22293-4 Wiley Some course material will be available in Blackboard. Return to Contents

Tentative Course Schedule -- Spring 2008

CC# refers to a chapter in Core Concepts. Please read Reading assignments in preparation for class.
Week	Tuesday	Thursday
1 Apr 1	Welcome - introduction, team assignments, register for COBIT, and introduce the spreadsheet assignment	Read: CC Chp#1: IT Audit Overview Due: Individual Course Plan (a bunch of stuff!)
2 Apr 8	Read:CC Chp#3: Information Technology Risks and Controls Due: List Group Members and Topic Preferences	Information System Security: Dr. V.T. Raja Read:CC Chp#6: IT Networks and Telecommunications Risks
3 Apr 15	Guest Speaker: RedRover Software - Spreadsheet Errors Matter How do we avoid or detect them? Erik Rehn from RedRover Software	Guest Speaker: Neal E. Weatherspoon, CPA, CISA, CISSP, Audit Manager, State of Oregon Audit Division Kate Riley , CISA IT Audit Principal IT Audit Planning PERS CNIC AFAMIS CSEAS
4 Apr 22	Spreadsheet Lab Meet in Bexell 324 Due: COBIT process preferences	Read:CC Chp#4: IT Deployment Risks
5 Apr 29	Revisit:CC Chp#6: IT Networks and Telecommunications Risks Due: Spreadsheet Proposal	In class work day - bringing together what we know so far Kris Rosenberg - COB Director of Information Services
6 May 6	Mid Term Exam All material including Chapters 1,3,4, & 6 slides and speaker notes.	More on Spreadsheets Meet in computerized classroom 324 Due:Group Presentation Outline
7 May 13	Read:CC Chp#5: Managing the IT Function First half of the Individual Presentations	Project Feasibility Second half of the Individual Presentations
8 May 20	Guest Speaker: Host Based Security Due: Turn In Your Spreadsheet	CC Chp#9: Conducting the IT Audit Revisit the cases from the State of Oregon PERS CNIC AFAMIS CSEAS
9 May 27	Student Group Presentations Hands On Network Administration Lab	Student Group Presentations Due: Group Paper
10 June 3	Read:CC Chp#8: Using CAATTS - ACL Walk through Due: Audit Two Spreadsheets - Evaluation Form Meet in computerized classroom 324	Assemble a computer - XBRL - Wrap up.
Wednesday, June 11	6:00 PM in Bexell 412 (our regular classroom)    University Final Schedule

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STUDENT EVALUATION

Student evaluation will consist of three related areas--the understanding of basic concepts, the ability to apply accounting-related tools and techniques, and the ability to communicate about IT issues. Students will demonstrate their understanding of concepts by participating in classroom discussions and completing quizzes and examinations. Students will demonstrate their ability to use tools and techniques in labs and assignments. Students will demonstrate their ability to communicate about IT issues in individual and group presentations and papers.

Grade Component	Weighting
Group Topic Paper	group score: 10 % individual score: 3 %
Individual Brief/Presentation	5 %
Spreadsheet Assignment	15 %
Quizzes	7 %
Midterm Examination	30 %
Final Examinaion	30 %

Final grade percentages

Grade	Minimum Score
A	93%
A-	90%

Grade	Minimum Score
B+	87%
B	83%
B-	80%

Grade	Minimum Score
C+	77%
C	73%
C-	70%

Grade	Minimum Score
D+	67%
D	63%
D-	60%

Individual Course Plan - Due the 2nd class meeting

• A list of group and individual assignments describing what is to be turned in and showing due dates:
• Group Member List (with topic preferences)
• Group Presentation Outlines
• Group Presentation
• Group Paper
• Individual COBIT Topic Preferences
• Individual COBIT Presentation
• Individual COBIT Brief
• Individual Spreadsheet Proposal
• Individual Spreadsheet Project
• Individual Spreadsheet Review
• Notification that you have created your class subdirectories

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Quizzes and Assignments

• Quizzes may be given at any class meeting. 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. I will drop one quiz score to allow for an off day or an absence.

• Coursework includes 3 significant Assignments:
• Spreadsheet Assignment
  We will be doing a spreadsheet lab covering a variety of "more advanced" spreadsheet functions. (See Lab Document for details.)
  In addition, each student will create a reasonably complex spreadsheet on their own. While you may discuss your spreadsheets with others, each student will turn in a unique submission.
  Requirements:
• Create a brief (1 page) proposal for your spreadsheet. Your final spreadsheet does not have to match your plan but you need to have a solid plan to start with.
• Identify the purpose of the spreadsheet. Examples: Summarize and analyze payroll info; Import a text file list of data then parse and analyze it; Compare budget to actual expenses in a fictitious IT project, etc...
• Describe the data you will include in your spreadsheet. Where will it come from, how much will there be, and what fields will be included?
• List 3 functions from the lab you will use. You have to meaningfully apply some of what you learn in the lab.
• Demonstrate that you can explore new capabilities by including at least 2 "advanced" functions not used in the lab.
• Use at least 3 different worksheets or tabs in addition to the document description tab described below.
• Include at least 50 rows of data.
• Submit your spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are to be stored in a directory in your personal account. Please create your directories during the first week of class so I can make sure I can access them for use during the term. Save your submission in your /mywork/ subdirectory.
  One worksheet (tab) in your spreadsheet should be a document description:
• Write one paragraph describing the business use of the spreadsheet.
• Give the reviewer brief instructions on how to "use" the spreadsheet. This should be easy to do with few instructions.
• Briefly list the functions used (from the lab example and the other "advanced" functions). For each, tell in one sentence what is accomplished and give a cell reference so the reviewer can easily find it.

§ As you plan and build your spreadsheet, you should review the evaluation criteria. If I were you, I would have a friend grade your spreadsheet in advance using the evaluation form and adjust your project as appropriate based on the feedback.

§ Review others' work. Once the spreadsheet submissions are in, I will be putting two spreadsheets (submissions from other students) into your ...\classwork\actg420\ folders. You will have at least a week to look over those spreadsheets. You will be looking for errors, checking to see if they meet the requirements, and evaluating their quality.

§ Your score on your spreadsheet will depend on the evaluations you receive. However, you should look over the reviews to see if they are fair. I will look over the reviews (reserving the right to assign a different score) and will be glad to address any concerns. Students are generally fair when grading projects.

Scoring will be as follows:

§ Total possible: 100 pts (which will be applied as 15% of your course grade).

§ 80 pts as an average of the two reviews on your spreadsheet (subject to instructor review).

§ 20 pts (10 each) based on the quality of the reviews you did. Were they accurate? Were they fair (a good faith effort)?

o Group Topic Report and Presentation

§ By the third day of class, form groups of 3 and submit one email per group listing your names, a group name, and your preferences (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) for a group topic from the following list: Copy the message to everyone in your group to ensure that you have each other's email addresses correct.

§ IT Failure / Business Failure

§ Biometrics and Security

§ Locking Down a Database Server

§ Locking Down a Windows Server

§ Disaster Planning and Recovery

§ Wireless Network Security

§ Network Storage Options

§ Server Virtualization

§ Data Center Planning

§ Submit a group presentation outline and make an appointment to discuss it with me. In this meeting we will verify that you have acceptable sources and a reasonable scope for your project

§ Make a presentation in class. Control your time (20-25 minutes), present professionally with high quality presentation materials.

§ Submit a report on your topic. 10-20 pages as needed. Include a cover page, table of contents, captions for figures and tables, and professional business-quality writing. Click here for more on formatting. Electronic and printed copies are required. Also include a one page max study guide and at least 3 multiple choice questions drawn from the presentation and study guide.

§ Submit Group member evaluations because being a good group member is important!
When the paper is finished, each student should submit a single sheet rating each of the other members of the team on the following scale. These ratings will largely determine the individual score associated with the group topic report.

§ 1 - small or none

§ 2 - less than expected

§ 3 - acceptable contribution

§ 4 - good work

§ 5 - above average

§ 6 - exceptional

I reserve the right to adjust this grade for low class participation.

o Individual COBIT Process Brief
COBIT and other IT frameworks provide guidance for implementing, controlling, and auditing organizational IT operations. This exercise allows you to explore COBIT as it relates to your group topic. Each team member chooses one of the 34 COBIT processes. Submit your individual COBIT process preferences in order (1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices) by 4:00 pm the first day of the fourth week of class. I will coordinate class choices so that no COBIT processes are covered more than twice.
In 2 minutes or 2-3 pages you can't say much so be concise but say something informative and something of value.

§ Each team member chooses a different COBIT process.

§ Write a 2-3 page, single spaced brief on your topic.

§ Make up a one paragraph narrative describing a company where both your topic and your process might apply.

§ How would this COBIT process relate to your group topic in an organization?

§ Describe the process you might use in investigating the related risks and controls.

§ Describe the key control objectives in a narrative format.

§ List 3 measures which can be used to monitor related controls.

§ Provide fictitious results for those measures over a 3 year period.

§ Interpret the results.

§ Give a two minute presentation in class. Say something informative about the risks, controls, and measures related to your process. Presentation scoring will focus on professionalism (but it's not about dressing up fancy!) and your effectiveness in presenting potentially useful information.

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Create your assignment directories

• Your spreadsheet will be reviewed and graded by two of your colleagues and you will review the work of two of your colleagues. The reviews will be double-blind; i.e., you will not know by whom you are reviewed and you will not know who you are reviewing.
• Anonymize!!!: To ensure anonymity, please 'anonymize' your spreadsheet and its explanation document. In other words, remove information that would allow your reviewer to identify you.
• Store your spreadsheet and reviews in a predetermined folder structure. Please take a few moments and set up the following folder structure in your ...\classwork\ folder:

·  
· 




· ...\classwork\actg420\assignment\




·  \mywork\




·  \review_1\