Accounting Process Management
Lecture 1
Accounting Information System & Firm Value
Accountants as Business Analysts
Paper – Interaction among Auditors, Managers, Regulation & technology
Lecture 2
Data Modeling
Relational Databases & Enterprise systems
Lecture 3
XBRL
Blockchain & AI automation
Paper – Corporate Governance & Blockchain
Lecture 4
AIS & internal controls
Monitoring & auditing AIS
Paper – Chat GPT use case UNIPER SE
Lecture 5
Balanced scorecard, business value of IT
Evaluating AIS investments
Paper – Examining the determinants & consequences of Blockchain early adoption
Lecture 6
Review of ESG-relevant concepts from prior weeks
Report S&P – ESG & Technology
Report COSO – Achieving Effective internal control over sustainability reporting (ICSR)
,Answers to the questions
Week 1: .................................................................................................................................... 3
• Recognize the use of accounting information systems in business ..............................................................3
• Understand how accountants are positioned to process information .........................................................3
• Define attribute of useful information in financial and non-financial settings.............................................3
• Explain methods to address the information overload problem ..................................................................4
• Understand the interview responses in Austin, Carpenter, Christ, and Nielson (2021), from auditors’,
companies’, and regulators’ perspectives........................................................................................................4
Week 2: .................................................................................................................................... 8
• Understand basic relational database concepts covered in the lecture (e.g.,multiplicities, cardinalities,
primary and foreign keys) ................................................................................................................................8
• Understand different ways of joining tables (e.g., left, right, inner, full outer joins) ....................................8
• Be able to interpret basic SQL functions and predict their query results .....................................................9
• Be able to write a short SQL syntax based on given query inputs and query results .................................10
Week 3: .................................................................................................................................. 14
• Explain the impact of blockchain on accounting and auditing (read text and paper by Yermark 2017,
section 3.7-3.8) ..............................................................................................................................................14
• Explain the function and potential use of XBRL in financial and non-financial settings .............................18
• Explain the purpose of data mining and process mining ............................................................................19
• Recognize artificial intelligence (AI) applications in finance and accounting settings ................................19
Week 4: .................................................................................................................................. 21
• Evaluate the use of ChatGPT in an internal audit process (Emett et al. 2023, SSRN) .................................21
• Explain the responsibilities of internal control and corporate governance ................................................23
• Understand how a company conducts Enterprise Risk Management ........................................................24
• Understand continuous audits and computer-assisted audit techniques ..................................................25
Week 5: .................................................................................................................................. 27
• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using balanced scorecard .................................................27
• Understand the economic justification of IT projects .................................................................................27
• Explain the reasons why certain companies early-adopt blockchain technologies (Guo et al. 2021 JIS) ...28
• Explain the consequences associated with early-adoption of blockchain technologies (Guo et al. 2021
JIS) ..................................................................................................................................................................31
Week 6 (check slides for relevant page numbers):.................................................................... 33
• Understand the technology trends that have ESG impacts (S&P Global report) ........................................33
• Apply Internal Control-Integrated Framework (ICIF) principles to ESG reporting (COSO 2023 report)......35
• Understand the difference between conventional financial reporting and sustainable reporting (COSO
2023 report) ...................................................................................................................................................37
,Week 1:
• Recognize the use of accounting information systems in business
The accounting information system records, processes & reports data for transactions. It also implements appropriate
controls for the transactions/ processes. Hence it gives a business a reliable information source that a business relies on for
its decisions and reporting (financial & managerial accounting).
• Understand how accountants are positioned to process information
Role of Accountants in AIS:
1. Designer
(Be able to understand the need & use tableau,… --> drive strategic decision-making)
o System Analyst
2. Implementer
(Be aware of the benefits, know the possibilities & have to knowledge to foresee the
implementation possibilities/ issues)
a. Database Administrator
3. User
(Use the systems in a correct way, hence understand the use & the way how to use them)
a. Record Journal Entries
4. Evaluator
(Understand the systems, the information & the data filling the system, Hence evaluate the
quality of the system)
a. Auditor
5. Manager
(make decisions & provide the basis for decisions)
a. Controller or CFO
Why Accountants? – Because they understand:
+ (1-3) The design of the system that provides information, how it is implemented & use
+ (1-3) Financial accounting – the requirements to report this financial information
+ (5) Managerial Accounting – How this information is used to make decisions
+ (4) Being able to attest to the degree of information quality
• Define attribute of useful information in financial and non-financial settings
1. Relevant - information capable of making a difference in a decision
b. Predictive Value
(use historical data to make predictions about the future)
c. Feedback Value
(Provide feedback on the basis of accounting information – customer behaviour)
d. Materiality
(Understand when product are immaterial – bakery pasteries is one example, we don’t
track them)
2. Faithful Representation - information produced accurately reflects the condition of the
business.
e. How truthful the information is
f. Complete
g. Neutral
h. Free from Error
, Data vs. Information:
Data are simply raw facts that describe an event and have little meaning on their own. Data is not information on its
own, not automatically. You need to transform data into information Information is defined as being data organized
in a meaningful way to be useful to the user. Data serves as an input. For example, the sales prices of an item
might be considered data. However, after subtracting the cost of goods sold from the sales price to compute the
margin would only be considered information if it helps a retailer decide whether to carry that item in its inventory.
• Explain methods to address the information overload problem
There’s a lot of data out there!
Computers can process and organize a large amount of data, however, too much information
hinders the decision-making process.
→Prioritize data with the following two approaches:
The value chain:
the question here is how & what kind of data we need to collect to a-not have too much data & b-be able to make an
informed decision. his involves assessing the value of each piece of information at each stage of its life cycle, from creation
to disposal. By prioritizing information based on its importance and relevance, businesses can reduce the inundation of less
valuable data.
Discretionary vs. Mandatory Information:
Mandatory information is vital for legal and regulatory compliance.
Discretionary information adds value but is not essential for compliance.
→ By prioritizing mandatory data, businesses can ensure they meet legal obligations (“the relevant information for that goal
has to be collected”) while managing discretionary information more efficiently, reducing overload.
• Understand the interview responses in Austin, Carpenter, Christ, and Nielson (2021), from auditors’,
companies’, and regulators’ perspectives
Auditors' Perspective:
• Auditors are seen as having more sophisticated data analytics practices compared to their clients
(companies).
• Some auditors believe they can provide valuable business insights to clients through data
analytics.
• There is tension between auditors and clients (managers) regarding audit fees. Managers expect
audit fees to decrease as data analytics improves audit efficiency, while auditors argue that
investments in data analytics technology need to be recovered through audit fees.
• Auditors may be taking on more of an advisory role, offering advice and insights to clients, which
could potentially blur the line between their commercial and professional commitments.
Companies' (Managers') Perspective:
• Companies benefit from observing and learning about best practices and high-level data analytics
techniques from their auditors.
• Some managers express a desire for more information about auditors' data analytics practices
and feel entitled to this information due to their perception of a business partnership with
auditors.
