Ch 1: AIS & Firm Value describe the operation, constraints on, and objectives of business processes

Accounting Information System: a system that records, processes and
reports on transactions to provide financial and nonfinancial information to
make decisions and have appropriate levels of internal controls for those
transactions.
Basic Information System: Input > Processing (Query) + Storage > Output
and systems.
Importance of Documentation: 1. Training 2. Describing current
processes/systems 3. Auditing 4. Accountability 5. Standardized interactions
6. Facilitating process improvement (Effectiveness, Efficiency, Internal
control, Compliance)

Useful Information must be (1) Relevant (Predictive, Feedback, Timely) and Value of Business Models: 1. Manage complexity 2. Elicit requirements 3.
(2) Reliable (Verifiable, Representational faithfulness, Neutrality); trade-off Reconcile viewpoints 4. Specify requirements
between relevance and reliability may exist
Business Models
Data: raw facts describing characteristics of an event; not meaningful
Information: data being organized in a meaningful way; given context

Information Value Chains: Business Need/Event > Data > Information >
Knowledge > Decision

Discretionary Information: information for internal information purposes;

produced if benefit > cost of production
Mandatory Information: information for external information purposes;
usually required by law (e.g. tax, F/S, etc.); produced @ lowest cost

Roles of Accountants wrt AIS: User, Manager, Designer, Evaluator

Certifications: Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified

Information Technology Professional (CITP), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
Business Value: items/events/interactions that determine financial
health/well-being of a firm/entity
Value Chain: chain of business processes for a firm; includes primary
activities (provide value to customer) such as 1. Inbound logistics 2.
Operations 3. Outbound logistics 4. Marketing and sales activities 5. Service
activities; which are supported by support activities (internal business
processes) such as 1. Firm infrastructure 2. Human resource management 3.
Technology 4. Procurement
Enterprise System (ES) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System:
centralized database that collects data from throughout the firm; assists with
internal business processes
External Business Processes: include Supply Chain Management and
Customer Relationship Management
Business Process Models describe process activity, data structures and
business rules that constrain and guide process operations
Activity models describe the sequence of workflow in business process(es);
represent the sequential flow and control logic of a set of related activities
Structure models create a blueprint for the development of a relational
database to support the collection, aggregation, and communication of
information
Workflow models (activity models) must describe 1. Events that
start/change/stop flow in the process, 2. Activities and tasks within the
process, 3. The sequence of flow between tasks, 4. Decision points that affect
the flow, 5. Division of activity depending on organizational roles.
BPMN Building Blocks:

Effect of AIS on Income Statement:

Revenues - CRM
COGS SCM
= Gross Margin
SG&A Enterprise System
Interest Expense SCM
= Net Income

Strategic Roles of AIS: Automate, Informate-up, Informate-down, Transform

Ch 2: Accountants as Business Analysts

Business Process: a defined sequence of business activities that use resrouces
to transform specific inputs into specific outputs to achieve a business goal. A
business process is constrained by business rules.

Business Analysis: The process of defining business process requirements

and evaluating potential improvements. Business analysis involves
ascertaining, documenting and communicating information about current and
future business processes using business process modeling and related tools.

Business model: A simple, abstract representation of one or more business

processes. A business model is typically a graphical depiction of the essential
business process information.
Pool identifies organization; swimlane identifies department/individuals
Documentation: Explains how business processes and business systems within the organization.
work. Documentation is tool for information transmission and
communication. The type and extent of documentation will depend on the Message flows represent interactions between pools
nature of the organization`s products and processes.
Intermediate Error Event dotted line outline with squiggle in left bottom
Documentation includes: business process models, business rules, user corner
manuals, training manuals, product specifications, software manuals,
schedules, organization charts, strategic plans, and similar materials that Subprocess [+] at bottom of event
Intermediate timer event: clock symbole
BPMN Best Practices: 1. Focus on one business process at a time, 2. Clearly
identify the events that start and end the process, 3. Include essential elements,
but avoid distracting detail, 4. Think about a token flowing from the start
event through the process to the end event, 5. Label activities clearly with a
verb and an object, 6. Model iteratively
Ch 3: Data Modeling
Structure Models describe the data and information structures inherent in a
business process or processes
Data models represent the conceptual contents of databases
Models of database structures must be able to describe: 1. Entities or things in
the domain of interest, 2. The relationships among those things, 3. The
cardinalities that describe how many instances of one entity can be related to
another, 4. The attributes or characteristics of the entities and relationships
Unified Modeling Language (UML) Class Diagrams
Class: any separately identifiable collection of objects about which the
organization wants to collect and store information; they can represent
Resources, Events and Agents.
Classes are typically implemented as tables in a relational database; individual
instances of objects are represented as rows in the table
Association depicts the relationships between two classes
Multiplicities describe the minimum and maximum number of times
instances in one class can be associated with instances in another class.
Attributes are data elements that describe the instances in a class (incl. data
type, default value, constraints, etc.)
Primary Key (PK): uniquely identifies each instance in a class or row in a
table; it cannot be null, cannot change, and should be controlled by the
organization which assigns it; short and sequential keys are preferred
Foreign Key (FK): allow tables to be linked together by storing null or the
primary key of another table
Other UML relationships: Inheritance/Generalization (is a relationship;
denoted by an arrow towards the general class); Aggregation (forms a
relationship (independent), denoted by arrow with diamond outline towards
the general class); Composition (forms a relationship (dependent),
denoted by an arrow with a solid diamond towards the general class
Other UML Notation: Note (rectangle with folded corner); Role designation,
multiple associations with potentially different multiplicities between the
same 2 classes; Constraints denoted in curly brackets near the constrained
end of the association.
UML Best Practices: 1. Use common terminology in the organization for
class names; 2. Link classes on the diagram only when there is a clear
business purpose for the relationship; 3. Avoid crossing lines; 4. Use
consistently sized rectangles; 5. Avoid running association lines close
together; 6. Opt for simplicity; 7. Focus on accuracy before appearance; 8.
Use notes to explain complex situations
Mapping UML to Table: 1. Map classes to tables; 2. Map class attributes to
table fields and assign PK; 3. Map associations to foreign keys; 4. Create new
tables to implement many-to-many relationships (concatenated/composite
key); 5. Implement relationships among tables
Business Rule: a succinct statement of a constraint on a business process;
typically written in text and not modeled
Forms of Rules: 1. Obligatory (states what should occur); 2. Prohibited
(states what should not occur); 3. Allowed (States what is allowed under what
conditions)
Rule enforcement: Strict enforcement (no violations); Pre-override
(violations allowed if authorized in advance); Post-override (violations
allowed if authorized after violation)
Ch 4: Relational Databases & ES
3 main types of data models: Hierarchial (tree-like structure), Network data
model (represents objects and relationships), Relational (stores information in
related 2D tables)
Advantages of relational data models (dominant use): 1. Flexibility and
scalability; 2. Simplicity; 3. Reduced information redundancy
Basic requirements of tables: Entity Integrity Rule (PK must not be null);
Referential Integrity Rule (FK is null or an existing PK); each attribute must
have a unique name; values of a specific attribute must be of the same type;
each attribute must be single-valued (i.e. not an array), forcing is to create a
relationship table for many-to-many relationships; non-key attributes must
describe characteristics of the class identified by the primary key
Access: 7 objects: Table (store data), Queries (can complete calculations and
sorting), Forms (enter & view data to/from tables), Reports (display data
integrated from 1+ queries/tables), Pages (web-based forms allowing data
entry), Macros (automate processes), Modules (alter Access code)
SQL:
SELECT *|Attribute1,Attribute2(, SUM|AVG|MIN|MAX|COUNT(Attribute))
FROM Table
WHERE Attribute1 = value
GROUP BY Attribute2
ORDER BY Attribute1 ASC|DESC;
SELECT DISTINCT Attribute1
FROM Table;
INSERT INTO Table
VALUES (a1,a2);
UPDATE Table
SET Attribute1 = a1
WHERE Attribute2 = value;
DELETE FROM Table
WHERE Attribute1 = a1;
Use square brackets where an attribute/table has spaces in its name
Use single quotes for strings
For WHERE, we may use =, != | <>, <, <=, >. >=, IN (range,range)
Challenges of ES Implementation: 1. Integrating various modules within the
enterprise system; 2. Integrating with external systems; 3. Integrating with
legacy systems; 4. Converting data from legacy systems into ES; 5. Getting
any big project implemented
Ch 5: Sales & Collections Business Process
Collaboration: BPMN showing interaction between 2 pools (sequence flows
within each pool + message flows between pools)
Choreography (the interaction between participants)
Orchestration (sequence of activities in one pool)
Collapsed subprocess, hidden from view
Access controls limit who can use and change records in the system;
implements appropriate segregation of duties
Aplication controls ensure data integrity and audit trail (e.g. range limits,
quote numbers, etc.)
Business rules: Process Steps, Intention, Partner Authority/Action, Access
Controls, Application Controls
Type image: class that represents management information (e.g. categories,
policies, guidelines) to help manage a business process
UML for Sales/Collections Business Processes

** 1 1 relationships can be collapsed!!! **

BPMN: Sales/Processing

Generic

Conversion Process

BPMN: Purch/Payments

Collaboration Model

UML