HOLMES
INSTITUTE
FACULTY OF HIGHER
EDUCATION
ASSESSMENT DETAILS AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Trimester T2 2021
Unit Code HI5019
Unit Title Strategic Information Systems for Business and Enterprise
Assessment Type Assessment 1: Individual Assignment
Assessment Title Analysing an Accounting Information System
Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping) Students are required to:
• Critically evaluate the purpose and role of accounting information systems in today’s business environment [ULO 1].
• Articulate the various transaction cycles, financial reporting, management reporting systems and ecommerce systems to technical and non-technical stakeholders [ULO 2].
• Appraise the risks inherent in computer-based systems/ERP, including the role of ethics and the various internal control processes that need to be in place [ULO 4].
Weight 20% of the total assessments.
Total Marks 20 Marks.
Word limit 2000 words ± 10%.
Due Date
The written report is due in Week 5 on Friday dated 20th August 2021 at 11:59 PM.
Late submission incurs penalties of five (5) % of the assessment per calendar day unless an extension and/or special consideration has been granted by Student Services prior to the assessment submission deadline.
Submission
Guidelines
• All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.
• The assignment must be in MS Word format, double spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using Adapted Harvard Referencing style. Please see the section Assignment Design – Adapted Harvard Referencing Section below.
•
Include a minimum of ten (10) references, at least five (5) from peerreviewed journal relevant to the unit.
ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
After finishing your Master of Professional Accounting, you started your accounting consultancy in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. You got a high distinction in HI5019 Strategic Information System and preferred to analyse the business processes, risks and internal controls. XYZ is one of your clients, and the CEO of XYZ is delighted with your services. [Please read this footnote carefully].
The head of the accounting department is concerned about the business processes and internal controls of XYZ. Therefore, he has recently contacted you to evaluate their revenue cycle focusing on the business processes and internal controls of XYZ. During the initial meeting, you elaborate him that conceptually, the revenue cycle is a recurring set of business activities and related data processing operations associated with providing goods and services to customers and collecting their cash payments. This definition reveals that the revenue cycle can be categorised into (1) sales order processing procedures, and (2) cash receipts procedures.
Considering the spcial nature of XYZ’s business, we categorized the revenue cycle of XYZ as:
• Sales Order Procedures (SOP), and
• Cash Receipts Procedures (CRP).
You requested the head of the accounting department to describe the SOP and the CRP of XYZ Limited separately. This description is given below.
1. SOP of XYZ Limited
The revenue process activities of XYZ is initiated when a customer places an order either online, by mail or through a telephone representative. At department level, these orders are generally cateogorised into two types, including online orders and offline orders. In terms of accounting theory, there is a significant difference between these two types of orders. Therefore, the processes of these orders are elaborated separately in sub-section 1.1 and 1.2.
1.1 Processing of Online Sales Orders
Online orders are entered automatically by the system, mail and phone orders are manually entered. When the customer order is entered, the system automatically performs an online credit check. If credit is approved, the sales process continues. If credit is denied, the process is terminated and the customer is notified of the automatic rejection.
1.2 Processing of Offline Sales Orders
The offline sale orders are received via mail or through a telephone representative. In most of the cases, these orders are the unstandardised sales [we have discussed the unstandardised orders in details in our interactive tutorials]. The sales clerk first converts the unstandardised sales order into the standardised sales order. For this purpose, the sales representative requests the missing information, if any. When the order is received, the sales clerk checks the customer’s creditworthiness of the customer from his computer terminal. Three years ago, the sales clerk requested the accounting department to provide him with a list of customers whose account receivables are written off. The sales clerk is still using this information to check the creditworthiness of the customers. The sales clerk is using the same procedure to check the creditworthiness of the new customers. The customer’s order is rejected if the customer’s credit is not verified. The sales order processing is started after the credit verification. In particular, the sales clerk records the approved standardised sales order in the sales order system through his computer terminal.
For both types of approved orders (online sales orders and offline sales orders), the clerk manually prepares four hard copies of each sales order. The clerk then enters the sale into the digital sales journal from his terminal and files one copy of the sales order in the sales department. A second copy is sent to the billing department, where it is further processed. A third copy is sent to the warehouse. A final copy is sent to the customer as a receipt stating that the order has been received and processed.
It might be important to note that the warehouse clerk uses the sales order as a stock release document to pick up the requested items from the shelves. The clerk then manually prepares a bill of lading and packing slip, which accompany the goods to the carrier. The warehouse clerk then accesses the computer terminal and creates a digital shipping notice for the billing department. Finally the clerk files the stock release hard copy in the warehouse. The billing department clerk reconciles the hardcopy sales order and the digital shipping notice which is displayed on his or her terminal. He or she then prints two hard copies of an invoice. One copy is sent to the customer as a bill and the other is sent to the accounts receivable department. The clerk then files the sales order copy in the department.
Upon receipt of the hard copy invoice, the accounts receivable clerk creates a digital record in the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger from his terminal. The clerk then files the invoice copy in the department.
2. CRP of XYZ Limited
The case receipt processes of XYZ Limited can be broadly categorized into four types:
• First, customer payments and remittance advices come into the mail room. A clerk separates the documents and sends the remittance advices to accounts receivable and the checks to the cash receipts department.
• Second, upon receipt of the remittance advices, the accounts receivable clerk accesses the customer's account in the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger from a terminal and adjusts the balance accordingly. The clerk files the remittance advices in the department.
• Third, the cash receipts clerk receives the checks and posts them to the cash receipts journal from his or her terminal. The clerk then manually prepares a hard-copy deposit slip and sends it with the cash to the bank.
• Finally, at the end of each day, the system prepares batch totals of all sales and cash receipts transactions and posts them automatically to the control accounts in the digital general ledger.
Required
Based on the above information, prepare a report for the chief financial officer of XYZ Limited to evaluate their revenue cycle. In your report, you need to include the following items:
1. “Processing of Online Sales Order (section 1.1) and Processing of Offline Sales Order (section 1.2) have different accounting implications.” Discuss this statement in the light of existing revenue cycle of XYZ Limited.
2. In the light of our discussion during interactive tutorials, describe potential internal control weaknesses in the sales order procedures and cash receipts procedures of XYZ Limited.
3. In the light of our discussion during interactive tutorials, discuss the potential risks associated with the internal control weaknesses identified in the requirement number two above.
4. Based on the requirement number three above, what types of frauds are possible. Hint:
we have discussed different types of frauds in the interactive tutorial and lectures. Your discussion should be based on these contents.
ASSIGNMENT STRUCTURE
The report should include the following components.
1. Holmes Institute Assignment Cover Sheet
The Holmes Institute Assignment Cover Sheet is available at the end of menu item Assessments on the Blackboard.
2. Executive Summary
The executive summary should be concise and not involve too much detail. It should make commentary on the main points only and follow the sequence of the report. Write the executive summary after the report is completed, and once you have an overview of the whole text.
3. Table of Contents
This needs to show a logical listing of all the sub-headings of the report’s contents. Note this is excluded from the total word count.
4. Introduction
Typically, the introduction is a short paragraph which includes background, scope and the main points raised in the order of importance. There should be a brief conclusion statement at the end of the introduction.
5. Main Body Paragraphs with Numbered Sub-headings
This section contains the detailed information which elaborates on the main points raised in the introduction. Each paragraph should begin with an exact topic sentence, then supporting sentences with facts and evidence obtained from research and finish with a concluding sentence at the end.
6. Conclusion
This section contains a logical and coherent evaluation based on a thorough and objective assessment of the research performed.
7. Appendices
This section includes any additional explanatory information which is supplementary and/or graphical to help communicate the main ideas made in the report. Refer to the appendices in the main body paragraphs, as and where appropriate. (Note this is excluded from the total word count.)
Note: The report should be grounded on relevant literature, and all references must be cited appropriately and included in the reference list.
Assessment Design – Adapted Harvard Referencing
Holmes will be implementing as a pilot program a revised Harvard approach to referencing. The following guidelines apply:
1. Reference sources in assignments are limited to sources which provide full text access to the source’s content for lecturers and markers.
2. The Reference list should be located on a separate page at the end of the essay and titled: References.
3. It should include the details of all the in-text citations, arranged alphabetically A-Z by author surname. In addition, it MUST include a hyperlink to the full text of the cited reference source. For example;
P Hawking, B McCarthy, A Stein (2004), Second Wave ERP Education, Journal of
Information Systems Education, Fall, http://jise.org/Volume15/n3/JISEv15n3p327.pdf
4. All assignments will require additional in-text reference details which will consist of the surname of the author/authors or name of the authoring body, year of publication, page number of content, paragraph where the content can be found.
For example;
“The company decided to implement a enterprise wide data warehouse business intelligence strategies (Hawking et al, 2004, p3(4)).”
Non Adherence to Referencing Guidelines
Where students do not follow the above guidelines:
1. Students who submit assignments which do not comply with the guidelines will be asked to resubmit their assignments.
2. Late penalties will apply, as per the Student Handbook each day, after the student/s have been notified of the resubmission requirements.
3. Students who comply with guidelines and the citations are “fake” will be reported for academic misconduct.
Marking Criteria
Marking criteria Weighting in Total Grades
Discuss the given statement in the light of existing revenue cycle of XYZ Limited. 4%
The potential internal control weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. 4%
The potential risks associated with the internal control weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. 4%
The potential frauds in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. 4%
Presentation and Referencing. 4%
TOTAL Weight 20%
Marking Rubric
Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
(80-100%) (70-79%) (60-69%) (50-59%) (0-49%)
Discuss the given statement in the light of existing revenue cycle of XYZ Limited. [4 Marks] Present an excellent discussion on the the
given statement in the light of existing
revenue cycle of XYZ Limited. Present a very good discussion on the the
given statement in the light of existing
revenue cycle of XYZ Limited. Present a good discussion on the the
given statement in the light of existing
revenue cycle of XYZ Limited. Present a reasonable discussion on the the
given statement in the light of existing
revenue cycle of XYZ Limited. Present a weak or inadequate discussion on the the given
statement in the light of existing revenue cycle of XYZ Limited.
The potential internal control weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of
XYZ Limited. [4
Marks] Correctly identify all the potential internal
control weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of
XYZ Limited. Correctly identify most of the potential
internal control
weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Correctly identify some of the potential internal control
weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Correctly identify one to two potential
internal control
weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Fail to identify the potential internal
control weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of
XYZ Limited.
The potential risks associated with the internal control weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. [4 Marks] Correctly identify all the potential risks
associated with the internal control
weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Correctly identify most of the potential risks
associated with the internal control
weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Correctly identify some of the potential risks associated with the internal control
weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Correctly identify one
to two potential risks
associated with the internal control
weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Fail to identify the potential risks
associated with the internal control
weaknesses in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited.
The frauds possible in the SOP and CRP of
XYZ Limited. [4
Marks] Correctly identify all the frauds possible in the SOP and CRP of
XYZ Limited. Correctly identify most of the frauds possible
in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Correctly identify some of the frauds
possible in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Correctly identify one to two frauds possible
in the SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited. Fail to identify the frauds possible in the
SOP and CRP of XYZ Limited.
Presentation and
Referencing. [4 Marks] An extensive amount of high-quality
evidence from peerreviewed journal articles and other A broad range of quality peer-reviewed journal references and other sources was included and used An adequate range of peer-reviewed journal references was
included and used to support discussion. An adequate range of peer-reviewed journal references was
included and used to a Little or no peerreviewed journal references were
included, and these were rarely used to
HI5019 T2 2021 Assessment 1: Individual Assignment Page 7 of 9
sources was included effectively to support
and used effectively to discussion. support discussion.
basic extent to support support discussion discussion. effectively.
HI5019 T2 2021 Assessment 1: Individual Assignment Page 8 of 9
Academic Integrity
Holmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding Academic Integrity, as Academic
Integrity is integral to maintaining academic quality and the reputation of Holmes’ graduates. Accordingly, all assessment tasks need to comply with academic integrity guidelines. Table 1 identifies the six categories of Academic Integrity breaches. If you have any questions about Academic Integrity issues related to your assessment tasks, please consult your lecturer or tutor for relevant referencing guidelines and support resources. Many of these resources can also be found through the Study Sills link on Blackboard.
Academic Integrity breaches are a serious offence punishable by penalties that may range from deduction of marks, failure of the assessment task or unit involved, suspension of course enrolment, or cancellation of course enrolment.
Table 1: Six categories of Academic Integrity breaches
Plagiarism Reproducing the work of someone else without attribution. When a student submits their own work on multiple occasions this is known as self-plagiarism.
Collusion Working with one or more other individuals to complete an assignment, in a way that is not authorised.
Copying Reproducing and submitting the work of another student, with or without their knowledge. If a student fails to take reasonable precautions to prevent their own original work from being copied, this may also be considered an offence.
Impersonation Falsely presenting oneself, or engaging someone else to present as oneself, in an in-person examination.
Contract cheating Contracting a third party to complete an assessment task, generally in exchange for money or other manner of payment.
Data fabrication and falsification Manipulating or inventing data with the intent of supporting false conclusions, including manipulating images.
Source: INQAAHE, 2020
HI5019 T2 2021 Assessment 1: Individual Assignment
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