converging role of accounting and information systems
Due to the converging role of accounting and information systems in AB Hi-Fi, students are required to discuss with their group members and prepare a report according to the attached case study below.
Case Study: AB Hi-Fi
AB Hi-Fi is a multi-store retail business that sells products such as DVDs, CDs, mp3 players, game consoles and TVs. In addition, AB Hi-Fi also sells music, games and DVDs via its website. AB Hi-Fi has a central warehouse that is located in Melbourne. All products purchased by the business are delivered to this central warehouse. The narrative of the revenue cycle, recording payments process and expenditure cycle are as follows.
Customers browse the AB Hi-Fi online store looking for products to purchase from the product catalogue. When they have located an item they wish to purchase they click on a 'buy this item' link located underneath the item required. The computer displays a screen showing the product ID number and asks the customer to enter the quantity of the item required. The customer keys in the quantity required. The computer then displays a screen asking the customer if they want to continue shopping. Once the customer indicates that they do not want to continue shopping the computer calculates and displays an order confirmation screen containing the product ID number, product price, quantity and total cost per item for each different item ordered, the shipping amount (AB has a standard shipping rate within Australia of $10 per delivery) and a total for all items and shipping costs. The screen asks the customer to input their credit card and delivery details to complete the order. The customer inputs the delivery details (name and address and credit card details (card number and expiry date) into the order confirmation screen. The computer assigns the next sales order number to the transaction, then displays a screen for the customer which provides the sales order number and confirms that the order has been completed. The computer records the sales order details in the sales event data store. At 11 pm every evening the computer extracts details of the day's sales and updates the inventory levels. The computer prints a picking ticket (barcoded sales order number, items and quantities) on the warehouse printer and produces an electronic credit card check file listing all the credit card details (customer name, credit card number and expiry date) from the previous day's sales.
At 8 am every morning the warehouse clerk collects the picking tickets from the warehouse printer and picks the required goods from the shelf . lf any of the goods are not available the warehouse clerk puts back any goods they have already picked for the order and places the picking ticket in a folder on their desk labelled ‘awaiting goods'. lf all the goods are available the warehouse clerk takes the goods and the picking ticket to the shipping department. The shipping clerk scans the sales order number from the picking ticket, and the computer displays the order on the screen. The shipping clerk manually checks each item picked against the original sales order, and the picking ticket. The shipping clerk also checks the name on the sales order against the names highlighted on the credit card status report. lf the name on the order matches a name on the credit card status report, the goods and the picking ticket are sent back to the warehouse with a note attached indicating they cannot be shipped due to non-payment. Once they are satisfied that the credit card payment is not invalid, and that the correct items are being shipped, the shipping clerk checks a box on the sales order to indicate that shipping is complete. The computer updates the sales order and inventory data. The computer also prints a delivery slip for the order on a printer in the shipping department. The shipping clerk attaches the delivery slip to the goods and places them on the loading dock. Every day at 3 pm a carrier picks up the goods from the loading dock and delivers them to the customer.
The computer sends the electronic credit card check file that was produced at 11 pm to the bank's computer for verification. At 1 pm every day the bank sends an electronic report via email to the accounts receivable clerk indicating the status of each of the credit card orders (valid/invalid). The accounts receivable clerk prints out two copies of the credit card status report. The accounts receivable clerk files one copy of the credit card status report and uses a highlighter pen to mark out on the second copy the name of any customers whose credit card was reported as invalid. The accounts receivable clerk takes the highlighted report to the shipping clerk who is responsible for checking that these customers do not receive any goods.
Immediately after the bank sends the electronic status report the funds for all valid credit card orders are transferred into the company's bank account. The accounts receivable clerk receives an email from the bank advising them of the total amount of the funds transferred. The accounts receivable clerk compares the total in the email to the total in the credit card status report. lf these totals agree the amount is input into the computer and the cash receipt data store is updated. lf the totals do not match the problem is referred to the accounts receivable manager for resolution.
Besides prepaid online sales and retail cash sales, AB Hi-Fi offers a credit facility to selected larger customers. These customers receive invoices when they purchase goods, and are sent a statement at the end of each month. Payments made by these customers are received by the cashier. Every morning the accounts receivable clerk receives a report of customer receipts from the cashier. The customer receipts report contains the customer number and name, the amount received from each customer and the total of the customer receipts. The accounts receivable clerk logs on to the computer and opens a new cash receipts batch.
The accounts receivable clerk enters the first customer number from the customer receipts report. The computer displays details of the open (unpaid) invoices for that customer. The accounts receivable clerk selects the invoices that have been paid by clicking on a check box. The computer calculates a total for the customer based on the invoices checked. Once the accounts receivable clerk has checked that they have selected the correct invoices and that the customer total matches the total received by the cashier from that customer, they authorise the receipt allocation. The computer records the cash receipt total and changes the status of the selected invoices from 'open' to 'closed' (paid). The accounts receivable clerk does this for every customer receipt on the report. 0nce all the customer receipts have been entered, the accounts receivable clerk updates the computer to record the cash receipts batch as complete. The computer automatically prints out a report that contains details of the cash receipts batch. The accounts receivable clerk attaches the cash receipts batch report to the customer receipts report and files them away.
Purchase clerks at AB Hi-Fi monitor stock levels via the computer. The computer has predefined reorder points and reorder quantities for each inventory item. When stock levels for a particular item drop down to this reorder point a purchase requisition is automatically generated by the computer and forwarded via email to the purchase clerk responsible for these items. The purchase clerk is responsible for reviewing sales trends for this item, and deciding whether to reorder the goods listed on the purchase requisition. The purchase clerk can cancel the order if they feel that the goods are not worth reordering, amend the purchase requisition if they think that the quantity is too high or too low, or accept the requisition without change. Once the purchase clerk has made a decision about the purchase requisition they log on to the computer and open the purchase requisition. They make any changes required to the quantities and products on the purchase requisition, and then mark the requisition as complete by ticking on a check box.
The completed purchase requisition is then sent via email to the purchasing manager for review. The purchasing manager logs onto the computer and opens the purchase requisition. The purchasing manager is offered a choice of two tick boxes for each open purchase requisition. lf the manager selects the 'reject' box the purchase requisition is cancelled and no further action is taken. lf the purchasing manager selects the 'accept' box an email is sent to the purchase clerk informing them that the purchase requisition has been approved.
When the purchase clerk receives the approved purchase requisition email they log on to the computer and request a list of approved suppliers for each of the items on the approved requisition. The purchase clerk sends an electronic copy of the purchase requisition via email to each of the approved suppliers, requesting quotes for product and delivery costs, and an estimated delivery date.
When all the quotes have been received the purchase clerk decides which supplier to place the order with. The purchase clerk logs on to the computer and opens the relevant purchase requisition. They select the option to create a purchase order by ticking on a check box. The computer requests input of a valid supplier number then uses the supplier data and the purchase requisition data to produce a purchase order. The purchase order is sent via email to the supplier, the purchase clerk and the warehouse clerk responsible for these products.
As part of their trading agreement with AB Hi-Fi all suppliers are required to provide a delivery docket that lists the items they are delivering, the number of cartons being delivered and the purchase order number the delivery relates to. On arrival at the warehouse the delivery driver hands the warehouse clerk two copies of the delivery docket. lf there is no purchase order number included on the delivery docket, the warehouse clerk will refuse to take delivery of the items. The warehouse clerk enters the purchase order number from the delivery docket into the computer. The computers extracts the purchase order status from the purchase order data store. lf the purchase order number is invalid, or the status of the purchase order is 'closed', the computer will display an error message, and the warehouse clerk will refuse to take delivery of the items. lf the purchase order number is valid, the computer will display a message indicating that it is OK to accept a delivery for this purchase order, and asking if the warehouse clerk would like to print a goods received report for the purchase order. The warehouse clerk requests the computer to print the goods received report. The computer retrieves a list of the items ordered from the purchase order data store and the supplier details from the supplier data store. The computer prints the goods received report on a printer in the office of the warehouse clerk.
The warehouse clerk counts the number of cartons, and verifies the count against the delivery docket. Once the warehouse clerk has checked that the number of cartons delivered matches the number of cartons on the delivery docket the warehouse clerk signs the first copy of the delivery docket and gives the signed delivery docket to the delivery driver.
The warehouse clerk opens the cartons and checks and counts the items delivered, and writes the quantity of each item on the printed goods received report. Some orders are quite large, so individual boxes are not always opened and counted; in this case. the warehouse clerk relies on the external label stuck to the outside of the carton. Once all the items are counted and checked the warehouse clerk dates and signs the goods received report. The warehouse clerk staples the completed goods received report to the second copy of the delivery docket then puts the completed goods received reports in a tray on the desk of the goods receiving clerk.
Each morning the goods receiving clerk retrieves the previous day's completed goods received reports from the tray on their desk. The goods receiving clerk inputs the purchase order number from the goods received report into the computer. The computer retrieves and displays the purchase order data, without the item quantities. The goods receiving clerk works through line by line and inputs the quantities received for each item from the goods received report. Once the goods receiving clerk has accounted for all the items on the goods received report they tick a box on the computer screen to indicate that the goods received report input is complete. The computer will update the purchase order and inventory data stores with the goods received information and then display a message confirming the completion. The goods receiving clerk dates and signs the goods received report, and then sends the completed input goods received report to the accounts payable clerk. The goods receiving clerk processes each completed goods received report in the tray in the same way. The accounts payable clerk receives the completed input goods receiving report from the warehouse clerk. The goods receiving report is filed in an awaiting invoice folder.
As part of their trading agreement with AB Hi-Fi all suppliers are required to provide the related purchase order number on their invoice. When the accounts payable clerk receives an invoice from a supplier they enter the purchase order number from the invoice into the computer. The computer extracts the purchase order status from the purchase order data store. lf the purchase order number is invalid, or the status of the purchase order is 'paid', the computer will display an error message. lf the purchase order number is valid and unpaid the computer will display a message indicating that it is OK to make a payment against this purchase order, and asking if the accounts payable clerk would like to print the purchase order. The accounts payable clerk requests the computer to print the purchase order. The computer retrieves details of the items ordered from the purchase order data store and the supplier details from the supplier data store. The computer prints the purchase order on a printer in the office of the accounts payable clerk.
The accounts payable clerk retrieves the relevant goods receiving report from the awaiting invoice folder. The accounts payable clerk attaches the goods receiving report to the purchase order report and the invoice, then checks to identify if there are any quantity discrepancies between the three documents. If any quantity discrepancies are identified the accounts payable clerk sends the reports to the warehouse supervisor. lf no quantity discrepancies are identified the accounts payable clerk inputs the purchase order number into the computer and requests a payment screen. The computer displays a payment screen containing the purchase order details. The accounts payable clerk enters the invoice data (item quantity and price). The computer extracts the purchase order price from the purchase order data store and compares the invoice price with the purchase order price. lf there is a price variation of more than 5 per cent the computer displays a price variation message and routes the payment data to the accounts payable supervisor for approval. lf the invoice price is within 5 per cent of the purchase order price the computer displays a payment accepted message. The computer calculates the payment due date based on details held in the supplier data store, records the invoice in the accounts payable data store, and updates the purchase order and general ledger data stores. The accounts payable clerk files the goods receiving report, purchase order and invoice documents in an awaiting payment folder.
At the end of each week the computer extracts details of payments due from the accounts payable data store and produces a payments file which is forwarded electronically to AB Hi-Fi's bank. The bank transfers money from AB Hi-Fi's bank account to the relevant suppliers in accordance with the details in the payments file. After the payments file has been successfully transferred to the bank the computer prints a report of payments made on the central printer, then updates the accounts payable and general ledger data stores. The accounts payable clerk collects the printed report of payments made and retrieves the appropriate documentation from the awaiting payment folder. The accounts payable clerk matches documents in the awaiting payment folder with the payments listed on the payments made report. Matched sets of documents are attached to the payments made report, then filed in a paid folder.
Required:
1. Explore and analyze the usage of AIS in the current business processes of AB Hi-Fi using DFD context diagram, DFD level 0, DFD level 1and system flowchart. (30 marks)
2. Analyze the degree of exposure to each of risk and weaknesses for the current business processes of AB Hi-Fi. (10 marks)
3. Based on your analysis in part (b), propose control internal methods and recommended changes to AB Hi-Fi to reduce the identified risks. (10 marks)
4. Explain how the use of technologies can improve AB Hi-Fi’s decision making and business processes. (10 marks)
5. Others*: format, knowledge and originality. (10 marks)
[Total: 70 marks]
USA 
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