ACCT 479
Fall 2010
University of Southern California
Leventhal School of Accounting
ACCT 479: ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
Course Syllabus
Fall Semester 2010
Sec. # 14165R MW 10:00 am – 11:50 am / HOH 422
Session: 001 August 23, 2010 – December 3, 2010
Professor:
Office:
Bob Kiddoo
ACC 114 / ADM 252D
Email:
Phone:
kiddoo@usc.edu
(213) 740-5024 / (213) 740-1232
Office Hours: Monday / Wednesday 9:30 am – 10:00 am; 2:00 – 4:00 pm; and by appointment
Dates to Remember:
Last day to add classes or drop without a "W"
Last day to drop with "W"
Exam
Final exam
th
Friday – September 10
th
Friday – November 12
th
Monday – November 15
th
Monday – December 13 (8:00 am – 10:00 am)
Prerequisites:
ACCT 478;
A minimum grade point average of 2.5 must have been earned in previous accounting
courses (see School of Accounting Grading and Academic Standards for further
information).
Required Materials:
Whitten, Bentley and Dittman, Systems Analysis and Design Methods, Seventh Ed. Irwin /
McGraw Hill
Web access to PeopleSoft Financials and Supply Chain 8.8 (provided as part of the class)
Recommended Material:
Microsoft Corporation’s Office Professional, Project and Visio
Course Objectives & Description:
This course is the second of two courses that focus on the design and implementation of
computer based Accounting Information Systems (AIS). This particular course focuses on
issues involved with developing / implementing these systems. The course aim is to
provide you with the skills necessary to plan, develop, configure, document, support and
review a financial system solution that supports the business requirements. The research
questions, deliverables and projects are designed to give you a practical and theoretical
understanding of:
a. ERP systems and documentation;
b. Policy / procedure development;
c. Implementation project planning;
d. Implementation documentation;
e. Security, testing and cutover planning; and
f. System review and compliance.
As you already know, this is not the traditional: “lecture”; “read”; “problems”; “test” class.
Our field requires us to maintain competence by keeping up with current events and
innovations. If you stick with information technology as a career, your only guarantee is
work will consist of a constantly changing set of solutions being applied to a variety of
organizations and industries. The bad news is you’ll never know it all, but the good news is
it won’t be boring.  To this end we will spend more time expanding your knowledge about
information technology in general.
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During the semester, we will be concentrating on projects related to ERP software.
However, other tools will also be discussed throughout the course.
Performance:
The overall grade in this class will be determined by your performance on an exam, a
technical presentation, an implementation presentation, implementation documentation, a
peer project evaluation, and class participation weighted as follows:
Exam
20% (Individual)
Technical Presentation
5% (Group)
Implementation Presentation
5% (Group)
Implementation Documentation
20% (Group)
Peer Project Evaluation
30% (Group / Individual)
Participation
20% (Individual)
After total points are determined for the semester, letter grades will be assigned on a curve
according to Leventhal School of Accounting grading policies.
The grade of “W” is allowed only if a student withdraws after the third week but before the
end of the twelfth week of the semester. The grade of incomplete is reserved for highly
unusual cases where the student is unable to complete a single specified item of the course
requirements. See Leventhal School of Accounting policies for further information.
After each test is returned there is a one-week reflection period and then you will have one
week to discuss your grade. After this time, grades on tests become final. All other grades
are final once given.
Exam
There will be one midterm. No makeup exams will be given. The exam must be taken at
the scheduled time. For the exam, you will be responsible for the research questions,
lectures, class discussions and your semester project progress.
Projects and Deliverables
There will be one group term project and several deliverables throughout the semester.
These must be done in teams consisting of four or five members as smaller teams have
difficulty getting the work done while larger teams have difficulty getting together. The term
project will require a project presentation and a hard copy of the project documentation.
The deliverables are designed to provide you with an opportunity to work toward your final
project while becoming familiar with a particular technology or technique.
You may select your own groups. However, those who are not in a group by the end of the
sixth class will be assigned a group. Like any employment situation, these groups should
not be considered permanent. If your group finds that it cannot continue to be productive,
the group may “fire” those who are not performing by providing at least one-week notice in
my presence. People who are fired will not be able to change groups, but instead will be
required to complete all remaining work on their own. All group work completed up until the
time of termination will be shared at the point of separation. Lastly, please be aware that
the “individual” points earned for each team’s project evaluation will consist of the team
score “factored” by the team’s assessment of your contribution as indicated by means of
peer evaluations. The basic result can be significantly different individual scores from the
same deliverable.
Please note:
1. Deliverables will be evaluated using professional standards. These standards include,
but are not limited to: grammar, spelling, organization, neatness, and presentation.
Under all circumstances your goal is to treat everything you do in this class as client
oriented. This means that all deliverables should be prepared for client review and
acceptance. Remember, you are only a few months from doing this professionally, so
you may as well get used to it. 
2. Deliverables are due at the end of the class period indicated in the attached schedule;
no late Deliverables will be accepted. All graded materials, except for exams and peer
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evaluations, will be returned during class, normally within a week. Those materials not
picked up in class will be available for pickup in the instructor’s office until the end of the
semester. Any materials not picked up by the end of the semester will be discarded
after final grades have been submitted.
3. The instructor will retain all exams and peer evaluations for at least one additional
semester following submission of the grade.
4. All work turned in or discussed during this class should be the work of the individual or
group representing the work. In general, collaboration with students outside your class
group will be considered a violation of the honor code unless the instructor gives prior
approval. On the other hand, consultation with appropriate professionals outside the
University is encouraged.
Participation
As you should know by now, I consider participation one of the most important things you
can do in this class (you can also tell by the weight given it in the performance criteria). In
this room, you should recognize that you are now part of multiple teams. The first team you
belong to is the entire class. If you forget to ask an important question or miss an
opportunity to contribute a critical idea it could degrade the classroom experience for
everyone, including me. Your second team is your group. If you fail to show up and
contribute to your group’s work, it could result in a substandard project and / or grade. The
third team is the smallest; it is made up of only you and me. If you don’t show me what you
know in class, there is no way you can earn credit for it. Note, although these “teams” have
been listed in order of importance, it must be emphasized that if any of them break down it
will endanger the overall success of the class and your grade.
To help to facilitate participation, the first 10 to 15 minutes of each class will be set aside to
discuss technology issues. These issues can arise from current events or as off-shoots of
topics discussed as part of the normal class flow. Students will be expected to take the
initiative in leading a number of these discussions throughout the semester. Note, these
are not meant to be formal presentations but rather a matter of simply raising questions and
being prepared to discuss the general issues.
In terms of grading, class participation will basically fall into three categories (this is not to
say there will be only three grades, but very few will fall between the following categories).
Category one, people that come to class everyday and sit there attentively taking great
notes and listening closely to everything that is said… If this is you, you will earn no
participation points. Category two, people that come to class everyday and contribute
something valuable every couple of classes to help us all (including me) become more
knowledgeable about our field and / or career… If this is you, you will earn half the total
participation points. Category three, people that come to class everyday and contribute in
every session… If this is you, you will earn all the maximum participation points. Note, it
does not say “talks” anywhere in this paragraph, it says “contribute.”
In order for you get feedback on your participation; please feel free to ask me how you are
doing at any time during the semester. Just so you know, when you do ask my initial
response will be to ask how you think you are doing (self evaluation is extremely important).
After you answer, we can talk about my evaluation and what you can do to improve your
standing.
Paperwork Retention Policy:
Any materials not picked up by the end of the semester will be discarded after final grades
have been submitted.
Student Honor Code:
All students are bound by the standards established in the Student Honor Code. Please
consult with me if you have any questions
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Overall Comment:
Keep in mind this is a graduating senior level class. You are still expected to use the skills
obtained in prior classes to aid and improve your company / client.
Remember that managing any project implementation is part science / part art and requires
thought and reasoning. You will still not be told what to do as there are several good
answers. However, as long as you provide good input, we can work toward finding an
optimal solution to the problem at hand. As usual, the primary responsibility for your
learning in this class is yours. In other words, what you take from this class is directly
correlated to what you put into it.
Parting Thought:
You’re halfway there and you now know that hard work is expected (in other words, it is
average given your peer group). Your biggest task is to determine what you are going to do
to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage (not just here, but during your career as well).
Students with Disabilities:
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to
register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification
for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is
delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is
open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213)
740-0776.
USC Emergency # (213) 740-4321
USC Emergency Information Line (213) 740-9233
USC Information # (213) 740-2311
and KUSC Radio 91.5 FM
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SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Session Date
Topic
Research Question Preparation
Due *
1
8/23
Introduction
2
8/25
Design Project Review
What is the SDLC?
3
8/30
Implementation Strategy
What are the major parts of an implementation?
4
9/1
Detailed Planning
How do you track the project milestones and tasks?
W – Ch 3,4
5
9/8
Project Budgeting
How do you set up and track the project costs?
W – Ch 10
6
9/13
Software Evaluation
What factors are used to differentiate ERP systems?
7
9/15
System Selection
How will you determine which system to use?
8
9/20
System Architecture
What are the parts of an ERP system and how are they
impacted by development?
9
9/22
Technical Design
What hardware and connectivity is required?
10
9/27
Project Business Case
What does management need to know before you will be
allowed to do the project?
11
9/29
Project Planning Meetings
Tell me about your project: the plan, budget, selection
criteria and suggested technical design.
12
10/4
Business Case Presentations
13
10/6
Organizational Reporting
14
10/11 Chart of Accounts Basics I
What organizational attributes should we track?
15
10/13 Chart of Accounts Basics II
How do we handle rollups and coding?
16
10/18
Basic Solutions – Business
Acquisition / Revenue Cycle
17
10/20
Basic Transactions – Sourcing / What needs to be addressed when setting up
Procure to Pay Cycle
procurement cycle?
18
Tell me about your configuration: the attributes and
10/25 Project Documentation Meetings values in the chart of accounts; and the revenue and
expense set up issues you are facing.
19
10/27 Technical Presentations
20
11/1
System Security
How do you develop and document security
requirements?
21
11/3
System Test Planning
What kind of test cycles should we use?
22
11/8
System Testing
How do we test the system?
23
11/10 System Cutover / Backup
24
11/15 Exam
25
11/17 Workflow
How do we automate business processes?
26
11/22 Project Evaluation and Review
How do COBIT and ISO help us?
27
11/24 Project Documentation Meetings
28
11/29 Implementation Presentations I
29
12/1
W – Ch 2
W – Ch 19
Deliverable 1
Deliverable 2
W – Ch 13
Deliverable 3
Deliverable 4
What attributes should be included in the report library to
be sure we meet organizational needs?
What needs to be addressed when setting up the
revenue cycle?
Deliverable 5
Deliverable 6
Deliverable 7
Deliverable 8
What cutover and backup methods can we use to “golive”?
W – Ch 20
Deliverable 9
Implementation
Documentation
Implementation Presentations II
Peer Project
Evaluation
Final 12/13
W – Whitten, Bentley and Dittman
* Description on following pages.
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Deliverables:
A thought to keep in mind, while a formal grade is not associated with all the Deliverables
below, your performance on these Deliverables can affect your participation grade.
General guidelines and deliverables:
1. The Detailed Project Plan is your plan for all aspects of the implementation, from setup
activities to project wrap-up.
2. The Detailed Project Budget is your estimate of the personnel costs and expenses
associated with your project.
3. The Technical Design is a high-level document defining the overall hardware, operating
systems and network support you will need to implement the system.
4. The Business Case is used to convey the anticipated costs, benefits and timing of the
project you are about to undertake to executive management. Typically it will be used
to obtain funding, so be careful what you ask for and promise to provide. 
5. The Technical Presentation Outline is a one-page proposal / outline for your group’s
technical presentation (described in the first paragraph below). Your group should
select a technology topic that relates to enterprise systems and interests you.
Examples include: Artificial Intelligence; Web-based technologies; Document Imaging;
Network Design and Protocols; Object Oriented Technologies; and Enterprise Security.
The topics are approved on a first come, first serve basis and duplication is not allowed.
6. The Report Library and Draft Templates is a list of the reports to be included in the
design of your financial system. Appropriate templates should detail the items and
format for outputs.
7. The Chart of Accounts Design is basis for financial reporting for your organization. It
should identify all relevant characteristics used for reporting by your business and the
assignment of those characteristics to appropriate tables / fields in PeopleSoft.
8. Business Process Maps and Security Matrices (2) to document the new business
process and user access to information within the system. PeopleSoft business
processes should be identified and roles designed to allow business processes and
programs to be properly controlled.
9. Test Scripts (2) are narratives that describe the type of test, any necessary set up /
operational details and appropriate test results. If these are well designed, they can be
used for both testing and training with few modifications.
The Technical Presentation is a twenty minute presentation of the outline in Deliverable 5
above. It should be based on internet / library-oriented research.
The Implementation Presentation is a twenty minute presentation highlighting important and
unique deliverables that are part of your final project.
The Implementation Documentation includes all client ready documentation for the
deliverables above. You will receive extensive feedback on your written work throughout
the semester, provided your deliverables are submitted on time. This feedback should be
taken into account and the deliverables modified for inclusion in the final implementation
documentation. In addition to the above, you will provide an executive summary and
supplementary narratives that explain the choices you made throughout the project and
describe the anticipated benefits. In short, the final documentation should explain not only
what you did, but why you did it and how will it help the organization. The result should be a
comprehensive document that demonstrates competent use of the techniques you
practiced throughout the semester.
The Project Evaluation is the final exam. You will be required to thoroughly evaluate
another group’s project and write a professional critique. Although this will be done as a
group, you will be asked to rate your peers for their performance during the semester.
These ratings will have a direct impact on the final grade of the students in your group.
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