Accounting Information Systems:
A Business Process Approach
Chapter Twelve: Using Technology
to Enhance Business Processes
1
Learning Objective
After completing this chapter, you should understand:
 The architecture of multi-user systems (local area net
works, wide area networks, terminal emulation, file-server
systems, and client-server systems).
 The role of the following IT approaches in enhancing
business processes: e-commerce, intranet, extranets, data
warehousing, data mining, enterprise resource planning
(ERP) systems, electronic data interchange (EDI), and
customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
2
Learning Objective (Continue)
 Privacy and security in networked systems
 The role of accountants in helping business
use IT effectively to enhance business
processes
3
Learning Objective (Continue)
After completing this chapter, you should be
able to:
 Explain how various IT approaches can be
used to enhance business processes
 Identify some important costs, benefits,
risks, and controls associated with the use
of these technologies
4
Tables: 12.1 - 12.5
5
Table 12.1 Examples of Value Activities for ELERBE, Inc.
Primary Value
Activities
Marketing
Demonstrate
products to
faculty
Outbound
logistics
Obtain orders
Pick goods
Ship goods
Support Value Activities____________________________
Human
Technology
Resources
Acquisitions
Developm
Hire salespeople
Acquire supplies, Develop marketing
Train salespeople laptops, and products
Assign salespeople for marketing
including IT
Calculate and pay
salaries/commissions
Hire and train order Acquire supplies, Develop technologie
entry clerks,
packaging
warehouse, and
materials, and
including I
shipping personnel technology for
on-line order
Process payroll
outbound logistics processing)
6
Table 12.2 Examples of Tags
Category
Tag
Description
Formatting
<B> </B>
Information between these two tags
appears in bold (e.g.,
the book title).
<P>
Starts a new paragraph.
< BR >
Line break. Creates a space between lines.
Tables
< Table > < /Table >
Starts and ends a table.
< TR > < /TR >
Starts and ends a row in a table. You see two sets
of
< TR > and < /TR > tags since there are
two rows.
< TD > < /TD >
Starts and ends each data item in a row. After each
< TR > tag, you see two sets of < TD >
</TD > tags
since there are two columns
and thus two data items in
each row.
Links
< A > < /A >
< A HREF5“chapter1.html” >. The HREF attribute is
used to specify which file is being linked
to. If a student
clicks this link, the Chapter1.html file will
be displayed.
7
Table 12.3 Tables Used in ELERBE’s Order Processing Application
Inventory Table
ISBN
0-256-12596-7
0-127-35124-8
Author
Barnes
Cromwell
0-135-22456-7
Cromwell
0-146-18976-4
0-145-21687-7
Johnson
Platt
Title
Introduction to Business
Building Database
Applications
Management Information
Systems
Principles of Accounting
Introduction to E-Commerce
Price
$78.35
$65.00
$68.00
$70.00
$72.00
8
Table 12.4 Tables Stored On-Line in a Sales Application
Customer#
Last
Name
First
Name
ST
Zip
2003
Sales
Type
Street
307
308
309
Smith
Clarke
Garcia
John
Lee
John
Retail
Whol.
Retail
43 Main St.Lupo
25 Blue St. Balto
35 Lilly St. L.A.
TX
MD
CA
88010
21247
80105
10,700
3,000
4,500
Transaction#
Date
Customer#
Product#
Quantity
Price
Salesperson#
1034
1035
1036
12/18/03
12/18/03
12/20/03
307
308
309
5005
6500
5005
10
20
20
$12
$20
$12
348
344
348
1037
12/20/03
308
5703
10
$16
344
City
9
Table 12.5 Records Stored in a Data Warehouse
Type
Retail
Wholesale
Date
Product# Quantity Price
12/18/03 5005
10
$12
12/18/03 6500
20
Zip
88010
$20
2003 Sales
10,700
21247
12/20/03 5005
20
12/20/03 5703
80105
$16
4,500
21247
3,000
Retail
Wholesale
$12
10
3,000
10
Integrating Business Processes, Data
and Application
 Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
 E-commerce between business often uses
electronic data interchange (EDI) and/or
extensible markup language (XML)
 Customer relationship management (CRM)
system emphasize the integration of all
customer-facing applications including
marketing, sales, and service
11
IT Business Processes: Risks and
Controls






Privacy
Data Collection
User Control
Privacy Policies
Secure Transaction Encryption and Authentication
Digital Signatures, Hashing,, and Message
Integrity
 Digital Certificates
 Timestamping
12
IT Business Processes: A Role for
Accountants




Assurance Service
Analyze IT Investments
Design and Implement IT Solutions
Enhance Value of Current Services
13