Assignment 1, Information Needs for the AIS
In 1967, Russell Ackoff presented a classical analysis of misinformation in management (Ackoff's Management Misinformation Systems, Case 1-1, pg. 21 of the text). Now, you need to fast-forward to the present. After reading the case, craft your own version of misinformation in management by developing five key incorrect assumptions that management makes about its accounting information systems.
Write a five to seven page paper in which you:
• Based on your research, assess how corporate leaders may make improper assumptions related to accounting information systems and the related information. Indicate the most negative potential impacts on business operations related to these assumptions. Provide support for your rationale.
• Suggest three to four ways in which organizational performance may be improved when information is properly managed within a business system. Provide support for your rationale.
• Evaluate the level of system security (i.e., high, medium, low) needed to ensure information integrity within automated business systems. Provide support for your evaluation.
Assignment 2, Hacking the AIS
In today's technology environment, hackers present a substantial risk to a firm's accounting or business system. As the result of these attacks, firms suffer huge losses, ranging from financial losses to losses in confidence by consumers, creditors, and suppliers. Firms may have made a significant investment in financial and non-financial resources to secure these systems.
Write a five to seven page paper in which you:
1. Based on the information you researched, evaluate the level of responsibility of the company in terms of the effectiveness of the response to the security breach. Provide support for your rationale.
2. Imagine that the company that you researched uses a third-party accounting system. Assess the level of responsibility of the software provider to both the business and its clients. Provide support for your rationale.
3. Create an argument for additional regulation as a preventative measure against businesses being hacked. Provide support for your argument.
4. Provide at least three recommendations for businesses to secure their systems and assets from hackers. Provide support for your recommendation.
Assignment 3, Fraud in the Accounting Information System
Explain how the firm's accounting information system contributed to the fraud and / or embezzlement. You will need to focus on how each component / function of the accounting information system failed, which resulted in the scandal / case.
Write a ten to twelve page paper in which you:
1. Based on the information you researched, assess the failure of the firm's accounting information system to prevent the related fraud / embezzlement.
2. Imagine that the company that you researched uses a third-party accounting system. Evaluate the effectiveness of the firm's stakeholder in the event that a third-party accounting system suffers a breach. Include an assessment of the level of responsibility of the software provider to the business and its clients. Provide support for your rationale.
3. Determine what advances in accounting and / or information technology could have prevented the event from occurring. Provide support for your argument.
4. Evaluate what changes should be made to both the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other current laws in order to make them more effective in deterring companies from committing crimes.
5. Recommend a strategy that the company you indicated may use to prevent future business information failures. Indicate how the company should approach the implementation of your recommended strategy. Provide support for your recommendation.
Assignment 4, Changing the Accounting Information System
Identify three to five factors that contributed to the accounting information system failure within the business that you have identified. Indicate the impact to the business. Provide support for your rationale.
Assess senior management responsibility for the failure in question. Specify what the senior management could have done differently to avoid the failure. Provide support for your rationale.
Evaluate whether the most significant failure occurred within the system design, implementation, or operational phase of the process. Indicate what the company could have done to avoid the failed outcome. Provide support for your rationale.
Evaluate how implementing best practices would have reduced the chances for failure. Provide support for your rationale.
Based on your research, develop a list of between four and six best practices that organizations should use today to reduce the chances for failure. Provide support for your rationale.
Using the information provided by IBM and others, indicate which of the principles designed to provide insight into effective and efficient strategies on how to best deploy financial management systems, which were outlined within the related article, should serve as an example of what not to do when establishing the foundation for a firm to follow. Your proposed foundation should consist of at least two principles, but no more than six. Provide support for your rationale.