Information Systems in General

Information Systems in General

An information system is an organized means of collecting, entering, and

processing data and storing, managing, controlling, and reporting

information so that an organization can achieve its objectives and goals

(Romney et al., 1997:18). This definition of information system shows

that an information system has following components.

Goals and objectives. Every information system is designed to

accomplish one or more goals or objectives. For example, an information

system may be designed to collect and process data about employees to

help managers prepare payroll reports.

Inputs. Data must be entered into the information system to be processed.

Data are the facts that are collected and processed by the information

system. Data are meaningless and useless, which, therefore, should be

processed and transformed to meaningful, organized, and useful form that

is called information.

Output. Output is the meaningful and useful information produced by

the information system. For example, weekly payroll report produced by

the information system is an output.

Data storage. In addition to the external data entered into the information

system, there should be internally stored data used for processing.

Processors. In order to produce useful and meaningful information, data

must be processed. Most companies process data by using computers.

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Instructions and Procedures. An information system produces data by

the following instructions and procedures. In computerized information

systems, software includes procedures and instructions that direct

computers to process the data.

Users. Users are people who use the information produced by the system

and who interacts with the system. For example, managers who use

financial statements that are produced by an accounting information

system are the users of the information system.

Control Measures. In order to make the information system produce

correct, and error free information, necessary measures should be taken to

protect and control the information system.

Any system that includes the above components is known as an

information system. The following section will show how accounting

systems are established using these components.

3. Accounting Information System (AIS)

Accounting is the service function that seeks to provide the users with

quantitative information. On the other hand, AIS is an information system

that is designed to make the accomplishment of accounting function

possible. AIS processes data and transactions to provide users with the

information they need to plan, control, and operate their businesses

(Romney et al., 1997:2).

An accounting information system can be a manual system, or a

computerized system using computers. Regardless of the type, AIS is

designed to collect, enter, process, store, and report data and information.

The following paragraphs explain AIS in detail.

3.1. Computerized Accounting Information Systems

Along with the improvements in the technology, information systems

have