_Accounting 201E



ACCT 4490 – Special Topics

Accounting Systems, Audit and Control

SPRING 2005

Department of Accounting

Michael J. Coles College of Business

Kennesaw State University

Professor: Kathy S. Schwaig, Ph.D. Office Hours: TTH 3:30-5:00 &

by appointment

Phone: 770.423.6323 Class: Kennesaw Hall 1103

Webpage: ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~kschwaig Office: Burruss 208

Email: kschwaig@kennesaw.edu

COURSE OVERVIEW

This course examines the control and security of accounting information systems with an auditing perspective. We will discuss advanced accounting information systems topics as well as current trends. Specific topics covered include: legal and ethical issues for IT auditors, information technology risks, conducting the IT audit, fraud, and IT Governance. Students will learn to use the computer assisted audit tool, ACL.

PREREQUISITE: ACCT 3300

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. To acquire a conceptual understanding of the roles of accounting information and information technology in decision making, operational support and stewardship;

2. To develop an in-depth awareness of the impact of accounting information systems on managerial decision making as well as organizational competitiveness;

3. To assure the quality of information in accounting and financial reporting systems;

4. To gain an understanding of the methods auditors use to assess control risk in computerized accounting systems;

5. To identify, describe and assess systems development and documentation controls and how they impact computerized accounting systems;

6. To identify the auditor’s objectives in performing an audit of an accounting information system;

7. To identify the techniques and tools available to help the auditor test computer programs.

COURSE MATERIALS

• Core Concepts of Information Technology Audit, Bagranoff, Bryant, and Hunton

• ACL audit software

• Various articles linked to the syllabus or instructor’s webpage

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University’s policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuses of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an “informal” resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct’s minimum one semester suspension requirement.

COURSE GRADE

Grades will be based upon:

Exams (3) 50%

Exercises & Current Topic Presentation 10%

ACL Project 15%

Research Paper & Presentation (team) 15%

Participation 10%

Grades will be assigned as follows:

90-100 A

80-89 B

70-79 C

60-69 D

Below 60 F

EXAMS

The format for each exam will be given at least one week in advance. If you are to miss an exam, you must notify me before the exam, discuss the reason for missing the exam, and make arrangements for a makeup exam if one is allowed. Makeup exams are different tests.

EXERCISES

The course schedule below includes selected exercises for each chapter. Due dates for each set of chapter exercises will be announced in class. Typically, exercises are due the class period following the discussion of each chapter.

CURRENT TOPIC PRESENTATION

Students are required to present one current topic related to course material this term. These presentations will be from 7-10 minutes and will be given at the beginning of the class each meeting. Current news, innovative technologies ( or use of technologies), or other events related to the course are acceptable for the topic selection. Please bring in a copy of the article or source document that provided the information you used.

ACL PROJECT

Students will complete a comprehensive case demonstrating their knowledge of ACL. The case requires students to follow an audit program and perform appropriate tests to achieve stated audit objectives. The case incorporates SAS 99 concepts to provide an opportunity for students to gain experience using ACL to detect fraud.

RESEARCH PAPER & PRESENTATION TEAM PROJECT

Professional and technical communications skills are exceedingly important to IT auditors. Such skills include both written and oral communication skills, since IS auditors must be proficient at writing audit reports and dealing with clients in a professional manner.

To obtain experience researching and then communicating about a technical topic in-depth, each student group will complete a research paper and a corresponding presentation in class. The purpose of the paper is to develop your skills in (1) identifying IT audit issues important to people concerned about audit and control of information systems, (2) developing an IT audit idea into a manuscript; (3) working in a group toward a common goal; and (4) presenting the results of your efforts in oral and written form.

Each year, the AICPA identifies and tracks key technology issues and trends that affect the information security and assurance profession. The “Top Ten Technologies” plus a number of emerging technological trends that may potentially affect the profession in the future are listed on the AICPA website at . The topic for your paper and presentation will be based on the 2005 Top Technologies list. Group and topics will be determined the first class meeting.

All papers must be typed and spell-checked. Poor grammar and spelling, as well as neglecting format guidelines, will result in at least a letter grade deduction on the project. The research paper should be approximately 12 pages, double-spaced, 12-point, not including references. Margins should be set at 1.5” at left and 1” on all other margins

The research will be presented to the class. Presentations should be kept to 25 minutes. Points will be deducted for presentations that are under or over this time limit by fifteen minutes. Presentation grades will be based on clarity of the presentation and information provided. Groups are required to present papers using PowerPoint or other computerized graphics package. Presentations will count as lectures, and information from presentations will be included on the final exam. Any materials used for the presentations should be e-mailed to me before your presentation. Copies of the PowerPoint slides will be available online for student download prior to the presentation.

Students should turn in one copy of the paper plus a disk with Word file. Students should keep a backup copy. Papers are required to have at least 5 references from newspapers or other periodicals. This number does not include web sites and books. The following journals might be useful as reference sources: IS Audit and Control Journal (formerly EDP Auditor Journal); Computer Security Journal; EDPACS; Journal of Systems Management; Management Accounting; Journal of Information Systems; Journal of Accountancy; CPA Journal; Internal Auditor; Journal of Cost Management; and Computerworld. The paper should have a total of at least 10 references.

The paper is framed in 3 deliverables as follows:

Deliverable 1: A proposal in the form of a question or situation related to the topic, including an annotated bibliography of sources (potential sources),

Deliverable 2: An outline of the paper,

Deliverable 3: Final paper

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Class attendance is useful to the student as a means of acquiring knowledge and clarification, and is a prerequisite for class participation. However, class attendance does not equate to class participation. Class participation is the active engagement in questions and answers, taking part in analyses of business situations, and contribution of comments in class sessions. Your class participation grade will be affected if you miss class excessively, treat a participant disrespectfully (that isn’t intended to keep your from disagreeing, however), or do things like read the newspaper, do homework, talk on your cell phone, or process your email in class.  

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

Cell phones: Cellular phones must be turned off before entering the classroom. If your phone goes off during a class session, you will be invited to leave the class

Additional Readings: Throughout the semester, I will post additional articles and readings on the course website. Please check this site frequently for readings and class information.

PowerPoint Slides: I have posted the PowerPoint slides provided by the book publisher on my webpage. I will use these slides to some extent in class. They are not, however, the sum total of what we discuss. I will not follow these slides verbatim as I tend to prefer to interact with you during class discussion. The slides are meant to help you structure the material in your textbook and as a guideline for class discussion. I will from time to time bring in additional slides and material. You are responsible for what we discuss in class whether or not it appears on the slides. This makes class attendance essential for top performance in the course.

ACCT 4490

Tentative Course Calendar

(Subject to Revision as Needed)

| | |Reading Assignment or |Exercises |Current Topic |

|Date |Topic |Homework/Project Due This Day | |Presentation |

|Jan 13 |Course Introduction |Bagranoff, Bryant and Hunton |1-9, 1-10 | |

| | |(hereafter “BBH”), | | |

| | |Chapter 1 | | |

|Jan 20 |Ethical and Legal Issues for IT Auditors |BBH, Chapter 2 |2-11, 2-12 |Robert, Susana |

|Jan 27 |Information Technology Risks & Controls |BBH, Chapter 3 |3-11, 3-12 |Dallas |

| | |Research Paper Deliverable 1 Due | | |

|Feb 3 |Accounting Information Systems Deployment|BBH, Chapter 4 |4-11, 4-12 |Maria |

| |Risks | | | |

|Feb 10 |Exam 1 | | | |

|Feb 17 |Managing the IT Function |BBH, Chapter 5 |5-11 |Steve, Jonathan |

|Feb 24 |IT Network and Telecommunication Risks |BBH, Chapter 6 |6-11, 6-12 |Kathy |

| | |Research Paper Deliverable 2 Due | | |

|March 3 |E-Business Risks |BBH, Chapter 7 |7-17, 7-18 |Dawn |

|March 10 |Spring Break | | | |

|March 17 |Exam 2 | | | |

|March 24 |Using Computer Assisted Audit Tools & |BBH, Chapter 8 | |Christina |

| |Techniques (CAATTs) | | | |

|March 31 |ACL |ACL Project Assigned, BBH Appendix |8-11, 8-12, | |

| | | |8-13, 8-14 | |

|April 7 |Conducting the IT Audit |BBH, Chapter 9 |9-14. 9-15 |Jessica, Lisa |

|April 14 |Fraud and Forensic Auditing |BBH, Chapter 10 |10-12-10-13 |Kanika, Linda |

| |Sarbanes Oxley | | | |

| |SAS 99 | | | |

|April 21 |Fraud and Forensic Auditing (Con’t) |BBH, Chapter 10 | |Yukiko |

| |Forensic Accounting |ACL Project Due | | |

|April 28 |Presentation of Research Papers |Research Paper Deliverable 3 Due | | |

|TBA |Final Exam | | | |

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