Today's Global Market

In today's global market the need for efficient and reliable tools is of great

importance. One such tool that has helped man is that of the computer. With advances in

technology occurring everyday, the computer is still at the forefront of today's economic

world. With the versatility to perform many different needs for different users, the

computers future looks pretty bright.

As an accounting major student, the accounting industry is one that is heavily

immersed in computers. The technological advances of the computer have made what

used to be long-drawn tasks into quick, simple calculations. Long gone are the days of

complicated handwritten calculations. One such example of the computers impact on the

accounting industry is that of the "Accounting Information Systems" or AIS area. AIS is

an area of accounting in which some type of framework or program is used to process

financial and non-financial transactions. The AIS area consists of three subsystems: the

transaction processing system, general/ledger reporting system, and the management

reporting system. In the second subsystem of financial reporting, is where traditional

financial statements, such as the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash

flows are generated. This subsystem is where this process has become automated with the

use of computers. Rather than traditionally calculating these financial statements by hand

the personal computer has taken over these responsibilities with a high percentage of

accuracy. Long gone are the days of long drawn out calculations and interpretations.

Tasks that use to take accountants hours to fulfill would now only take mere minutes.

With the elimination of human error a more accurate assessment of a client's financial

status may be interpreted. With less time calculating financial reports a more

productive and efficient business environment is created for the accountant.

An integral part of the AIS framework is data storage. An efficient information

system captures and stores data only once and makes it available to all users who need it.

To meet the private data of users who need it, organizations must find both multiple

collection and storage procedures. In the early days of the AIS field one approach to data

storage was called the flat file model. The flat file model referred to an environment in

which individual data files were not related to other data files. Users in this system owned

their data rather than sharing with each other. Data processing was thus performed on

stand alone applications rather than integrated systems. As one can see this proved

tiresome for users in the AIS field, in which an integrated system is needed for a multiple

subsystem such as AIS. Today most AIS frameworks are created using a database model

for storage capabilities. The database model created an environment in which an

organizations data is stored into a common database that is shared by other users. Some

benefits of this type of system are the elimination of data redundancy. In a database, data

is only stored once reducing data collection and storage costs. Another benefit is that of a

single update. Since the data is stored in a central location a single update is all that is

needed to update all work.

Some other uses of the computer in the accounting field are the use of a payroll

program. A program which makes sure that everyone is paid their salaries and wages is of

grave importance. Imagine working a long 40 hour week only to be greeted on Friday

with a memo from the HR department saying your check was lost. Making this branch of

accounting automated has not only made the process quicker but, has also eliminated a

lot of the human error associated with the physical keeping