Introduction
Accounting Information System (AIS) is a special system that helps to collect and process information related to internal and external financial aspects of a company. The use of AIS helps to optimize the work of the company and improve productivity and profitability. Nevertheless, despite the fairly autonomous operation of the system, accountants are needed for its functioning. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to demonstrate the role of the accountant in the operation of accounting information systems.
Control and Audit of Accounting Informational System
An audit of accounting informational systems is the process of obtaining and evaluating objective data about the current state of systems, and the actions and events taking place in them. In addition, the audit involves assessing compliance with standards and laws, the requirements of the company’s management, including security control, confidentiality and minimization of risks associated with the use of AIS (Romney et al.). The result of the accountant’s work is the provision of a report on the operation of the system with the necessary recommendations for eliminating threats, developing, and optimizing the effectiveness of AIS.
When new accounting technologies are introduced, their potential might be realized incompletely. Audit and control of systems operation carried out by an accountant helps to achieve maximum efficiency from a company’s investment in information systems. In addition, accounting informational systems contain and communicate important data about the operation of a company, so one of the tasks of an accountant during an audit is to ensure the confidentiality of this information (Romney at al. 396). Moreover, the accountant must control the integrity and availability of the system. Based on the information identified, the accountant should develop a disaster recovery plan (DRP) and a business continuity plan (BCP) (Romney at al. 433). It will help ensure the stable operation of the company in case of violations in the work of accounting informational systems.
Accounting Information System Applications
The use of accounting informational systems helps to optimize various cycles and processes in the company’s work. AIS affects revenue, expenditure, and production cycles. The revenue cycle is concerned with providing goods and services to a company’s customers and getting paid for them (Romney et al. 454). By optimizing these processes, you can increase customer loyalty to the company by satisfying their requests, and increase the profitability of the organization.
Expenditure cycle optimization implies control of the company’s expenses and rational use of financial resources. The use of AIS helps to identify and analyze the main expenses of the company. It, in turn, helps to determine in which areas it is possible to reduce costs without harming the company’s operations. On the other hand, it also helps to identify in which areas funding should be increased to increase productivity. Furthermore, the use of accounting informational systems contributes to the optimization of the production cycle. This process includes the company’s activities related to the production of goods (Romney et al. 533). The production cycle is affected by revenue and expenses, so the most beneficial options for the company will be to optimize all these processes through the use of accounting informational systems.
Conclusion
Thus, the use of accounting informational systems in company management helps to optimize both internal and external processes in its activities. It affects customer loyalty and the profitability of the organization. Despite the fact that accounting informational systems are quite autonomous in their work, their correct use requires control and audit by the accountant. Moreover, it makes the use of available resources more efficient. In addition, the accountant must monitor how safe the use of AIS in the company’s work and provide timely recommendations for improving the systems.
Work Cited
Romney, Marshall B., et al. Accounting Information Systems. Pearson. 2020.