WHAT ARE ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS?
What do the following have in common: (1) a shoebox filled with a lawyer’s expense
receipts, (2) the monthly payroll spreadsheet in the computer of an auto-repair shop,
(3) the Peachtree accounting system for a small chain of dry-cleaning stores, and (4) the
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system of a large manufacturer? The answer is that
they are all examples of accounting information systems. How can such a wide range of
accounting applications each qualify as an accounting information system? The answer
is that this is the essence of what AISs are—collections of raw and stored data (that
together typically serve as inputs), processing methods (usually called ‘‘procedures’’), and
information (outputs) that serve useful accounting purposes. Do such systems have to be
computerized? The first example—the shoebox—suggests that they do not. Can they be
complicated? The last example—an ERP system—illustrates one that is.