Accounting Information Systems - TMA Application and Business Value

The TMA covers the accounting information systems concepts and practices in the businesses; as you work, you will gain confidence in your ability to use the accounting information systems of real company. It is marked out of 100 and is worth 25% of the overall assessment component. It is intended to assess students’ understanding of some of the learning points within chapters 1 to 4, and 12. This TMA requires you to apply the course concepts. 

The TMA is intended to:
Increase the students’ knowledge about the reality of the accounting as a profession.
Assess students’ understanding of key learning points within chapters 1 to 4 
Develop the ability to understand and interact with the nature of the accounting information systems in reality. 
Develop students’ communication skills, such as memo writing, essay writing, analysis and presentation of material.
Develop basic ICT skills such as using the internet.

Part One
Question I (20 marks)

Salma started Bag Zone in Riverside with the goal of providing good quality handbags. Unique designs and utilizing uncommon materials for the making of the handbags is her competitive advantage, and completed products can be wholesaled to fashion retailers or placed on consignment in local retail shops. Additionally, the handbags can also be sold directly to consumers by displaying the products at fashion or craft shows or selling them online.  Business has been brisk and she has established a sizeable client base over the last five years. She thinks that it could be the time to spend in an information system to record details about the sales, payroll process and offer more details about the inventory
Salma believes that it will be possible to modernize some of the business process for reducing the amount of time, which it is taking for data processing. She wants to open up four further stores throughout the next three years. Systems used should be capable of supporting these developments 
Currently, Salma finds that no details are captured by the system about the customer. Only details about the purchased goods, the method of payment, member of the staff, purchased quantity, and price & totals are captured.
It has been analysed that levels of stock are recorded by using the stock card. It can be seen that the details of the new inventory are entered into the cards when the new stock and details of sold units are changed at the termination of each trading day. It is very clear that when things become hectic, marketing off stock sheets can be forgotten and hence they are not very exact. To know the level of the stock item, the physical check is needed. 
Required
As you have knowledge about information systems, would you provide assistance to Salma  in solving various issues like maintenance of customer details, maintenance of marketing off stock sheets, collection of useful data for sales forecasting and accurate calculation of wages & to electronically pay staff. You should indicate that your suggestion would help each of the stores to improve the organizational performance along with store’s efficiency.

Question 2 (20 marks)

Firms are always connected to both their suppliers and customers and their wants and needs. The focus was on supply chain optimization to minimize costs and reduce inventories. However, new supply chain technologies are emerging to respond to business disruption and supply chain challenges such as those related to the global spread of COVID-19. On the other hand, this crisis raised the importance of analysing changes in demand before and after that outbreak.
Discuss giving examples from practice: how Accounting Information Systems (AIS) assists in business integration with external parties such as suppliers and customers. 

Question 3 (20 marks)

Business Process is a defined sequence of business activities that use resources to transform specific inputs into specific outputs to achieve a business goal. 

Explain business process documentation showing its importance

Part Two
Question 1: (30 marks)
Firms invest in accounting information systems to create value. The value chain illustrates how during each primary activity, the product should gain some value. An A I S serves an important role in enabling value in each primary and supporting activity. 
Explain the above statement showing where do AIS add value to a business?
In the primary activities?
In the support activities?
The Effect of A I S on the income statement

Question 2 (10 marks)
Use the following description to create a Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) activity diagram of Nora’s process. 

Nora accesses the Amazon.com website to purchase a favorite musician’s latest album. She searches for the musician’s name. Amazon displays the results of the search, and she selects the correct entry. She samples the music and then decides whether to purchase the album. If she decides to purchase the album, then she must decide whether to purchase a physical CD or just download the MP3 files. 

If she decides to purchase the CD, she clicks on the buy now button. Since she is an Amazon Prime member, she automatically receives free 2-day delivery and the item is charged to her credit card. She then waits 2 days for the delivery of the CD. When it arrives, she can enjoy the music.

If she decides to purchase the MP3, she selects that option and again clicks on the buy now button. She is charged for the item and taken to a page to download her music. She downloads the album, and then she can enjoy her music.