Ais Ch. 1

Front 1

system

Back 1

(1) an entity consisting of two or more components or subsystems that interact to achieve a goal. (2) the equipment and programs that comprise a complete computer installation. (3) the programs and related procedures that perform a single task on a computer.

Front 2

systems concept

Back 2

changes in subsystems cannot be made without considering the effect on other subsystems and the system as a whole

Front 3

goal conflict

Back 3

occurs when a decision or action of a subsystem is inconsistent with another subsystem or the system as a whole

Front 4

goal congruence

Back 4

is achieved when a subsystem achieves its goals while contributing to the organization'a overall goal

Front 5

integration

Back 5

eliminating duplicate recording, storage, reporting, and other processing activities in an organization

Front 6

data

Back 6

facts that are collected, recorded, stored, and processed by an information system to produce information

Front 7

information

Back 7

data that have been organized and processed to provide meaning to a user; classified as mandatory, essential, or discretionary

Front 8

information overload

Back 8

the state in which additional information cannot be used efficiently and has no marginal value

Front 9

value of information

Back 9

the benefit produced by the information minus the cost of producing it

Front 10

mandatory information

Back 10

information required by a governmental entity

Front 11

essential information

Back 11

information required to conduct business with external parties

Front 12

discretionary information

Back 12

information that is available only to certain internal users

Front 13

accounting information system (AIS)

Back 13

a system that collects, records, stores, and processes data to produce information for decision makers

Front 14

value chain

Back 14

the linking together of all the primary and support activities in a business

Front 15

primary activities

Back 15

activities in the value chain that are preformed to create, market, and deliver products and services to customers and provide post-delivery service and support

Front 16

support activities

Back 16

activities in the value chain that enable the primary activities to be performed efficiently and effectively

Front 17

supply chain

Back 17

an extended system that includes an organization's value chain as well as its suppliers, distributors, and customers

Front 18

structured decision

Back 18

decisions that are repetitive, routine, and understood well enough that they can be delegated to the lower-level employees of an organization

Front 19

semistructured decision

Back 19

decisions that required subjective assessment and judgement to supplement formal data analysis

Front 20

unstructured decision

Back 20

nonrecurring and nonroutine decisions that require considerable judgement and intuition; no framework or model exists to solve such problems

Front 21

operational control

Back 21

decisions that are concerned with the efficient and effective performance of specific tasks in an organization

Front 22

management control

Back 22

activities by management designed to motivate, encourage, and assist officers and employees in achieving corporate goals and objectives as efficiently and effectively as possible

Front 23

strategic planning

Back 23

decisions that establish the organization's objectives and policies for accomplishing those objectives

Front 24

product differentiation strategy

Back 24

adding features or services not provided by competitors to a product to be able to charge customers a premium price

Front 25

low-cost strategy

Back 25

striving to be the most efficient producer of a product or service

Front 26

variety-based strategic position

Back 26

producing or providing a subset of the industry's products or services

Front 27

needs-based strategic position

Back 27

trying to serve most of all of the needs of a particular group of customers in a target market

Front 28

access-based strategic position

Back 28

a strategic position that serves a subset of customers who differ from other customers in terms of factors such as geographic location or size

Front 29

synergy

Back 29

when an entire system of organizational activities is greater than the sum of each individual part

Front 30

predictive analysis

Back 30

uses data warehouses and complex algorithms to forecast future events, based on historical trends and calculated probabilities; educated guess of what one may expect to see in the near future

Front 31

transaction

Back 31

an agreement between two entities to exchange goods or services; an exchange that can be measured in economic terms by an organization

Front 32

transaction processing

Back 32

a process that begins with capturing transaction data and ends with an informational output

Front 33

give-get exchange

Back 33

an event where two entities exchange items such as cash for goods or services

Front 34

business or transaction cycle

Back 34

a group of related business processes

Front 35

transaction

Back 35

an agreement between two entities to exchange goods or services; an exchange that can be measured in economic terms by an organization

Front 36

revenue cycle

Back 36

the recurring set of business activities and information-processing operations associated with providing goods and services to customers and collecting cash in payment for those sales

Front 37

transaction processing

Back 37

a process that begins with capturing transaction data and ends with an informational output

Front 38

expenditure cycle

Back 38

a recurring set of business activities and related data processing operations associated with the purchase of and payment for goods and services

Front 39

give-get exchange

Back 39

an event where two entities exchange items such as cash for goods or services

Front 40

production cycle

Back 40

the recurring set of business activities and related data processing operations associated with the manufacture of products

Front 41

business or transaction cycle

Back 41

a group of related business processes

Front 42

human resource/payroll cycle

Back 42

the recurring set of business activities and related data processing operations associated with effectively managing the employee workforce

Front 43

revenue cycle

Back 43

the recurring set of business activities and information-processing operations associated with providing goods and services to customers and collecting cash in payment for those sales

Front 44

financing cycle

Back 44

the business activities and related data processing operations associated with obtaining the necessary funds to run the operations, repay creditors, and distribute profits to investors

Front 45

expenditure cycle

Back 45

a recurring set of business activities and related data processing operations associated with the purchase of and payment for goods and services

Front 46

production cycle

Back 46

the recurring set of business activities and related data processing operations associated with the manufacture of products

Front 47

general ledger and reporting system

Back 47

the information-processing operations involved in updating the general ledger and preparing reports that summarize the results of the organization's activities

Front 48

human resource/payroll cycle

Back 48

the recurring set of business activities and related data processing operations associated with effectively managing the employee workforce

Front 49

financing cycle

Back 49

the business activities and related data processing operations associated with obtaining the necessary funds to run the operations, repay creditors, and distribute profits to investors

Front 50

general ledger and reporting system

Back 50

the information-processing operations involved in updating the general ledger and preparing reports that summarize the results of the organization's activities

Front 51

data processing cycle

Back 51

the operations performed on data in computer-based systems to generate meaningful and relevant information

Front 52

source documents

Back 52

contain the initial record of a transaction that takes place

Front 53

turnaround documents

Back 53

records of company data sent to an external party and then returned to the system as input

Front 54

source data automation (SDA)

Back 54

the collection of transaction data in machine-readable form at the time and place of origin

Front 55

general ledger

Back 55

contains summery-level data for every asset, liability, equity, revenue, and expense account of the organization

Front 56

subsidiary ledger

Back 56

used to record the detailed data for any general ledger account that has many individual subaccounts

Front 57

control account

Back 57

a general ledger account that summarizes the total amounts recorded in a subsidiary ledger

Front 58

coding

Back 58

(1) the systematic assignments or numbers or letters to items to classify and organize them. (2) writing program instructions that direct a computer to perform a specific data processing task

Front 59

sequence code

Back 59

documents are numbered consecutively to account for them, any gaps in the sequence indicate missing documents that should be investigated

Front 60

block code

Back 60

blocks of numbers within a numerical sequence reserved for categories having meaning to the user

Front 61

group code

Back 61

two or more subgroups of digits that are used to code an item

Front 62

chart of accounts

Back 62

a listing of all balance sheet and income statement account number codes for a particular company

Front 63

general journal

Back 63

used to record infrequent or nonroutine transactions,

Front 64

specialized journal

Back 64

journals where large numbers of repetitive transactions are recorded

Front 65

audit trail

Back 65

a traceable path of a transaction through a data processing system from point of origin (whether paper or electronic) to final output or backwards from final output to point of origin

Front 66

entity

Back 66

the item about which information is stored in a record

Front 67

attribute

Back 67

characteristics of interest in a file or database; the different individual properties of an entity

Front 68

field

Back 68

the part of a data record that contains the data value for a particular attribute

Front 69

record

Back 69

a set of logically related data items that describe specific attributes of an entity

Front 70

data value

Back 70

the actual value stored in a field

Front 71

file

Back 71

a set of logically related records

Front 72

master file

Back 72

a permanent file of records that stores cumulative information about an organization's resources and the agents with whom it interacts

Front 73

transaction file

Back 73

contain records of the individual business transactions that occur during a specific fiscal period

Front 74

database

Back 74

a set of interrelated, centrally controlled data files that are stored with as little data redundancy as possible

Front 75

batch processing

Back 75

accumulating transaction records into groups or batches for processing at some regular interval such as daily or weekly

Front 76

online, real-time processing

Back 76

the computer system processes data immediately after capture and provides updated information to the user on a timely basis

Front 77

document

Back 77

record of transaction or other company data

Front 78

operational document

Back 78

a document that is generated as an output of transaction processing activities

Front 79

report

Back 79

system output organized in a meaningful fashion

Front 80

query

Back 80

a request for specific information from a computer

Front 81

budget

Back 81

the formal expression of goals in financial terms

Front 82

cash budget

Back 82

a budget that shows projected cash inflows and outflows

Front 83

performance reports

Back 83

a report that compares standard, or expected, performances with actual performance and also shows the variance, or differences

Front 84

enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems

Back 84

a system that integrates all aspects of an organization's activities into one accounting information system

Front 85

documentation

Back 85

the narratives, flowcharts, diagrams, and other written materials that explain how a system works. It converts the who, what, when, where, why, and how of data entry, processing, storage, information output, and systems controls

Front 86

narrative description

Back 86

written, step-by-step explanation of system components and how the components interact

Front 87

data flow diagram (DFD)

Back 87

a diagram the graphically describes the flow of data within an organization. It is used to document existing systems and to plan and design new ones

Front 88

data source

Back 88

a component of a data flow diagram that represents the people and organizations that send data that the system being modeled uses or produces

Front 89

data destination

Back 89

a component of data flow diagrams that represents an entity outside of the system who receives data produced by the system

Front 90

data flow

Back 90

a component of a data flow diagram that represents data flowing into or out of a process

Front 91

process

Back 91

a set of actions, automated or manual, that transform data into other data or information

Front 92

data store

Back 92

a component of a data flow diagram that represents the storage of data within a system

Front 93

context diagram

Back 93

the highest level of a data flow diagram. It provides a summary-level view of a system. It shows the data processing system, the input(s) and output(s) of the system, and the external entities that are the sources and destinations of the system's input(s) and output(s)

Front 94

flowchart

Back 94

an analytical technique used to describe some aspect of an information system in a clear, concise, and logical manner

Front 95

flowcharting template

Back 95

a piece of hard, flexible plastic on which the shapes of flowcharting systems have been die cut

Front 96

document flowchart

Back 96

trace a document from its cradle to its grave. They show where each document originates, its distribution, the purposes for which it is used, its ultimate disposition, and everything that happens as it flows through the system. They illustrate the flow of documents and information among areas of responsibility within an organization

Front 97

internal control flowchart

Back 97

describes and evaluates internal controls. Often used by auditors in the planning stage of an audit

Front 98

system flowchart

Back 98

a diagrammatical representation that shows the flow of data through a series of operations in an automated data processing system. It shows how data are captured and put into the system, the processes that operate on the data, and system outputs

Front 99

program flowchart

Back 99

a diagrammatical representation of the sequence of logical operations performed by a computer in executing a program. Describes the specific logic to perform a process shown on a system flowchart

Front 100

database management system (DBMS)

Back 100

the specialized computer program that manages and controls that data and interfaces between the data and the applications programs

Front 101

database system

Back 101

the combination of the database, the database management system, and the application programs that access the database through the database management system

Front 102

database administrator (DBA)

Back 102

the person responsible for coordinating, controlling, and managing the data in the database

Front 103

data warehouse

Back 103

very large databases that contain both detailed and summarized data for a number of years and that are used for analysis rather than transaction processing

Front 104

data mining

Back 104

accessing information stored in a data warehouse through statistical analysis or artificial intelligence techniques to "discover" unhypothesized relationships in the data

Front 105

record layout

Back 105

a document that illustrates the arrangement of items of data input, output, and file records

Front 106

logical view

Back 106

the manner in which a user or programmer conceptually organizes, views, and understands the relationships among data items

Front 107

physical view

Back 107

the way data are physically arranged and stored in the computer system

Front 108

schema

Back 108

a description of the types of data elements that are in the database, the relationships among the data elements, and the structure or overall logical model used to organize and describe the data

Front 109

conceptual-level schema

Back 109

the organization-wide view of the entire database. It lists all data elements in the database and the relationships between them

Front 110

database management system (DBMS)

Back 110

the specialized computer program that manages and controls that data and interfaces between the data and the applications programs

Front 111

database system

Back 111

the combination of the database, the database management system, and the application programs that access the database through the database management system

Front 112

database administrator (DBA)

Back 112

the person responsible for coordinating, controlling, and managing the data in the database

Front 113

data warehouse

Back 113

very large databases that contain both detailed and summarized data for a number of years and that are used for analysis rather than transaction processing

Front 114

data mining

Back 114

accessing information stored in a data warehouse through statistical analysis or artificial intelligence techniques to "discover" unhypothesized relationships in the data

Front 115

record layout

Back 115

a document that illustrates the arrangement of items of data input, output, and file records

Front 116

logical view

Back 116

the manner in which a user or programmer conceptually organizes, views, and understands the relationships among data items

Front 117

physical view

Back 117

the way data are physically arranged and stored in the computer system

Front 118

schema

Back 118

a description of the types of data elements that are in the database, the relationships among the data elements, and the structure or overall logical model used to organize and describe the data

Front 119

conceptual-level schema

Back 119

the organization-wide view of the entire database. It lists all data elements in the database and the relationships between them

Front 120

external-level schema

Back 120

an individual user's or application program's view of a subset of the organization's database

Front 121

subschema

Back 121

a subset of the schema that includes only those data items used in a particular application program or by a particular user; the way the user defines the data and the data relationships

Front 122

internal-level schema

Back 122

a low-level view of the entire database describing how the data are actually stored and accessed. It includes information about record layouts, definitions, addresses, indexes, and so forth

Front 123

data dictionary

Back 123

an ordered collection of data elements that contain information about the structure of the database

Front 124

data definition language (DDL)

Back 124

a database management system language that ties the logical and physical views of the data together

Front 125

data manipulation language (DML)

Back 125

a database management system language used for data maintenance, which includes such operations as updating, inserting, and deleting portions of the database

Front 126

data query language (DQL)

Back 126

a high-level, English-like command language that is used to interrogate a database

Front 127

report writer

Back 127

a language that simplifies report creation. Typically, users need only specify which data elements they want printed and how the report should be formatted.

Front 128

data model

Back 128

an abstract representation of the contents of a database

Front 129

relational data model

Back 129

a database model in which all data elements are logically viewed as being stored in the form of two-dimensional tables called "relations." In these tables each row represents a unique entity or record. Each column represents a field where the records attributes are stored. The tables serve as the building blocks from which data relationships can be created

Front 130

relation

Back 130

the tables used to store data in a relational database

Front 131

tuple

Back 131

a row in a relation

Front 132

primary key

Back 132

the attribute, or combination of attributes, that uniquely identifies a specific row in a database table

Front 133

foreign key

Back 133

an attribute appearing in one table that is itself the primary key of another table

Front 134

update anomaly

Back 134

a problem that can arise in a poorly designed relational database. If attributes that are not characteristics of the primary key of a relation are stored in that table, then that data item is stored in many different rows

Front 135

insert anomaly

Back 135

a problem that can arise in a poorly designed relational database when attributes that are not characteristics of the primary key of a relation are stored in that table. The problem arises because new information about those attributes cannot be entered in the database without violating integrity rules

Front 136

delete anomaly

Back 136

a problem that can arise in a poorly designed relational database when attributes that are not characteristics of the primary key of a relation are stored in that table. May result in a loss of all information about those attributes that are not characteristics of the primary key

Front 137

relational database

Back 137

a database management system that uses the relational data model

Front 138

entity integrity rule

Back 138

a design constraint in a relational database, requiring that the primary key have a non-null value

Front 139

referential integrity rule

Back 139

a constraint in relational database design requiring that any non-null value of a foreign key must correspond to a primary key in the referenced table

Front 140

normalization

Back 140

the process of following the guidelines for properly designing a relational database that is free form delete, insert, and update anomalies

Front 141

sabotage

Back 141

an intentional act where the intent is to destroy a system or some of its components

Front 142

cookie

Back 142

a text file created by a Web site and stored on a visitor's hard drive; store information about who the user is and what the user has done on the site

Front 143

fraud

Back 143

any and all means a person uses to gain an unfair advantage over another person

Front 144

white-collar criminals

Back 144

typically businesspeople who commit fraud; usually resort to trickery or cunning and their crimes usually involve a violation of trust or confidence

Front 145

misappropriation of assets (employee fraud)

Back 145

an internal fraud in which an employee or group of employees use or steal company resources for personal gain

Front 146

fraudulent financial reporting

Back 146

intentional or reckless conduct, whether by act or omission, that results in materially misleading financial statements

Front 147

pressure

Back 147

a person's incentive or motivation for committing fraud

Front 148

opportunity

Back 148

the condition or situation that allows a person or organization to commit and conceal a dishonest act and convert it to personal gain

Front 149

lapping

Back 149

concealing the theft of cash by means of a series of delays in posting collections to accounts

Front 150

kiting

Back 150

a fraud scheme where the perpetrator conceals a theft of cash by creating cash through the transfer of money between banks

Front 151

rationalization

Back 151

the excuse that fraud perpetrators use to justify their illegal behavior

Front 152

computer fraud (computer crime)

Back 152

any illegal act for which knowledge of a computer is essential for the crime's perpetration, investigation, or prosecution

Front 153

cyber-extortion

Back 153

requiring a company to pay a specified amount of money to keep the extortionist from harming the company electronically

Front 154

data diddling

Back 154

changing data before, during, or after they are entered into the system

Front 155

data leakage

Back 155

copying company data, such as computer files, without permission

Front 156

denial-of-service attack

Back 156

sending email bombs (hundreds of messages per second) from randomly generated false addresses; the recipient's Internet service provider e-mail server is overloaded and shuts down

Front 157

eavesdropping

Back 157

listening to private voice or data transmissions, often using a wiretap

Front 158

economic espionage

Back 158

the theft of information, trade secrets, and intellectual property

Front 159

e-mail threats

Back 159

sending a threatening message asking the recipient to do something that makes it possible to defraud them

Front 160

evil twin

Back 160

a wireless network with the same name as a local wireless access point

Front 161

hacking

Back 161

accessing and using computer systems without permission, usually by means of a personal computer and a telecommunications network

Front 162

hijacking

Back 162

gaining control of someone else's computer to carry out illicit activities without the owner's knowledge

Front 163

identity theft

Back 163

assuming someone's identity, usually for economic gain, by illegally obtaining confidential information such as SSN

Front 164

logic and time bombs

Back 164

software that sits idle until a specified circumstance or time triggers it, destroying programs, data, or both

Front 165

malware

Back 165

software that can be used to do harm

Front 166

masquerading/impersonation

Back 166

accessing a system by pretending to be an authorized user

Front 167

password cracking

Back 167

penetrating system defenses, stealing valid passwords, and decrypting that so they can be used to access system programs, files, and data

Front 168

phishing

Back 168

sending e-mails requesting recipients to visit a Web page and verify data or fill in missing data

Front 169

piggybacking

Back 169

1. the clandestine use of someone's Wi-Fi network 2. tapping into a telecommunications line, latching on to a legitimate user, and accompanying the perpetrator into the system 3. bypassing physical security controls by entering a secure door when an authorized person opens it

Front 170

posing

Back 170

creating a seemingly legitimate business, collecting personal information while making a sale, and never delivering the item sold

Front 171

round-down

Back 171

truncating interest calculations at two decimal places

Front 172

salami technique

Back 172

stealing tiny slices of money over time

Front 173

social engineering

Back 173

techniques that trick a person into disclosing confidential information

Front 174

software piracy

Back 174

illegally copying computer software

Front 175

spamming

Back 175

e-mailing an unsolicited message to many people at the same time

Front 176

spyware

Back 176

using software to monitor computing habits and send that data to someone else, often without the computer user's permission

Front 177

spoofing

Back 177

making a e-mail message look as if someone else sent it

Front 178

trap door

Back 178

entering a system using a back door that bypasses normal system controls

Front 179

trojan horse

Back 179

unauthorized code in an authorized and properly functioning program

Front 180

virus

Back 180

a segment of executable code that attaches itself to software, replicates itself, and spreads to other systems or files

Front 181

worm

Back 181

similar to a virus, but a program rather than a code segment hidden in a host program

Front 182

zero-day attack

Back 182

an attack between the time a new software vulnerability is discovered and a software patch that fixes the problem is released