An
Examination of Topical Coverage for the First Accounting Information Systems
Course
Craig
E. Bain Alan
I. Blankley L.
Murphy Smith |
ABSTRACT: This
study examines topics currently addressed in the introductory AIS course
and makes comparisons to past studies. The study includes an examination
of 12 current AIS textbooks, syllabi from current AIS instructors, and
the results of a survey of AIS faculty and professionals. The divisions
of topics in the books and on the syllabi suggest that introduction to
systems, internal control and transaction processing are the most important
topics to be covered. After these topics, the rankings diverge. The results
of this study suggest that the emphasis historically placed on system
analysis and design, while still important, is somewhat less than in the
past. This was also apparent from the results of the authors’ surveys
of professionals who use technology in their jobs and of AIS faculty.
Both faculty and professionals agree that greater importance should be
placed on teaching internal control and transactions processing, while
moderate importance should be placed on software and hardware issues.
Professionals ranked ethics and Internet education of greater importance
than faculty did, while faculty rated computer fraud (which may tie in
with ethics) and database management systems of greater importance than
the professionals did. Professionals also placed higher importance on
teaching software applications (particularly spreadsheet applications)
than did faculty. Data
Availability: Contact the first author. |