ACTG 335 Intro to AIS and Accounting Analytics Summer 2024

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Week 1 – Intro to AIS and Accounting Analytics

Summer 2024 ACTG 335

Overview

This lab has three parts: one using the Data Analytics Using Excel Microsoft 365 textbook, one using the Accounting Information Systems textbook, and one using LucidChart flowcharting software to flowchart business processes.

We have two objectives this week. The first is to practice using Excel PivotTables. PivotTables are truly workhorses in Excel and we’ll use them throughout the term. Our second objective is to understand how business processes are documented using visual flowcharts that help users understand and evaluate these processes.  

Deliverables

Submit your work to the Assignments area in Canvas:

· This document, renamed HW1_firstname_lastname.docx

· An Excel spreadsheet, renamed Spreadsheet1_firstname_lastname.xlsx

Files

Files can be found in Canvas or in the ACTG 335 Summer 2024 folder in Drive

· Excel-shortcuts-2016-Windows-Mac.pdf.

· Data Analytics Project 1.21.xlsx

· Chapter_3_DA_Excercies_2-22e6.xlsx

Instructions

1) This class can be a bit overwhelming at first. Homework assignments have multiple parts, they typically use multiple files, instructions can be in multiple places, you have to submit multiple files, etc. Please get into the habit of using Discord as a tool when you have a question or would like clarification on something. If you post there, another classmate can often respond before I do. If you see a question you can answer, please do. Here’s an invite link if you haven’t already signed up: https://discord.gg/jknwtjFUaE

I’ve written many, many pages of instructions for this class, and there are bound to be some confusing instructions, broken links, and other issues. Please post in Discord or send me an email at [email protected] right away if you find something. I really appreciate it.

If there’s anything else you’d like me to know about your experience in the class, please share that too—I miss hearing your feedback and insights when we don’t see each other in the classroom

2) All of the files referenced throughout the Excel book are posted in the ACTG 335 Summer 2024 folder in Drive. If you download multiple files at once, they’ll be zipped, and you’ll need to unzip them to use them. To unzip, click on the zipped file in file explorer and select Extract all from the menu.

3) Skim this entire assignment before you begin. The assignments in this class take a lot of time to complete. It’s always a good idea to look over the assignment before you begin so that you can allocate your time effectively. You don’t need to do the three parts in order.

Part 1: Excel textbook and concepts

Chapters 1 and 2

1) Skim section 1.2 Chapter 1 to become familiar with its contents. It provides an overview of menus and terminology in Excel. You can use this chapter as a resource when you run into unfamiliar features of Excel or unfamiliar terminology in the text.  For example, the book will tell you to “activate cell A1”. If you look at Figure 1.9, you can see that ‘activate’ simply means to click on that cell. And it will show you what the Quick Access Toolbar is and how to customize it.

2) Scroll down to the very end of section 1.2 and find the part titled Keyboard Only. Practice using these commands. Then open Chapter 2, section 2.2 and find the Keyboard Only commands and the end of that section. Practice these commands also.

The book’s author wants you to understand the value of learning and using keystrokes rather than the mouse to save time as you work with Excel. Investing some time now will save you a lot of time and frustration in the future.  Consider how often you use Ctrl A, Ctrl C, and Ctrl V (if you do use them) and how frustrating it would be to use the mouse to perform these commands.

3) Review the handout named Excel-shortcuts-2016-Windows-Mac.pdf. It might be a good idea to print it and keep it by your computer when you’re using Excel, so you’ll remember to practice.

Note: whenever you’re asked to answer questions and enter your responses in this and other homework assignments, you’ll see italicized text and a blank space for your answers, as you see below.

Find five keystroke operations that 1) you were not previously aware of, and 2) you think will be valuable in specific circumstances at school or in your job. Practice these keystrokes and fill in the table below.

Keystrokes	What it does	When it will be useful to you

4) Open Discord and click on the # keyboard-only-shortcuts channel in the TEXT CHANNELS menu on the left. Review shortcuts your classmates have posted, and practice shortcuts that interest you.

In the # keyboard-only-shortcuts channel in Discord, post one of your favorite keystroke commands and explain why you like it. (Here’s a Discord invite link if you haven’t already signed up.)

Take a screenshot of your Discord post and paste it here: (in Windows, use Shift + Window key + S to take a screenshot)

Chapter 3

5) Skim section 3.1 Introduction to Data Visualization. If you’re not familiar with treemap charts or multi-level sorting, take a look at those sections. Make note of Figure 3.12 which shows how to sort by month name or weekday name.

6) Open the file Data Analytics Project 1.21.xlsx. You won’t need to submit this file as a deliverable. Work through 3.2 Introduction to PivotTables and PivotCharts. As you read, you’ll notice links to skill refresher videos. They aren’t required, but are helpful for learning and reinforcing skills.

PivotTables are among the most valuable features in Excel. More practice is better, even if you’re already proficient. As you work, keep track of things you’ve learned that were new, or skills you already knew, but find particularly valuable. As always, I’ll ask you to reflect on your learning at the end of this assignment.

7) When you get to the section on Sorting a PivotTable and Figure 3.17, there’s an easier way if all you want to do is sort one column. You can right click anywhere in the column and choose sort from the menu.

You are allowed to discuss this assignment with classmates or even to work through the assignment together. However, you are not allowed to work on a single worksheet or Excel file—each student must complete their own version. Submitting two copies of the same file is not allowed.

In Figure 3.16, numbers don’t have commas. Explain the process for reformatting the Grand Total column from within the Pivot Table.

When you get to Figure 3.28, recreate the chart, except with October through December showing. Take a screenshot of your chart and paste it here.

8) Reset the filter so that all months are visible. In the Integrity Check section after Figure 3.28, the book states “After a PivotTable or PivotChart is created, new data that is added to your workbook will NOT be included in the output for these tools. The easiest solution to this problem is to create a new PivotTable or PivotChart that includes the additional data.”

9) A better way to solve the problem of adding new data involves two steps. 1) Format the original data in A2:C26 as a table. That makes it so that new data added to the table will be included in the table range. Make up data for January – March 2019 and type it in rows 27-29. 2) In the Pivot Chart Tools section of the menu, click Analyze and then Refresh. You should see the 2019 data in your table and chart.

Take a screenshot of your revised chart with the 2019 data and paste it here.

10) In the Basic Data Internal Controls section, instruction 7 asks you to include a warning to the user saying: “This PivotTable ONLY includes data from the range A2:C26 in the Sales Data worksheet”. This is no longer accurate, since we’ve formatted the range as a table, which allows it to expand as new data are added. Create a different warning so that a user will know how to update the table and chart if they add data. (It is possible to auto-refresh in some versions of Excel, but it’s not commonly used because it can slow down your spreadsheet a lot, particularly for large data sets.)

Type your warning here.

11) Complete the end of chapter Data Analytics (Skills Review) named Analyzing Stock Market Sectors.  Download Chapter_3_DA_Excercies_2-22e6.xlsx from the textbook, Canvas, or Drive. Complete the instructions. If you need help with a particular instruction, you can use the search tool to search the chapter or ask ChatGPT for help. You can also ask questions on the class Discord server.

12) At the end of the exercise, click on your chart and add a slicer for year, by clicking Insert>Slicer and selecting Year. Select 2016, 2017, and 2018. You can use Ctrl + click to select multiple items.

When you’re finished, rename your file Spreadsheet1_firstname_lastname.xlsx. You’ll submit this file along with your homework worksheet.

Paste a screenshot of your Chapter 3 DA Exercise 2 PivotTable here.

Paste a screenshot of your Chapter 3 DA Exercise 2 PivotChart and slicer here.

Paste a screenshot of your answer sheet with responses here.

13) Watch this YouTube video about PivotTable hacks by Leila Gharani. (Her videos are excellent, and she has tons of them. Here’s a link to her playlists.)

List the numbers and names of your two favorite hacks—ideally techniques that are new to you. Explain why you like each of these tricks and/or how you’ll use them.

Part 2: AIS textbook and concepts

I’ll tell you the sections to read in each chapter. It is helpful to skim the remainder of the chapters for context and to learn a little extra.

Chapter 1

14) In Chapter 1, read Section 1.1 about Joe’s Ristorante and accounting information systems and look at Figure 1.1 Components of an AIS.

Read more about business processes here: https://quixy.com/blog/business-process/

*Many websites that contain great information also have many annoying popups. To avoid them, you can use a privacy browser such as Brave or DuckDuckGo or you can install a popup blocker.

In your own words, what is a business process?

Give an example of one business process at Joe’s Ristorante and list the activities it likely involves.

Fill in the table below with brief descriptions of the 4 system components as they exist now and as Joe would like to see them in the future. As you think about the desired state, consider how these components might look in a large national pizza chain.

	Current State	Desired State
People
Processes
Technologies
Controls

Chapter 5

15) Read section 5.1.  Google or ask ChatGPT or another LLM how flowcharts can help companies comply with the Sarbanes Oxley Act.

List two of the ways companies use flowcharts and discuss how Joe’s Ristorante might use flowcharting in those ways.  

16) Read section 5.3 What Are Flowcharts? This section describes one kind of flowcharting that can be useful in describing accounting processes. Look at Figures 5.4-5.7 to learn the meaning of common flowcharting symbols, paying special attention to these symbols. Pay special attention to the symbols that appear in the flowcharts below. These are the most commonly used symbols.

These symbols were developed when things were done on paper, which is why the document looks like a piece of paper. When a document has multiple copies that are used for different purposes each copy is shown separately and copies are numbered, as you can see in the flowchart below.

17) The figure below, from chapter 11, which we’ll discuss later in the course, describes business processes associated with requisitioning, purchasing, and receiving goods. Notice that each of these distinct processes has its own flowchart. Work your way through the flowcharts, referring to the descriptions in Figures 5.4-5.7 as needed.

 

In your own words, list and describe each symbol/step in the User Department’s flowchart as if you were training a new employee on the purchase requisition process.

Part 3: Documenting business processes using BPMN

Creating flowcharts

Business Process Model Notation (BPMN) is a widely-used standard for documenting processes. In this part of the assignment, you’ll learn about BPMN and practice using it to document processes. You’ll use LucidChart flowcharting software, which is useful for many types of diagrams.

18) Read this BPMN tutorial to learn about process flowcharting using BPMN diagrams and watch this BPMN video, which gives you an introduction to both BPMN and LucidChart. If you’d like another resource, you can read BPMN by Example, posted in Canvas and Drive.

Pay special attention to these four symbols. In addition to swimlanes, these are the only symbols you’ll need for this class.

 

Source: https://www.process.st/bpmn-tutorial/

19) Sign up for a free Lucidchart trial by completing the following steps.  All of your business process work in this course should be performed in Lucidchart, as it makes the construction of professional BPMN flowcharts (relatively) quick and easy.

a. Go to https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/usecase/education 

b. Enter your PSU email address in the box that says Enter your EDU Email Address

c. Click Sign Up Free

d. Enter your name and create a password

e. Click the Lucidchart logo in the corner if your screen does not refresh

f. Open a new blank flowchart

g. Scroll the Shapes menu along the left of the screen down to the bottom

h. Click  +Shapes

i. Click on “BPMN 2.0

Explore the Lucidchart functions:

j. Drag some of the BPMN symbols into your flowchart to see their names and what they look like.  

k. Spend some time getting familiar with the tools and layout.  Learning a new software tool takes some trial and error.  Don’t be afraid to jump in and try something.  You can always delete and start over.

i. You can double-click to highlight words you’d like to change.

ii. You can right click on many shapes to edit or change format (or to add/remove swimlanes, etc.).  

iii. Connectors can be found within the set of icons along the top of the screen.  Note that you can change the format of the connectors in multiple ways.

20) Create a simple flowchart for a process you perform frequently with one pool and one or more lanes. Put a start and end symbol plus a few activities and connectors in each pool. Describe each activity in the process, making sure to include a verb and subject. Add titles for your pool and lanes. Draw your diagram on paper first, then follow the instructions below to create the diagram using LucidChart flowcharting software. Here’s an example:

 

Paste a screenshot of your diagram here..

 

In your own words in the form of a sequential list (not a paragraph), briefly explain what the customer, the bank sales department, and the bank risk assessor (Joan Doe) are doing in the diagram below.

 

21) Construct a BPMN flowchart for the narrative description provided below. Use one pool for the customer and a second pool with two lanes for Burgerville. Use Lucidchart or another flowcharting tool to create your diagram.

A Burgerville customer pulls up to the drive through and orders a large beverage.  The cashier on duty takes the customer’s order and instructs them to pull up to the first window.  At the window, the cashier processes the customer payment via cash, credit card, or gift card before providing a receipt.  The cashier then instructs the customer to pull forward to the second window. The order prep on duty then assembles the order before asking if they would like a straw.  If yes, a straw is provided with beverage.  If not, just a beverage is provided.  The order prep then thanks the customer as they exit.

Paste a screenshot of your BPMN flowchart here.

What are you taking away from HW1?  List and describe three or more things you learned and why they are important to you.

Note: before you submit, check to make sure that you’ve filled in all of the blank spaces and that you’ve typed your name at the top of the document.

Artificial Intelligence

Next week and in subsequent weeks, you’ll be learning about artificial intelligence by practicing with some AI tools. Students in 335 last term were required to learn a tool and create lab instructions to teach other students to use the tool. Many student teams agreed to share their work with you.

This term, you’ll become familiar with a variety of AI tools by working through these lab assignments. I’ll be posting them in the Drive folder this week. Feel free to explore. Next week and in upcoming weeks, you’ll choose labs that interest you and work through them.

If you’re curious about the kinds of AI tools that are available, you can check out the website theresanaiforthat.com  This website currently provides brief summaries and links for thousands of AI tools.