ACCT302 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Internal Control, Financial Statement

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Accounting
• Course: ACCT302
• Professor: John Wragge

Document Summary

Data vs. information: data are facts, data is collected, recorded, and stored in a system, data organized into something meaningful is considered information, accounting systems help organize data into information. Information overload: too much information: can reduce decision quality. Information technology (it): used to help decision makers filter and condense information more effectively: can help prevent information overload. Information is not free, even if generated yourself: need systems in place to collect information - setting up these systems costs money, ex: inventory systems in stores. Information is valuable when the benefits exceed the costs of gathering, maintaining, and storing the data: benefit (ex: improved decision making) - cost (time and resources used to get information) = the value of the information. Information needs and business processes: business process: a set of related, coordinated, and structured activities and tasks performed by people, machines, or both to achieve a specific goal, key decisions and information come from these processes.