Internal Control and Accounting Information Systems

School of Business and Economics

Internal Control and Accounting Information Systems

Full course description

The area of internal control and accounting information systems concerns the quality of information for decision making. As a result of corporate financial scandals, this is a significant issue in today's business. Every business needs an internal control system that monitors the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, reduces the risk of asset loss, helps to ensure the quality of information, and assures compliance with laws and regulations. The course Internal Control & Accounting Information Systems is an introduction into the key concepts and techniques of internal control, such as information quality, the COSO control framework, IT controls and organisational controls. Based on these concepts and techniques, the course addresses the design, evaluation, and improvement of effective and efficient internal controls for organisational processes such as the purchasing, inventory, and sales processes.

Assessment methods: case work, participation, presentation, written exam

Course objectives

* Understand the concept of quality of information and the importance of this concept.
* Understand the role of internal control in producing information of high quality, in promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation's operations, and compliance with laws and regulations.
* Understand how risk analysis forms the basis of designing, evaluating and improving internal control systems.
* Learn about the different organisational processes within organisations, and learn how to design internal controls for each of these processes.
* Learn about controls that specifically apply to Information Technology (IT) and integrate these into each of the business processes.
* Learn how to use process mining to design, evaluate and improve internal control (including control of IT) in business processes.
* Graduates have academic, evidence-based knowledge and understanding of theories, methods and tools in business/economics.
* Graduates can apply their knowledge and understanding to identify and solve real life business/economic problems. This includes demonstrating analytical skills and a problem-solving attitude.
* Graduates can inform Judgments on theoretical and practical business/economic issues.
* Graduates can effectively communicate both to specialist and nonspecialist audiences. This includes demonstrating strong presentation skills, project- management skills and interpersonal skills.
* Graduates have largely self-directed learning skills and the ability to regulate their own learning process.
* Graduates have a professional attitude. This includes demonstrating an open mind, proactive behaviour, critical reflection and accountability.
* Graduates can effectively function in a multicultural environment and work in multicultural teams. This includes demonstrating interpersonal skills and a high proficiency of English.
* Graduates show social responsibility. This includes demonstrating awareness for academic and scientific responsibility in a broader social or ethical context.

Prerequisites

TRANSITIONAL REGULATION (EBC2057):
Only for bachelor Fiscal Economics students who started the programme prior to academic year 2019/20.
Education + Exam/Resit

Internal Control and Accounting Information Systems