Week 6: Article Research Paper and Discussion 

Article Research Papers and Posting Assignments:

This is a graduate course and students will be expected to research and write papers summarizing in their own words what  they have found on current topics from the weekly readings. Research is  a theoretical review and application of a topic to a specific industry  or field.

The  research must be conducted using peer-reviewed trade or academic  journals. While Blogs, Wikipedia, encyclopedias, textbooks, popular  magazines, newspaper articles, online websites, etc. are helpful for  providing background information, these resources are NOT suitable resources for this research assignment.

Assignment Requirements:

1. To access the Article Research Paper and Posting Assignments, go to the “Discussion” tab, and click on the particular week’s assignment (Week 6).
2. Choose a research topic from the chapter readings or from the weekly list provided by your professor.
3. Research/find  a minimum at least one (1), preferably two (2) different peer-reviewed  articles on your topic from the University of the Cumberlands Library  online business database. The article(s) must be current/published  within the last five (5) year
4. Write  a three (3) to four (4) page double spaced paper in APA format  discussing the findings on your specific topic in your own words. Note – paper length does not include cover page or References page.
5. Structure your paper as follows:
6. Cover pageAn example paper has been provided for students. Please review this paper thoroughly for structure and APA formatting. 

   Overview describing the importance of the research topic in your own words
   Purpose of Research of the article in your own words
   Review of the Literature summarized in your own words
   Conclusion in your own words
   Personal Thoughts
   References

7. Attach your paper to the Discussion board by the Saturday due date (150 points).
8. Read and respond to at least four (4) other student postings by the Sunday due date (20 points).
9. Students will be asked to present their research findings (informally) during a weekly online collaborate session.

Example Student Research Paper is provided in the following link:

Example Article Research Paper x  

Potential Research Topics for each research assignment:

Week 6:  BAOL 531_Topics for Week Six Article Research Paper and Posting Assignment x  

1

Information Technology Impact on Managerial Accounting

Student Name
Assignment Week #1: Article Research Paper
BAOL 531: Managerial Accounting
Professor: Dr. Thomas Seiler
Date

Information Technology Impact on Managerial Accounting

Overview

Information technology has soared within the past couple decades. Today, individuals live in a technological era in which they are constantly connected, whether it be through cell-phones, laptops, IPads, etc. As one can imagine, this new technology has also brought about change and opportunity for the accounting industry. Think back to when financial statements and tax returns were prepared by hand, to now where just about everything is done electronically. Instead of sifting through paper documents, one can easily retrieve information with a few clicks of their computer mouse. Needless to say, information technology has had a tremendous impact on both financial and managerial accounting.

Purpose of Research

The general purpose of this research was to study how far information technology has advanced and how current information technology has impacted the managerial accounting profession.

Review of Literature

According to Warren Jr., Moffitt, and Byrnes (2015), in 2000 approximately 25% of accounting information was stored electronically, whereas today, roughly 98% of information is stored electronically (p. 397). That is a vast increase in 15 years and a perfect example of how technology has significantly impacted the accounting industry. The research conducted by Warren Jr. et al., focused on Big Data, which is various forms of datasets such as video, images, social media, websites, etc. and how all of this information can be collected, analyzed and used to improve financial and managerial accounting (pp. 400-401).

Warren Jr. et al. (2015) provided that managerial accounting is “the use of information generated from accounting records to help managers carry out their duties” (p. 400). Thus, information technology has increased the amount of data available for managers to analyze. However, Bredmar, Ask, Frisk and Magnusson (2014) believed that the key to information technology is that managers must develop accounting systems that measure and/or pull the data that is relevant and useful to the manager. In other words, the amount of information available is almost endless, thus, managers need to develop a plan or a goal and build the management system from there (p. 126). An idea suggested by Warren Jr. et al. is for managers to leverage the Balanced Scorecard management control system to identify behaviors in both a financial and nonfinancial measure; Big Data can identify the behaviors outlined in the Balanced Scorecard and provide important information to the manager (p. 400). For example, telephone usage can track productivity, email can be used to track internal processes, client service, etc. (pp. 400-401).

Organizations can also use information technology for budgeting (Warren Jr. et al., 2015). Managers can analyze historical data and look for trends or seasonal business activity to forecast financial information. Warren Jr. et al. believed Big Data and information technology will allow managers to use other useful information such as climate, performance evaluations and labor to produce budgets (p. 401). In other words, some companies are moving past the traditional budget in which only financial data is used, and are incorporating multiple datasets into the budget. Bredmar et al. (2014) also believed that organizations can utilize information technology to develop rules and calculations to create budgets and define specifically what those budgets are to be used for.

Conclusion

The research suggests that information technology has and will continue to significantly impact accounting. It is astounding how much information is available to individuals every single day. With information technology and advanced accounting systems, businesses can collect, analyze and produce financial information that is relevant, useful and likely more accurate than in the past. The research conducted by Warren Jr. et al. (2015) provided an excellent indication of how information technology will positively contribute to the managerial accounting profession. The research explained that information technology will help improve management control systems, budgeting and other nonfinancial reporting such as client satisfaction and employee productivity (p. 405). Bredmar et al. (2014) also indicated that as times change, and so too do performance measures and reporting requirements. Thus, it is both appropriate and important to utilize information technology to learn, grow and adapt in the accounting profession. For example, as performance metrics change, companies should adapt their systems in order to meet the needs of the new goals of the company (p. 135). In summary, information technology will assist managers in adapting to the constantly evolving accounting world.

Personal Thoughts

I am always in awe with the technology today. Especially when I speak with Partners at the firm I work for and they remind me that they used to prepare tax returns with a pen and paper, some of those tax returns were 200 pages long! All that to say, it is amazing how far technology has come throughout the years. I imagine companies are able to perform much more detailed analyses today versus in the past. Mainly because they probably did not have the information or resources available to perform such complex calculations. Thus, not only has information technology assisted companies in analyzing data more efficiently but it has also provided business leaders with more useful information; more informed business leaders would hopefully result in better business decisions and economic growth. In addition, information technology has been instrumental in delivering useful information to investors. Therefore, I’m sure investors and stakeholders are thrilled with the amount of information made available to them because they can use that information to try and invest their funds wisely.

One thing that I think is very important to keep in mind is “Garbage In – Garbage Out.” In other words, business entities first need to confirm and verify that the data going into their systems is good data. The company then needs to verify that their information systems and reports are collecting all the necessary information, because if one key element is left out, the results become useless. The point I am trying to make is because there is so much data available, it is important for managers to distinguish what is relevant data versus what is not relevant data and then build their analysis and reporting around that. Essentially, companies should not get lost in all the data or produce reports that are too complex, vast or difficult to understand. The goal should be to collect, analyze and report the most useful information in logical manner.

References

Bredmar, K., Ask, U., Frisk, E., & Magnusson, J. (2014). Accounting information systems implementation and management accounting change. Business Systems Research, 5(2), 125-138. doi:10.2478/bsrj-2014-0015

Warren, J. D., Moffitt, K. C., & Byrnes, P. (2015). How big data will change accounting. Accounting Horizons, 29(2), 397-407. Retrieved from http://aaajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.2308/isys-51580

BAOL531: Managerial Accounting

Week Six: Article Research Paper and Posting Topics

Article Research Papers and Posting: This is a graduate course and students will be expected to research and write papers summarizing in their own words what they have found on current topics from the weekly readings. Research is a theoretical review and application of a topic to a specific industry or field.

The research must be conducted using peer-reviewed trade or academic journals. While Blogs, Wikipedia, encyclopedias, textbooks, popular magazines, newspaper articles, online websites, etc. are helpful for providing background information, these resources are NOT suitable resources for this research assignment.

Assignment Requirements:

i. Choose a research topic from the chapter readings or from the weekly list provided by your professor (
See list or potential topics below from Chapter’s 9, 10, 11, and 14
).

ii. Research/find a minimum at least one (1), preferably two (2) different peer-reviewed articles on your topic from the University of the Cumberlands Library online business database. The article(s) must be current/published within the last five (5) years.

iii. Write a three (3) to four (4) page double spaced paper in APA format discussing the findings on your specific topic in your own words. Note – paper length does not include cover page or References page.

iv.
Structure your paper as follows
:

a. Cover page

b. Overview describing the importance of the research topic in your own words

c. Purpose of Research of the article in your own words

d. Review of the Literature summarized in your own words

e. Conclusion
in your own words

f. Personal Thoughts

g. References

v. An example paper has been provided for students (attached to email along with this document). Please review this paper for proper structure and APA formatting.

vi.
Attach your paper to the Discussion board by the Week Six Saturday due date
(150 points).

vii.
Read and respond to at least four (4) other student postings by the Week Six Sunday due date
(20 points).

Week Six: Article Research Paper and Posting – List of potential research topics from Chapter’s 9, 10, 11, and 14
.

1. Job Order Costing

2. Process Costing

3. Absorption Cost Systems

4. JIT: Just-In-Time production systems

5. ABC: Activity-Based Costing

6. ABM: Activity-Based Management

7. TQM: Total Quality Management

8. Six Sigma

9. Lean Production

10. Balanced Scorecard

11. Any other managerial accounting topics you wish to research from Chapter’s 9, 10, 11, and 14.

Grading Criteria:

· Content & Structure (75 points): All of the requested components are completed as assigned; content is on topic and related to managerial accounting, critical thinking is clearly demonstrated (no direct quotes – a short definition is allowed); scholarly research is demonstrated; topics and concepts gained from the assigned reading and/or from research is evident.

· APA Formatting (30 points): Cover page, headings, in-text citations, page citations (page number citations required for specific information such as dates, years, list of items from article, names, numbers, statistics, and other specific information), and references are properly formatted.

· Articles (25 points): Articles used are current (published within last five (5) years and are from peer-reviewed journal article publications.

· Effective Communication (20 points): Communication is clear, concise, and well presented; scholarly writing is demonstrated; grammar, sentence structure, writing in third person, and word choice is used correctly.

· Response to Other Students (20 points): Substantive responses provided to a minimum of four (4) other students. Responses must discuss the content of the other student’s paper and provide comments on the topic; responses must be one (1) to two (2) paragraphs long with a minimum of three sentences per paragraph.

· Please Note: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. The paper must be written in your own words.