ACC2018S - Control of Financial Information Systems

Introduction

It is the aim of the Department of Accounting to produce first class accounting graduates who will be valued by the profession and who, at the end of their years of study, will possess the necessary skills to make a meaningful contribution to the South African Economy.

On successful completion of the Control of Financial Information Systems course, the student will have an understanding of the principles and rationale of Control of Financial Information Systems and the ability to solve practical problems.

More specifically, the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of Corporate Governance and a specific understanding of the responsibilities of management concerning:
  - Internal controls
  - The role of internal audit
• Explain, apply and evaluate matters relating to business ethics and the professional environment.
• Define accounting systems and internal control;
• Explain and apply the principles set out in ISA 315 - "Understanding the Entity and its Environment"
• Explain the principles of sound systems of accounting and controls in both manual and computerised environments.
• Design systems of accounting and control by outlining the main features and components for both manual and computerised environments
• Identify weaknesses in a given system.
• Recommend improvements to a weak system.
• Monitor a system by evaluating and testing controls.
• Demonstrate sound logic and written communication skills.

On completion of this course, students will understand the relevance of controls in a business environment and will be able to implement and monitor controls in a management role.

The knowledge and ability necessary to deal with the problems presented in Control of Financial Information Systems will form the foundation for the extension and development thereof in Auditing I and Corporate Governance. Thus, on successful completion of the Auditing I and Corporate Governance courses, students will be capable of dealing with complex situations often encountered in practice.

University studies will enable the student to learn a great deal about systems and controls. However, being a manager requires not only a good theoretical background but also sound practical training and experience. It is not possible to be "taught" or "trained" to deal with every situation to be encountered. Although, in practice, many problems are routine and their solutions can be "learned", there are also many unique "once-off" problems where a solution can only be thought out. Because of this, an underlying objective of this course will be the development of a systematic and logical approach to solving systems and control problems.

About the convener
Joanne Shev
Room: 5.16.2 Leslie Commerce Building
E-mail: Joanne.Shev@uct.ac.za
Telephone: (+27 21) 650 2283

Course Secretary
Ms Wendy Abercrombie
Room: 5.08 Leslie Commerce Building
E-mail: Wendy.Abercrombie@uct.ac.za
Telephone: (+27 21) 650 2262