Faculty of Business: Accounting
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level: Undergraduate

Result Type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 22107 Accounting for Business AND 24307 e-Business Foundations
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are also course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Handbook description

This subject addresses the accounting and assurance implications of doing business electronically including accounting's role in attesting to the credibility of information. It considers consumer-to-business and business-to-business e-commerce transactions in traditional and ERP (such as SAP) environments. It examines services such as WebTrust for attesting reliability and integrity of websites, and researches and develops methodologies to attest that credibility of information. Students gain substantial first-hand experience in undertaking assurance and auditing services for e-commerce, and develop skills in understanding, providing and communicating assurance services for e-commerce.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should attain competencies in:

1. Understanding the accounting implications of electronic business
2. Accounting for transactions in an information systems environment including using enterprise resource planning systems
3. Understanding assurance and audit issues in electronic business
4. Understanding assurance criteria against which to measure data authenticity and protection
5. Methodologies to provide assurance.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject as its name implies is about providing what is called assurance when conducting electronic business, particularly through public networks. This subject provides an understanding of the necessary role of assurance services for data-integrity and data-security in electronic commerce together with the skills to provide these assurance services.

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject saddles various areas, accounting as the valid recording of transactions is an essential, e¬commerce because the web and IT is the medium to undertake this economic activity and assurance as the subject is about a third party being prepared to provide assurance on the site operators assertions about integrity and protection of information.

The subject uses lectures, tutorial discussions and class exercises to allow students to build their understanding and knowledge in assurance when conducting electronic business.

Content

• Introduction to assurance in e-commerce
• Reengineering and understanding the value chain; internal control
• Identifying, assessing and controlling risk
• Various risk issues such as security, continuity, security of technology, physical security
• Security implementation
• Security maintenance and information systems maintenance.

Assessment

Articles Research Report (Individual)	20%
This addresses objectives 1 and 3.
Assurance Project (Group)	30%
This addresses objectives 3, 4 and 5.
Final Examination (Individual)	50%
This addresses objectives 1-5.

The assessment will be secured through a combination of peer assessment of individual contributions, updating of assessment tasks across semesters and/or plagiarism detection software.

Recommended text(s)

Scheluch P, S.Topple, C.Jubb, L.Rittenberg and B Schwieger (2004), Assurance and Auditing: Concepts for a Changing Environment, Thomson.

Whitman M., E., and H. J. Mattord, (2004), Management of Information Security, Thomson South¬ Western.

Indicative references

Auditing Handbook 2004 (2004), Prentice Hall Sydney (This is volume 2 of The Accounting and Auditing Handbook 2004) Annual Publication.

Greenstein M and M Vasarhelyi (2002), Electronic Commerce: Security Risk Management and Control 2nd edition McGraw-Hill.

Hall J A and T Singleton (2005), Information Systems Auditing and Assurance 2nd ed Thomson South Western.

Kinney W R (2000), Information Quality Assurance and Internal Control for Management Decision Making McGraw-Hill.

Nagel K D and G L Gray (2000), Electronic Commerce Assurance Services Harcourt Brace Hall J.