accounting systems

ACCT326 Course Project
Paper , Order, or Assignment Requirements

The project will demonstrate your comprehension of accounting systems and your ability to
effectively communicate in writing.
Assume you are the owner of a small CPA practice in a major metropolitan area. You have six
professional employees, of which 2 are relatively new CPAs (recent graduates from UMUC), and an
experienced office manager. In the past, your practice consists primarily of tax and advisory
services, but you want to expand the practice. Based upon your desires to expand the practice, you
have found a potential new client. The client has a growing homeowners’ association consisting of
1000 homeowners, who is in the process of acquiring with four other homeowner associations within
the next 90 days. This acquisition will increase the number of homeowners to 3000. The new client
is interested in using a single automated accounting information system that will be able to perform
the following functions:
1. Billing – Each month, the system will generate an itemized bill for each homeowner. The
fees will vary from $100 to $200 per month, based upon the location of each home, and the
type of home (townhouse or single family homes). Late fees are 20 percent per month of
the unpaid balance. The bills are mailed the 25 th of each month and payment is due by the
10th of the following month. .
2. Collections – Payments can be made in person (at the HOA main office); via mail (via a
PO Box); or electronically. Payments will be deposited to the client’s account.
3. Payments: It is expected that the system will generate a minimum of 100 checks /
payments each month. These payments will cover a variety of services, such as expenses
for office supplies rental space for the HOA utility expenses for the HOA office as well as for lighting for each of the 5 HOAs lawn care refuse & snow removal
4. Payroll: It is expect that the client will have roughly 20 full-time employees and 30 parttime employees. Employees will be paid on a bi-weekly basis. Payment will be made from
the client’s payroll checking account, which is separate from the client’s primary account.
5. Reporting: It is expected that the system will be able to handle any and all reporting,
including periodic financial statements.
Currently two of the four HOAs (including the client) are using an automated accounting system
(Sage and QuickBooks), while the others are using Microsoft Excel to perform its accounting
functions. Per this, you can see why the client will want to move to a single system. The client is
using QuickBooks, but is open to using another system.
As the owner o the CPA firm, you are excited by this opportunity because it is a way to expand
your practice, but this is an opportunity that is very new to you. As the result of this opportunity, you
have asked your lead CPA to develop a document that will help you to determine if you should
proceed with this opportunity. You have given your resources 4 weeks to complete this
assignment.
Required: Using the methodology developed in this course, document and illustrate the system
from an automated function viewpoint. As part of your documentation, you will need to identify the
specific system requirements in the areas of inputs, outputs, and controls for each of the service
areas. You will be also required to provide mock-ups of sample forms, documents, and reports. Your finish product will be a paper & a PowerPoint presentation (a summary of the paper), based
upon the following outline.
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
o Purpose of New System
3. Proposed System Requirements
o Billing
o Input Requirements
o Output Requirements
o Control Requirements
o Collection
o Input Requirements
o Output Requirements
o Control Requirements
o Payments
o Input Requirements
o Output Requirements
o Control Requirements
o Payroll
o Input Requirements
o Output Requirements

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