Brian Fischer

Date Approved

2013

Date Posted

1-15-2014

Degree Type

Campus Only Senior Honors Thesis

Department or School

Accounting and Finance

First Advisor

Barbara Ross

Abstract

The 'Best Travel Case' tests graduate accounting information systems students' knowledge of several aspects of a relational database, including REA diagrams, record layout diagrams, transaction entry, and relational queries to create financial statements. This case has been developed in order to highlight the important differences between general ledger accounting methods versus relational database accounting methods as the latter are only briefly emphasized in the accounting curriculum. Students are required to complete an entire record layout diagram with only an REA diagram for comparison. They are given the entire structure of the relational database of a small vacation merchandiser. Students are required to enter several basic transactions into the incomplete database. Finally the students are tasked with creating several dynamic queries in order to extract the necessary information from the database in order to construct the basic income statement and balance sheet for the company. This task demonstrates a common job responsibility of a public accounting employee which is essential in providing an effective case. Furthermore, pre and post-test surveys and examination questions will be administered in order to determine the base-line of students' knowledge and how much they felt they learned from the case as well as what they actually learned. Several of the questions are left open-ended and ask for improvements which can be made to the case in order to provide a better and more detailed learning experience. 3

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