信息系统和成本控制[文献翻译].doc

原文：Information systems and cost controlThe purpose of this paper is to consider how the key concepts of management information systems might be integrated with accounting concepts relating to the managerial process of cost control to form a coherent module for a business school curriculum.Perhaps the best place to start is with some definitions. Cost control, as seen by the writers of cost accounting texts, is the set of processes by which management secures and monitors adherence to cost standards. It is thus narrower than cost management, which encompasses both cost adherence and cost reduction and, according to some, includes actions which direct an organization away from activities which have low benefit-to-cost ratios.There is much less agreement about the definition of management information systems. The information systems field draws from many disciplines e.g., computer science, management science, organizational behavior, and even accounting - and information systems texts and courses usually include discussions of concepts and issues from these other disciplines. Many HIS definitions focus on the computer hardware and software which are important components of most formal systems, Other definitions take a broader perspective and focus on the task which the HIS is to accomplish. EIN and SEGEV for example, suggest this definition: A management information system is a system for collecting, storing, retrieving, and processing information that is used, or desired, by one or more managers in the performance of their duties.This definition sounds strangely like many common definitions of managerial accounting, which may be why we prefer it. It also has the advantage of allowing us to consider the broad range of issues which are important to understanding information systems, not just the physical elements from which they are built. In our discussion, however, we shall try to limit our attention to those issues which are truly MIS issues - i.e., those which arise at the intersections of the various disciplines upon which the MIS field is based, For example, we shall not discuss the management science models which are embedded in many information systems, nor the fundamentals of computer operating system design - our concern with these will be only with those aspects which impinge on a managers understanding of MIS principles.In trying to integrate the key concepts of MIS and cost control, our initial approach was to look for a natural mapping between these two sets of concepts, so that specific MIS concepts could be taught along with specific cost control concepts, with few gaps and little redundancy. Unfortunately, we found no such natural mapping. There is no unique relationship between variance analysis and human information processing, for example, nor should discussion of flow charting be confined to, say, cost budgeting at the expense of other elements of the cost control apparatus. This means we had to look for connections less than a full mapping, but correspondences worth developing.As we thought about how the concepts of these two fields could be integrated, we realized that another issue had to be addressed first. MIS concepts bear on most if not all aspects of accounting, not just cost control, and on all other managerial activities. It makes no sense to think about integrating MIS and cost control concepts without also considering the interconnections between MIS and other parts of the accounting and business curriculum.Since other papers are focusing on other interfaces between MIS and accounting, we shall limit ourselves in the remainder of this paper to those aspects of MIS which might most reasonably be integrated with the accounting aspects of cost control. After all, that is our basic assignment we recognize that a final decision about the material to be included in this module cannot be made until a general approach to integration has been selected.We begin by identifying the following seven phases in the design and operation of a cost control system: 1. Establishing the nature of the information need. 2. Establishing information specifications. 3. Choosing the technical means of producing information. 4. Producing the information. 5. Insuring that management will use the information. 6. Responding to information. 7. Keeping the system up-to-date.Many managerial accounting courses do consider the socio-technical aspects of system design to some extent, but most of this consideration comes under the heading of avoiding dysfunctional effects of accounting reports or the effects of budgets on people. What the information systems literature an contribute is a broader range of behavioral factors to consider as well as systematic procedures for assessing their impact on system design. Mumfords ETHICS method, for example, identifies five critical areas of fit between the person and the job which are necessary for job satisfaction. Since the systems a person uses can affect several or all of these fits, it is recommended that proposed (and existing) systems be evaluated in terms of their impacts on these fits. The ETHICS method provides a technique for making these assessments.No information system exists in a vacuum; a cost control system is surrounded by and interacts with a range of other systems in the organization. The degree and manner of interaction among systems reflects the organizations information architecture. There are a range of approaches to designing information systems e.g., top-down, bottom-up and each is appropriate to some architectures and not to others.Implementing an information system does not just happen the technical, individual, and organizational aspects of change must be considered and planned for, introducing this concept in the discussion of cost control has two main benefits. First, it highlights the effects of participation in the system development process on system acceptance and on the likelihood that managers will use the system at all or will use it as it is intended to be used. Second, it brings out the range of changes (e.g., the need for training, the possibility that reporting relationships or organizational structure will have to be altered) which need to be made to implement any new information system successfully.The traditional cost control course in accounting differentiates between steering control and scorecard control as essentially different processes which require different types of information, formats of presentation, etc. In information systems terminology, scorecard control implies a structured reporting system, while effective steering control requires a decision support system.The literature on human information processing is extensive, and full coverage would require more class time than most managerial accounting courses can spare, some coverage is important, however, primarily in connection with the evaluation of the format in which cost control information is to be presented to management. Understanding HIP limitations should help the cost control system designer specify report formats that will most effectively communicate results to the systems users. The discussion of HIP limitations in this context should provide the student with a broader, more general framework in which to consider the presentation and communication of the results of cost control activities.The data-base approach has both costs and benefits, an the designer of a cost control system must understand these tradeoffs in order to make a decision about the appropriate data architecture (e.g., data-base vs. stand-alone data files). An application-specific data base is more accessible to system users and can be designed to meet the needs of the specific application. A broader data base will have to be structured in ways that are not optimal for the users of any single system. If the data-base is to support both government contract costing and internal cost control, for example, great care must be taken in defining data items; government contract costing requires ex-post average full costing, whereas cost control requires the application of the controllability and responsibility concepts, with predetermination of many of the determinants of the costs of individual responsibility centers.All cost control systems exist in a dynamic environment. Changes take place in the processes being controlled, in knowledge about these processes, and in the people responsible for controlling them. Changes may also occur in the computer system on which the cost control system is run. Any of these changes may require that the cost control system be modified to reflect its new environment. Less dramatic than the changes which inevitably occur, but equally important, is the fact that no information system runs itself; a variety of supporting roles are needed to feed the system with input data, assure that files are properly maintained.Managers responsible for cost control should recognize that systems go through a sequence of stages development, operation, evaluation, maintenance, and retirement or replacement. In information systems parlance, this is known as the system life cycle, From a discussion of the system life cycle, cost control system designers should learn that their role extends beyond the initial design of the system, and must include the design of supporting structures which will allow the continued functioning of the system in a changing environment. Further, as users of these systems they must be alert for evidence that movement to a new stage is appropriate, Coverage of the system life cycle should also show how these adaptations can be made.This is not the only mapping that could be made, but it seems likely to fit the accounting coverage of cost control better than others we have thought of, Given that, our remaining task is to discuss briefly how these information systems issues might be discussed in conjunction with the cost control material, and what they would add to a more traditional presentation of cost control.As we pointed out earlier, most managerial accounting courses have little to say about the third phase of the cost control process, the choice of means of producing information. Insofar as these choices affect the ability of cost control systems to realize their objectives, the general characteristics of these choices ought to be recognized.The focus of the traditional cost control course in the fourth phase of the cost control process producing information is on the task-specific (i.e., controlling costs) aspects of producing and communicating information. Thus, it deals with how costs should be classified, how standards should be set, the procedure for analyzing costs and cost variances, and the appropriate formats for communicating results, We suggest that file structure concepts and a review of human information processing limitations be introduced in this context. The first of these determines what types of data presentations and analyses can be done easily; the second ought to help the system designer specify report formats that will communicate results effectively to system users.The process of insuring that management uses the information generated by the cost control system has two aspects, a motivational aspect and a facilitation aspect, Accounting coverage of this phase of cost control is typically limited to the motivational aspect. It centers on the impact that measuring certain variables has on managerial attention, and on the effects of budget tightness or attainability on managerial expectations and effort.The sixth phase in the cost control process, responding to information, is covered only lightly in the usual managerial accounting course. The usual course distinguishes between corrective responses and adaptive responses to information, and discusses the conditions under which each is likely to be appropriate. Some courses introduce information economics concepts, usually with emphasis on variance investigation decisions. The information systems curriculum also incorporates information economics concepts. In general, however, this is the one phase of the cost control process for which information systems concepts appear likely to make no net addition to concepts from other sources.The final phase in the cost control process, keeping the system current, is a topic not covered in most courses on cost control, but it is of critical importance for real systems. The relevant topic here is the system life cycle concept.Our conclusion from this attempt to integrate material from these two areas in the business curriculum is that coverage of information systems topics adds to the discussion of cost control in several ways. I some cases, it fills in where the typical cost control course has little to say e.g., at the choosing the means of producing information phase. In other cases, the information systems issues provide a general framework and the cost control issues provide a specific context for discussion e.g., establishing the need for information. Finally, in still other cases, the information systems coverage provides a different perspective on the question at hand e.g., insuring the use of information. In each of these cases, we believe that incorporating the information systems material could enrich the typical cost control course and would make the presentation of cost control systems more realistic.Source: Michael J.Ginzberg, 2004.“Information Systems and Cost Control”. Accounting Education.October,pp.75-84.译文：信息系统和成本控制本文的目的是考虑如何使管理信息系统的关键概念可能会与有关的成本控制管理过程的会计概念结合，形成一个连贯的商学院课程模块集成的概念。也许用一些定义是最好开始的地方。本文的作者认为成本控制，成本核算是由它的进程管理和监控遵守固定的费用标准。因此，这是低于成本的管理，这既包括坚持和降低成本费用，并根据一些直接行动，降低活动组织的低效益与成本比率。有很多少谈管理信息系统的定义协议。该信息系统吸引了来自许多学科领域，例如计算机科学，管理科学，组织行为学，甚至会计和信息系统的文本课程，通常包括从这些概念和其他学科的问题进行讨论。许多定义侧重于计算机硬件和软件是最正规系统的重要组成部分，承担其他定义的任务，完成了一个更广泛的角度和重点。例如艾因及塞格夫，建议这个定义：管理信息系统是一个收集、贮存、检索和处理信息的使用，这些信息将用于或需要由一个或多个管理者在履行其应尽的职责制度。这个定义听起来很奇怪地像很多管理会计的共同定义，这也许可以解释为什么我们喜欢它。它也有让我们考虑的重要问题，这些问题对于了解信息系统不仅仅是他们构建物理元素的广泛优势。但是在我们的讨论中，我们会尽力限制注意那些问题，是真正的管理信息系统的问题，那些在各学科的交叉点出现后，以该管理信息系统为基础，例如，我们将不讨论科学的管理模式是许多信息系统的嵌入式，也不是计算机操作系统的设计基础，我们只关注在那些方面与经理人的管理信息系统原理的理解冲击。为了努力整合信息管理系统和成本控制的关键概念，我们最初的方法是寻找一个概念之间的这两套自然的映射，使信息管理系统概念更具体，可以开设与具体的成本控制概念以及一些差距少，冗余度小。不幸的是，我们没有发现这样的自然映射。它们之间没有方差分析和人类信息处理方面的特殊关系，例如，讨论也不应该只限于图表的成本预算，比如说成本预算的成本控制装置等元素。这意味着我们被迫寻找连接一个不完整的映射，但是是值得开发的对应关系。当我们想到这两个领域的概念如何结合在一起是完整的，我们意识到另一个问题必须首先处理。管理信息系统的概念承担大部分而不是全部的会计方面，不仅仅是成本控制，在所有其它管理活动也一样。这是没有意义的思考也没有考虑整合与管理信息系统和会计及商业课程其他部分互连管理信息系统和成本控制的概念。因为其他的文件是管理信息系统之间的接口和会计等为重点，我们将限定在以下的那些方面，其中可能最合理的成本控制与会计方面的综合管理信息系统。毕竟，这是我们的基本任务，我们认识到一个关于材料的最终决定，包括在此之前不能用一般方法的模块一体化方面已被选中。我们首先确定以下七个在设计和成本控制系统的运行阶段：1、建立所需信息的性质2、建立信息规范3、选择生产信息的技术手段4、生产的信息5、确保管理会使用该信息6、回应信息7、保持系统更新许多管理会计课程，在一定程度上考虑系统设计的社会技术问题，但大多数这样的考虑，避免影响正常的会计报告或“对人们影响预算”的标题。什么是信息系统的文学贡献是一种行为因素更为广泛的考虑作为系统程序，以及评估其对系统设计的影响。士孟福的道德方法，例如，确定五个人之间对工作满意度需要合适的关键领域。由于系统能影响一个人使用一些或全部，因此建议（存在）系统在其影响这些方面作出合适的评估。道德方法提供了一种技术进行这些评估。没有信息系统存在于真空中的成本控制系统，与周围组织中其他系统的一系列互动。程度和系统间相互作用的方式反映了组织的信息体系结构。有一系列的方法，例如信息系统设计，自上而下，自下而上，每个部分有适当的架构。实施一个信息系统的出现并非偶然技术、个人、组织方面的变化，而必须考虑和计划这个概念，引入成本控制的讨论主要有两个好处。首先，它强调了在系统开发过程中参与的影响和系统验收的可能性，使用系统的经理把使用它作为目的，因为它拟用了参与的影响。其次，它提出了解决范围的变化（例如，需求训练概率的汇报关系或组织结构将被改变），需要实现任何新的信息系统实施成功。传统成本会计的区别转向控制之间和记分卡为本质的不同工序，需要不同类型的信息，艺术表现形式，控制等课程。信息系统的术语，记分卡控制意味着一种结构化报告系统，同时需要一个有效的转向控制决策支持系统。人类信息处理相关文