A Documentation Model for the Contemporary Accounting Information System

This article examines some of the problems with documentation in accounting information systems (AIS). At present, there is nostandard for documentation and there is a wide variety of techniques and documentation items found in such systems today. The “constituents” of the AIS who are users, maintainers, and auditors, need high quality, consistent, and useable documentation in order to carry out their jobs effectively. As a prelude to developing a model for AIS documentation, the article reports the results of a survey of accountants who use documentation in their work. The survey identified thirty items believed by the respondents to be important for inclusion in documentation packages. These items centered on the database, analysis and design, and control and security areas. Based upon the review of the literature and the findings of the documentation survey, the article concludes by proposing a model package which would provide basic documentation for a general AIS overview, database, analysis and design, user instructions, and control/audit/security components. User needs and preferences coupled with the system environment would indicate items which could be added to the basic documentation package proposed here.