Role and Purpose of Accounting Information Systems - Term Paper Example

First, the role of the accounting information system is timely and accurate data collection. Data collection is the process that the organization gathers the data related to the transactions of the business. The business gives and receives data on a daily basis that needs to be recorded in a systematic manner for various purposes in the organization. Therefore, it is one of the sole roles of the accounting information system to timely and accurately collect data, which are used by the management to process information that assists in the decision making of the business (Boockholdt, 2010).

Accounting and financial transaction are mostly in value form, and their timely and accurately collection becomes core interest of the business. Sometimes, large businesses have multiple departments and subsidiaries, national or international. This calls for the use of accounting information system to enhance central collection of information or data from these department or subsidiaries in accurately and timely manner. Second role is to enhance data processing. This involves clarifying, sorting, and calculating data very fast, but accurately.

The clarifying involves the process of validation; that is, ensuring that the data supplied is clean, correct and useful to the end users of such data. Sorting involves arranging data in some sequence or different classes of the data supplied. For example, a purchase of an asset such as vehicle may be sorted out by the system and classified under fixed assets. Then the processing also involves the summarization of the information processed. This is reducing the detail of the data to its main points and then aggregating the data to give full information about the data supplied to the business.

This may be the stage of the preparation of the financial statements of the business. Then lastly carrying the analysis of the summarized data and interpreting such information appropriately. The third role is to ensure proper