InfoTech & Comm Zica 2012

8/12/2019 InfoTech & Comm Zica 2012

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ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS EXAMINATIONS

TECHNICIAN LEVEL

T7: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION

SERIES: JUNE 2012

TOTAL MARKS 100 TIME ALLOWED: THREE (3) HOURS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

1. You have fifteen (15) minutes reading time. Use it to study the examination papercarefully so that you understand what to do in each question. You will be told whento start writing.

2. This paper is divided into TWO sections:

Section A: Four Optional Information Technology Questions. Attempt any three.

Section B: Three Optional Communication Skills questions. Attempt any two (2).

3. Enter your student number and your National Registration Card number on the frontof the answer booklet. Your name must NOT appear anywhere on your answer

booklet.

4. Do NOT write in pencil (except for graphs and diagrams).

5. The marks shown against the requirement(s) for each question should be taken asan indication of the expected length and depth of the answer.

6. All workings must be done in the answer booklet.

7. Present legible and tidy work.

8. Graph paper (if required) is provided at the end of the answer booklet.


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SECTION A: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Attempt any threequestions from this section.

QUESTION ONE

(a) Differentiate between a Computer and Computer Hardware. [2 Marks](b) Give definitions for the following types of computer memory: [6 Marks]

(i) RAM(ii) ROM(iii) CACHE

(c) List and explain any two features of Microsoft Windows as an Operating System.[4 Marks]

(d) Clearly explain the difference between an application package and general packagesoftware. [2 Marks]

(e) Explain any three common causes of computer lock-ups. [6 Marks][Total: 20 marks]

QUESTION TWO

(a) Distinguish between a spreadsheet and a word processor and give one example foreach. [4 Marks]

(b) The Chikhuni General Dealers operates its business in three branches in Zambia asshown in the spreadsheet below:

A B C D E F G H I

Sales Sales Sales Wage

1 Month Chipata Kasama L/stone Total Bill O/E Net Profit2 Jan. 789 574 460 ? 628 ? ?

3 Feb. 736 1230 1265 ? 628 ? ?

4 March 785 564 652 ? 628 ? ?

5 April 799 952 954 ? 628 ? ?

6 May 723 851 854 ? 628 ? ?

7 June 2086 965 1122 ? 628 ? ?

8 July 1744 2147 1955 ? 628 ? ?

9 Aug. 1143 1120 1235 ? 628 ? ?

10 Sept. 854 1230 1256 ? 628 ? ?

11 Oct. 753 654 654 ? 628 ? ?

12 Nov. 1747 751 852 ? 628 ? ?


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QUESTION FOUR

(a) Explain five benefits of using a computerized accounting information system.[10 Marks]

(b) State five characteristics of a Management Information System (MIS). [5 Marks](c) Give five benefits that may be realised from a successfully-implemented Enterprise

Resource Planning (ERP) system project. [5 Marks]

[Total: 20 marks]

SECTION B COMMUNICATION

ATTEMPT any twoquestions from this section.

QUESTION FIVE

You work as the District Accountant in the Ministry of Education. Your District EducationBoard Secretary (DEBS) has received a report that an accountant at one of the schools inyour district has been put on suspension to pave way for investigations into alleged theft ofpublic funds. It is alleged that the accountant has been issuing fake receipts from anunofficial receipt book. As the District Accountant you have been asked to carry outinvestigations of your own into the matter.

(a) State any five steps you would take to prepare for the assignment. [5 marks](b) Prepare a formal report, with recommendations, for the DEBS on the alleged theft

of public funds. [15 marks]

[Total: 20 mark s]

QUESTION SIX

You have noticed that uniformity in the way of presenting statistical information foraccounting purposes in your organisation is lacking, especially where visual communicationformats are involved. Prepare brief explanations of how each one of the following should beused. Support your explanation with a diagram.

(a)

Any one of the three Bar Charts

(b) Line Graph(c) Pie Chart(d) Gantt Chart

(5 marks each)

[Total: 20 marks]


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(v) Multitasking is available, allowing more than one program to be active at onetime.

(vi) The Microsoft Internet Explorer browser is included.

(d) [02 Marks](i) An application package is a program or set of programs that will carry out a

specific processing application or jobfor example, a payroll package is used for

payroll processing. Application packages may be either written from scratch or

purchased off-the-shelf.

(ii) A general purpose package is an off-the-shelf program that can be used forprocessing of a general type, but the computer user can apply the package to a

variety of uses. Windows is a general purpose package.

(e) [06 Marks] Too many programs running at the same time Not enough memory to support the running programs Corrupt (damaged) or incorrectly installed software Power management or screensaver problems Improper operating temperatures and humidity levels Hardware failure Corrupt device driver (drivers are software files that tell your computer how to

communicate with hardware (the modem, the printer etc)).

A virus has infected the computerSOLUTION TWO

(a) [04 Marks]. A spreadsheet is a rectangular array of cells in rows and columns. Or it may be

defined as an electronic piece of paper divided into rows and columns, while a

word processor is a program for producing and editing text such as letters and

reports.

An example of a spreadsheet is the Microsoft Excel and an example of wordprocessor is Microsoft word.


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(b) [16 Marks]A B C D E F G H I

1 Month Chipata Kasama L/Stone Total Wage Bill O/E

Net

Profit

2 January 789 574 460 1823 628 425 770

3 February 736 1230 1265 3231 628 425 2178

4 March 785 564 652 2001 628 425 948

5 April 799 952 954 2705 628 425 1652

6 May 723 851 854 2428 628 425 1375

7 June 2086 965 1122 4173 628 425 3120

8 July 1744 2147 1955 5846 628 425 4793

9 August 1143 1120 1235 3498 628 425 2445

10 September 854 1230 1256 3340 628 425 2287

11 October 753 654 654 2061 628 425 1008

12 November 1747 751 852 3350 628 425 2297

13 December 1760 1789 1622 5171 628 425 4118

14 Total 13919 12827 12881 39627 7536 5100 26991

(i) The formula will be as follows;1. =SUM(C2:C13) (2 marks)2. =SUM(D2:D13) (2 marks)3. =SUM(E2:E13) (2 marks)

Or the formula can be derived by adding each cell as =C2+C3+C4.C13, same for D and E

cells (Columns)

(ii) The formula will be;

=SUM(C2:E2) or adding each cell as ; =C2+D2+E2 see the answers in the abovespreadsheet. (2 marks)

(iii) Total Operating Expenses (O/E);= (2.125+318.75+85.00+19.125) (2 marks)

(iv) Net Profit can be calculated using the formula: =(F2-(G2+H2)) or=F2-(G2+H2) = 770 (2 marks)

(v) = Sum(I2:I13) or = F14(G14 + H14) (2 marks)(vi) The affected values/figures are; C14, F7, F14, I7 and I14 (2 marks)


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(c) [04 Marks] Ethics refers to the principles of right and wrong that can be used by

individuals acting as free moral agents to make choices to guide their

behaviour. Or can be defined as the principles of right and wrong that can be

referenced by individuals in making a personal decision or judgment.

Privacyis the claim of individuals to be left alone, free from surveillanceor interference from other individuals or organisations including the state.

Claims to privacy are also involved at the workplace.

(d) [06 Marks] An Extranet is a private network that uses Internet technology and the public

telecommunication system to securely share part of a business's information or

operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An

extranet can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users

outside the company.

An Extranet can be used in the following ways:(i) Provide a pooled service which a number of business partners can access

(ii) Exchange news which is of use to partner companies and clients

(i) Share training or development resources(ii) Publicise loyalty schemes, sponsorships, exhibition attendance

information and other promotional tools

(iii) Exchange potentially large volumes of transaction data using ElectronicData Interchange (EDI)

(iv) Provide online presentations to business partners and prospects (andnot competitors)

(v) Share news of common interest exclusively with partner companies(vi) Collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts


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SOLUTIONFOUR

(a) [10 Marks]

Benefits of using computerised AIS(i) Accuracy of processing. The use of a computerised system does not prevent

errors of input, hence the saying garbage in, garbage out. However, under all

normal circumstances there should be no arithmetical errors or misposting from

journals.

(ii) Speed of processing. Processing happens very rapidly, even when largenumbers of transactions occur. However, inputs to the system may be very

slow if manual methods are used.

(iii) Potential for automation of inputs. Automated data capture systems using,for example, bar code readers can be used to input data directly to a file.

(iv) Labour economy. Automation of processing can lead to significant reductionsin head count.

(v) Information outputs. Information output from computerised AIS can be feddirectly to EIS and DSS.

(b) [05 Marks]Characteristics of MIS

(i) Support structured decisions at operational and management control levels.(ii) Designed to report on existing operations.(iii) Have little analytical capability.(iv) Relatively inflexible.(v) Have an internal focus.

(c) [05 Marks]The benefits that may be realised from a successfully-implemented ERP project

include the following:

1. Allowing access to the system to any individual with a terminal linked tothe system's central server.

2. Decision support features, to assist management with decision-making.


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3. FINDINGS

3.1 Most people interviewed said Mr X was least expected of such offencebecause he was such a humble person.

3.2 The school manager and other members of staff suspect his lifestyle andproperty.

3.3 A check of receipt books revealed that 2 books with 50 leaves eachbelonged to a counterfeit set not the official books.

4. CONCLUSIONS

4.1 The behaviour of Mr X does not reflect his true character.4.2 One hundred fake receipts were issued resulting into K55, 000,000

accounted for.

4.3 His records show a parallel pupils list to the official one.5 RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Mr X should refund the 55,000,000 preferably through the pay roll.5.2 Pupils and their sponsors must pay fees directly into the school account.

SOLUTION SIX

(a) (i) Simple Bar ChartThis is a visual display used to show performance of a product or products during a

given period. It is drawn by plotting columns on y axis (accumulated quantities)against x axis (period of performance of same product, or products being examined

during the same period. It is constructed from a table showing the raw figures. It is

best used to highlight comparison of performance seen from the height of columns.

(ii) Multiple Bar Chart

This is a visual display used to show performance of several product during a given

period. It is drawn in the same way as the simple bar chart except that columns for

each product will be clustered together for a given period such as day, week or

month etc. The clusters are separated on the bar chart.

(iii) Component Bar Chart

Also called the Stacked or Cummulative Bar Chart. This is a visual display used to

show performance of several products over a long period of time. While the display

is on the x-y axis like the multiple bar chart, each column for a period is broken into

components reflecting each product. For example column for DAY 1 may have a

component for PRODUCT A, on top of which will be the component for PRODUCT B

followed by PRODUCT C etc.


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The end result is that on the same display, we can show how much each product

contributed during the same period over a number of such periods. The columns are

separated from each other, like in the multiple bar chart.

(b) Pie ChartThis is a visual display used to show performance of a product or products during a

given period by way of apportioning values on a circle. The resulting visual

impression shows a comparison of performance by size of the segment of the circle

occupied by each item. Whereas some people opt to use percentages, segments of

circles are best measured in degrees. Different colours or shadings are used to

represent various products or periods. Thus, accumulated quantities are not shown

as the case is in bar charts.

(c) Line GraphThis is a visual display used to show developments in the performance of a product

or products during a given period. Like the bar chart, it is plotted on the y x axis.

Instead of columns, the line graph uses dots connected to give a line showing

whether the product was improving or declining in performance during the period

under review.

(d) Gantt ChartThis is a visual display used to show a plan of activities during a given period. It is a

time plan where activities are allocated slots on a time schedule. It requires

identifying activities, duration and the period they have been allocated. It is very

useful when planning a project.

SOLUTION SEVEN

(a) The importance of communication in business.i) Introduction: main line of thought on what communication can be taken to

be e.g exchange (definition).

ii) Body/Details: narrowing information gap between parties in business.Sharing options, views on issues affecting business relationship

Negotiating attitudes and relationship with clients.

iii) Conclusion: without foregoing no meaningful relationship/trade can exist asno one will know what the other offers.

(b) Key elements of measuring effectiveness of communication include; how muchinformation to give, when to give the information, desired outcome and strategies to

employ e.g choice of method (oral- phone, face to face , written, one on one, group,

via media, etc), route to take- direct or through others.

All these are possible when audience and purpose are clear.

Points under b should be logically incorporated in the text of the article.


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InfoTech & Comm Zica 2012

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