Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer Matthew Mansour matthew.mansour@mq.edu.au Check the unit website Check the unit website Moderator Yvette Blount yvette.blount@mq.edu.au E4A 341 N/A
Credit points	Credit points 4
Prerequisites	Prerequisites ((ACCG611 or ACCG861) and (admission to MAcc(Prof) or MAcc(CPA) or MAcc(Prof)MCom or MIntAccg)) or (4cp in ITEC units at 800 level) or admission to MCyberSec
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit provides a deeper understanding of the theory and practice of accounting information systems, its controls and risks as applied to businesses. It includes analysis and application to real life business scenarios of the following technical areas: information technology and the documentation of systems; the use of different systems and electronic commerce; system planning, development and control; computer ethics; computer crime; and other contemporary topics. Research will be incorporated to underpin the theoretical discussions.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

Critically evaluate the role of accounting information systems in business organisations in achieving organisational goals and governance
Evaluate issues of security, risk management and crisis management
Critically evaluate the cost and value of Information Systems [Explain how IT delivers value to an organization / how IT creates business opportunities for competitive advantage]
Evaluate operations and communication issues and their implications to the entire organisation.
Analyse key challenges faced by Information Systems leaders.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
In class participation	10%	No	Random weeks
Assessed Coursework	20%	No	Weekly (4 weeks random)
Case Study Analysis	30%	No	Week 5 / Week 11
Final Exam (Research Paper)	40%	No	TBA

In class participation

Due: Random weeks
Weighting: 10%

In-class participation (10%)

In-class voluntary participation will be assessed randomly for 6 tutorials during the session. The best 5 out of 6 in-class participation marks will be taken into consideration. In-class participation will be worth 10% of the the total mark.

Submission

In every seminar we will have reflection style questions posed to the class. All indviduals will be assessed on how well they contribute to the discussion.

Extensions

No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved. Please refer to https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration

Penalty for Late Submission

Not applicable.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Analyse key challenges faced by Information Systems leaders.

Assessed Coursework

Due: Weekly (4 weeks random)
Weighting: 20%

Submission

Each activity will be submitted at the end of seminar and must be undertaken during the timeframe allocated during the seminars. Each week seminar activities or tests will be assigned to students without prior notice. It will be a combination of individual and group based activities. Each activity is worth 5%. The seminar assessments will be random during week 2 to week 12. It will be 4 random collections for this assessment. The work will be mixed from tutorial written submissions to live presentations.

Extensions

Penalty for Late Submission

Not applicable.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Critically evaluate the role of accounting information systems in business organisations in achieving organisational goals and governance
Evaluate issues of security, risk management and crisis management
Critically evaluate the cost and value of Information Systems [Explain how IT delivers value to an organization / how IT creates business opportunities for competitive advantage]
Evaluate operations and communication issues and their implications to the entire organisation.
Analyse key challenges faced by Information Systems leaders.

Case Study Analysis

Due: Week 5 / Week 11
Weighting: 30%

The assessment(s) task is to review and analyse a Case Study that will be provided to you. The analysis and report are to be using academic referencing and journal articles that will support your analyse on the case study. (full details will be available on iLearn). This is an individual assessment. The Case studies are broken down in the following way:

Case Study 1 Analysis is worth 10% and details will be provided on ilearn in week 2.

Case Study 2 is worth 20% and is based on our guest lecturer talk in week 7. Case Study 2, will have a report component and a presentation component whereby you will be presenting your findings to the guest lecturer and your unit convenor. This will enable real-life feedback from a stakeholder of the case study.

So the two case studies equate to a possible total of 30%

Submission

All reports will be submitted through Turnitin on iLearn and marked through Grademark (the online marking system). Students will receive feedback within three weeks of the report submission through Grademark on the iLearn website. Students will need to upload their assignment to http://ilearn.mq.edu.au (Turn-it-in) by 5 pm, Friday of week 5 for the first Case Study and Friday of week 10 for the second Case Study. Otherwise your assignment will be considered late.

Extensions

Penalty for Late Submission

Late tasks will be accepted up to 72* hours after the submission deadline. There will be a deduction of 20%* of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 40% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Critically evaluate the role of accounting information systems in business organisations in achieving organisational goals and governance
Evaluate issues of security, risk management and crisis management
Analyse key challenges faced by Information Systems leaders.

Final Exam (Research Paper)

Due: TBA
Weighting: 40%

Submission

A take home final examination is included as an assessment task for this unit to provide assurance that:

i) the student has met the Learning Outcomes of the unit.

ii) the student has attained the knowledge and skills tested in the take home exam.

You will be provided details in the semester about the specifics of the take home exam but the basic premise is that you will be provided with approximately four potential research paper based questions and then given one to complete as your take home exam.

The concept is that you would do research for each question and then we (academic staff) would select which question you will be completing as your final take home exam.

NB.As part of the process the assessment is scaffolded whereby the student will need to submit their draft before submitting the final.

The research period on all questions will be approximate 3 week window and the actual paper submission you will be given a 1 week window for submission. More details to provided in class.

Students are expected to make a serious attempt for all assessment tasks including the examination (see Assessment Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html).

Extensions

Penalty for Late Submission

On successful completion you will be able to:

Critically evaluate the role of accounting information systems in business organisations in achieving organisational goals and governance
Evaluate issues of security, risk management and crisis management
Critically evaluate the cost and value of Information Systems [Explain how IT delivers value to an organization / how IT creates business opportunities for competitive advantage]
Evaluate operations and communication issues and their implications to the entire organisation.

Delivery and Resources

Face to face hours

This unit will be taught in the form of weekly 3 hour seminars. This is a combination of lectures and tutorial. Students are required to enrol in one seminar (3 hours of face to face teaching) for this unit. Class attendance for this unit is compulsory. Students are required to attend a minimum of 10 out 13 seminars. The timetable is available at http://timetables.mq.edu.au. The teaching strategies are outlined below:

Seminar:

Students are required to enrol in seminars online. Seminar enrolment will be closed after the first week of semester. There is no change after this deadline. It is important that you attend the seminar that you are enrolled in. If you attend the seminar that you are not enrolled in, it will not be counted toward the attendance record, with an exception of seminars held on the week of public holidays.
Any changes to seminars must be made through e-student. You have to finalise your classes by the end of week 2 after which changes are no longer possible.
Classes scheduled for public holidays will not be held. Students with classes on public holiday should arrange to sit in on another class of your choice for that week only. However, it is not compulsory to attend.
Your attendance may not be marked if you arrive more than 15 minutes late to your seminars, unless there is an appropriate reason provided to your lecturer.

Textbook

You will require access to the following textbook(s):

The Adventures of an IT Leader, Updated Edition with a new Preface, Austin, R.D., O'Donnell, S. and Nolan, R.L., 2016 ISBN: 978-1633691667

This is available as an book/e-book, which can be purchased from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/Adventures-Leader-Updated-Preface-Authors-ebook/dp/B01BO6QMDW

Managing and Using Information Systems : A Strategic Approach, Pearlson,K.E., Saunders, C.S and Galletta, D.F., 2016 ISBN: 978-163369166

This is available as an e-book, which can be purchased from http://www.wileydirect.com.au/buy/managing-and-using-information-systems-a-strategic-approach-6th-edition/

Some copies of the text may also be available through the reserved section in the library. The content of this text forms the foundation of the unit, but material to be considered (and examined) will go beyond text content.

Technology used

iLearn: This unit will use iLearn as an online technology for students to access course material, announcements as well as any other documents related to this unit. Students are required to regularly check the iLearn for accessing up-to-dated information about the unit.

Echo is a multi-media learning tool that provides an audio of the lectures which students can download and listen to at their convenience. Echo will be made available at the end of each week via the unit’s website (iLearn).

Expectations and Workload

Students are expected to spend 150 hours working on this unit. As a guide a student should spend these approximate amounts of time on each of the following activities:

Tasks	Expected workload (hours)
Assessed coursework	45
Case Study Analysis	70
In-class participation	35
Total	150

Unit Schedule

Week	Topic	Reading (The Adventures of an IT Leader)	Lecture Slides (Managing and Using Information Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach)
1	Introduction Information Systems Strategy	1	1 & 8
2	Strategic Use of Information Resources	1 & 2	2
3	Cost and Value of IT	3 & 4	8
4	Project Management	5 & 6	11
5	Organisation Strategy and Information Systems	7 & 8	3
6	Guest Lecturer - Site Visit
7	Cybersecurity and Ethics	9 & 10	7 & 13
8	Crisis Management	11 & 12	-
9	Emerging Technologies	13	-
10	Managing Talent	15	-
11	Standardisation and Innovation	16 & 17	6
12	Risk management	18 & 19	Supplied by lecturer
13	Review		-

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Appeals Policy
Academic Integrity Policy
Academic Progression Policy
Assessment Policy
Fitness to Practice Procedure
Grade Appeal Policy
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
Special Consideration Policy (Note: The Special Consideration Policy is effective from 4 December 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.)

Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative

Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

Critically evaluate the role of accounting information systems in business organisations in achieving organisational goals and governance

Assessment tasks

Assessed Coursework
Case Study Analysis
Final Exam (Research Paper)

PG - Discipline Knowledge and Skills

Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Critically evaluate the role of accounting information systems in business organisations in achieving organisational goals and governance
Evaluate issues of security, risk management and crisis management
Critically evaluate the cost and value of Information Systems [Explain how IT delivers value to an organization / how IT creates business opportunities for competitive advantage]
Evaluate operations and communication issues and their implications to the entire organisation.
Analyse key challenges faced by Information Systems leaders.

Assessment tasks

In class participation
Assessed Coursework
Case Study Analysis
Final Exam (Research Paper)

PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Critically evaluate the role of accounting information systems in business organisations in achieving organisational goals and governance
Evaluate issues of security, risk management and crisis management
Critically evaluate the cost and value of Information Systems [Explain how IT delivers value to an organization / how IT creates business opportunities for competitive advantage]
Evaluate operations and communication issues and their implications to the entire organisation.
Analyse key challenges faced by Information Systems leaders.

Assessment tasks

In class participation
Assessed Coursework
Case Study Analysis
Final Exam (Research Paper)

PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability

Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Critically evaluate the role of accounting information systems in business organisations in achieving organisational goals and governance
Evaluate issues of security, risk management and crisis management
Critically evaluate the cost and value of Information Systems [Explain how IT delivers value to an organization / how IT creates business opportunities for competitive advantage]
Evaluate operations and communication issues and their implications to the entire organisation.

Assessment tasks

Assessed Coursework
Case Study Analysis
Final Exam (Research Paper)

PG - Effective Communication

Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

Evaluate operations and communication issues and their implications to the entire organisation.

Assessment tasks

Assessed Coursework
Final Exam (Research Paper)

PG - Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical Citizens

Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Evaluate issues of security, risk management and crisis management
Critically evaluate the cost and value of Information Systems [Explain how IT delivers value to an organization / how IT creates business opportunities for competitive advantage]
Analyse key challenges faced by Information Systems leaders.

Assessment tasks

In class participation
Assessed Coursework
Case Study Analysis
Final Exam (Research Paper)

Changes from Previous Offering

We have modified and adjusted the unit where needed. Assessments have been updated also.

Research & Practice, Global & Sustainability

This unit addresses global and sustainability issues as direct areas of study and as necessary implications arising from the materials, assessment and academic discussion and debate in classes/seminars. We promote sustainability by developing ability in students to research and locate information within accounting discipline. We aim to provide students with an opportunity to obtain skills which will benefit them throughout their career. The unit materials have a reference list at the end of each chapter/module/text containing all references cited by the author. These provide some guidance to references that could be used to research particular issues.