Teaching good systems design for spreadsheet projects

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges facing any business is creating information and accounting systems that work, and one of the greatest challenges in accounting education is to teach effective systems design in the limited time available. Accountants need to be knowledgeable in systems principles, but often students' systems exposure is limited to a one semester course in Accounting Information Systems. This paper describes the application of structured design to spreadsheets. Spreadsheet construction projects can then be used in an Accounting Information Systems course to teach system design principles. The advantages of this approach are: (1) that systems with sufficient complexity to illustrate the principles and techniques of good design can be constructed in a few weeks, (2) the spreadsheet software neither forces good design not prohibits it, thus requiring good design to be built in by conscious choice, and (3) it is an active, hands-on approach, which greatly facilitates learning.