Information Flow Analysis

Introduction
Information technology (IT) has had a huge impact on the Accounting industry over the past few decades. Once a slow-paced and conservative industry has rapidly changed and becoming a part of the fast-passed word of Accounting Information Systems (AIS). AISs have impacted all areas of accounting such as financial accounting, managerial accounting, taxation, and auditing by improving the process of payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, and budgeting. Several forms of automation in recording, storing, managing and analyzing data are allowing accountants and business to expand their finical capacities by receiving more accurate, timely and beneficial information.
Historic Accounting Method
Originally accounting was performed manually with columned ledger books which took hours to record all relevant information. All transactions were recorded daily then summarized in monthly, quarterly, and annually financial statements along with comparative reports.   Storing the documents took lots of space with the risks of losing the information from a fire for natural disaster. The historical ways of accounting took lots of manual labor which at times could become repetitive leading to potential errors in recording the data and calculating the results. Such errors made it difficult for managers, owners, and investors to understand a business results.
Accounting Today
Technology has made gathering, maintaining, analyzing, and reporting accounting information more effective and efficient for accountants, managers, bankers, and invertors. Programs are designed to gather the data into one place while removing some risks of bad information being recorded and allowing them to utilize the data better. Spreadsheets programs have become a major tool used by accountants and managers to present information such as revenue recognition, contract management, purchasing, inventory, billing and payroll. More recently though several companies have begun to...