Question

c. discuss two (2) importance of system documentation to accountants. please list the relevant references to support the discussion for this questions.

Answer 1

Answer

The purpose of the system documentation is to describe the use, operation, maintenance, or design of software or hardware through the use of manuals, listing, diagrams, and other hard or soft copy written and graphic material.

Documentation helps assure continuity of care. There are many important moments in treatment. Proper documentation can help the practitioner to recall those moments. Behaviors and emotions can help tell a story; being able to discover patterns can help to uncover reasons for certain behavior.

Accountants need documentation to understand how processes work in a systemic context, it helps accountants in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of an entity's internal controls. Accountants pursue documentation to determine if a proposed system meets the needs of its users in the organization.

Documentation includes various types of tools, mainly; narratives, flowcharts, and data flow diagrams. The greatest amount of skill is needed to prepare documentation. If you are a member of a team that is developing a new system, then you must prepare documentation to show how both the existing and the proposed systems operate.

Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) are the most common documentation tool for accountants to show the data flow. DFDs are graphical descriptions of sources and destinations of data and shows where data comes from and how it flows, the processes performed on it and ultimately where the data goes. Data flow diagram consists of four basic elements namely, data courses and destinations depicted in squares represents organizations and individuals sends and receive data used or produced by the system.