The four operations (data input, data storage, data processing, and information output) performed on data to generate meaningful and relevant information.
Data Processing Cycle
Documents used to capture transaction data at its source – when the transaction takes place.
Source Documents
These are machine-readable forms of records of company data sent to an external party, who often adds data to the document, and then returned to the system as input.
Turnaround Document
The collection of transaction data in machine-readable form at the time and place of origin. Examples are point-of-sale terminals and ATMs.
Source Data Automation
A ledger that contains summary-level data for every asset, liability, equity, revenue, and expense account of the organization.
General Ledger
Two or more subgroups of digits that are used to code an item, which means that positioning of digits provides meaning. It is often used in conjunction with a block code.
Group Code
A ledger used to record detailed data for a general ledger account with many individual subaccounts, such as accounts receivable, inventory, and accounts payable.
Subsidiary Ledger
Specific ranges or categories of data, thereby helping to organize the data. An example is a chart of accounts.
Block Code
A title given to a general ledger account that summarizes the total amounts recorded in a subsidiary ledger.
Control Account
The systematic assignment of numbers or letters to items to classify and organize them
Coding
Items are numbered consecutively so that gaps in the sequence code indicate missing items that should be investigated.
Sequence Codes
Letters and numbers that are interspersed to identify an item. This is derived from the description of the item and is usually easy to memorize.
Mnemonic Code
A listing of all the numbers assigned to balance sheet and income statement accounts. The account numbers allow transaction data to be coded, classified, and entered into the proper accounts. They also facilitate financial statement and report preparation.
Chart of Accounts
This shows the accounts and amounts to be debited and credited.
Journal Entry
A journal used to record infrequent or nonroutine transactions, such as loan payments and end-of-period adjusting and closing entries.
General Journal
A journal used to record a large number of repetitive transactions such as credit sales, cash receipts, purchases, and cash disbursements.
Specialized Journal
A path that allows a transaction to be traced through a data processing system that is used to check the accuracy and validity of ledger postings and to trace changes in general ledger accounts from their beginning balance to their ending balance.
Audit Trail
The item about which information is stored in a record.
Entity
The properties, identifying numbers, and characteristics of interest of an entity that is stored in a database.
Attributes
The portion of a data record where the data value for a particular attribute is stored.
Field
A set of fields whose data values describe specific attributes of an entity, such as all payroll data relating to a single employee.
Records
A set of logically related records.
Files
permanent file of records that stores cumulative data about an organization that updates as transactions take place
Master File
contains the individual business transactions that occur during a specific fiscal period
Transaction File
