| Course | AC550 Accounting Information Systems |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | System flowchart |
| Length | About 560 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MS in Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for AC550 Unit 3
Seven Columns and Two Circled Gaps: A Unit 3 System Flowchart With Segregation Marked at Every Step
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
AC550: Accounting Information Systems
Unit 3 System Flowchart
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Halvorsen Welding Supply and every detail are composite; the textbooks and framework cited are real; the flowchart is described in text.
Layout
The chart runs left to right in seven columns: Customer, Customer Service, Dispatch, Driver and Handheld, Scan Database, Counter, and Billing System. The controller's month-end review runs in a narrow band along the foot. Every symbol carries the paragraph number from the Unit 2 narrative, so a reader can move between text and chart. Standard symbols are used: documents, manual operations, online processing, databases and a clock annotation for scheduled jobs (Romney et al., 2021).
Beside each symbol is a letter. A marks authorization, R marks recording, C marks custody of cylinders. The point of marking them is to see, at a glance, whether one role combines two of the three functions on the same transaction (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, 2013).
Column by Column
Customer sends an order document to Customer Service.
Customer Service enters the sales order online (A), which prints at Dispatch. A dotted line from Customer to Driver shows text orders that bypass this step, labeled with narrative paragraph 2.
Dispatch assigns routes (A) and loads filled cylinders to trucks (C).
Driver and Handheld delivers and collects cylinders (C) and scans them (R). Here the first circle sits: the handheld lets the same driver who holds the cylinders void and rescan a stop before sync (paragraph 8), so custody and recording sit with one person, with no record of the change.
Scan Database receives synced scans and stores serial-level records, an online storage symbol.
Counter exchanges cylinders with walk-in customers (C) and records swaps on paper swap sheets (R), a document symbol that flows to Billing with a "keyed in batch" annotation (paragraph 10).
Billing System receives the 2 a.m. transfer as a single processing symbol with a clock annotation. It writes customer and gas type totals to the holdings file. The second circle sits here: the job overwrites holdings regardless of what was keyed from swap sheets or re-entered by the billing clerk (paragraph 12), so the system of record changes without any person authorizing the change and without a log of the prior value.
Controller band shows the month-end exceptions report reviewed against a threshold of ten cylinders.
The two circles are both places where a record changes with nobody's approval and no trace of the earlier value, which is why a chart that marks authorization and recording separately exposes them while the procedure binder never could.
Reading the marks along any single row of the chart takes a few seconds, which is the practical advantage of the scheme for a reviewer.
Notes Page
The chart also shows what is absent: no line runs from the Scan Database to Billing carrying serial numbers, only totals, which is the design choice that made the Unit 1 dispute impossible to settle. Text orders and late-keyed swap sheets are shown with dashed lines because they are informal paths. A data flow diagram would show the same flows without the roles, but the roles are what reveal the segregation problem, so a system flowchart is the right tool here (Hall, 2019).
References
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. (2013). Internal control: Integrated framework. COSO.
Hall, J. A. (2019). Accounting information systems (10th ed.). Cengage.
Romney, M. B., Steinbart, P. J., Summers, S. L., & Wood, D. A. (2021). Accounting information systems (15th ed.). Pearson.
AC550 Unit 3 instructions, in plain terms
The third AC550 unit asks you to prepare a system flowchart of a business process. Use columns for each role and for any system that acts without a person, such as a database or scheduled job, so that hand-offs are visible. Use standard symbols for documents, manual operations, online processing and storage, and annotate scheduled jobs with their timing. Cross-reference each symbol to the numbered paragraphs of your narrative. Mark each step as authorization, recording or custody so that combined duties can be seen at a glance, and circle or annotate any place where one role or process performs two incompatible functions. Show informal paths with dashed lines. Add a notes page explaining what the chart reveals and what is notably absent. Reference the charting texts and COSO for your conventions, in APA 7.
How the AC 550 Unit 3 example is put together
The sample describes seven columns: Customer, Customer Service, Dispatch, Driver and Handheld, Scan Database, Counter and Billing System, with the controller's exceptions review in a band below. Letters A, R and C sit beside each symbol, and dashed lines show texted orders and late-keyed swap sheets. The first circle marks the handheld, where the driver holding the cylinders can void and rescan before sync. The second marks the 2 a.m. transfer, which changes holdings with no authorization or prior value. The highlighted sentence explains why marking authorization and recording separately exposes both. The notes page points out that no serial-level line runs from the scan database to billing.
AC550 Unit 3 rubric: what earns full points
Flowcharts in AC550 earn points for correct symbols, clear role columns and visible control analysis. Graders check that every narrative step appears with its paragraph reference and that systems acting without people have their own columns. The rubric rewards marking authorization, recording and custody so incompatible duties are visible, and circling the specific points where they combine. Notes that explain what the chart shows, including missing data flows, demonstrate understanding. Informal paths should be shown rather than omitted. Charts that mix symbol conventions, lack cross-references or show only the ideal process lose credit. Clarity for a reviewer is the main test, and the conventions used should be referenced in APA 7.
AC550 Unit 3 help from the desk
Weak Unit 3 flowcharts put all systems in one column, hiding automated changes such as overnight jobs. Symbols are used inconsistently, or documents and processing steps are confused. Cross-references to the narrative are missing, so the chart cannot be checked. Students chart the procedure manual instead of actual practice, leaving out workarounds. Segregation of duties is discussed in the notes but not marked on the chart. Notes repeat the chart instead of explaining what it reveals. If your section requires a data flow diagram or a specific charting tool, a writer can prepare the chart in that format from your narrative.
Get an AC550 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
A Unit 2 narrative, or any narrative the Unit 3 case hands out, gets the chart started; include the rubric plus whichever notation and software the instructor names. Charts come back in 24-48h with separation of duties marked on them, and the first custom sample is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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AC550 Unit 3 questions, answered
What do authorization, recording and custody mean on a flowchart?
They are the three functions a sound design keeps in different hands: approving a transaction, entering it in the records, and physically holding the asset it concerns. When one person can do two of them, an error or a theft can be both committed and concealed. The chart marks each step with its function so any overlap is visible at a glance.
Should databases get their own columns?
Where they act without a person, yes, in most AC550 conventions. The Halvorsen chart gives the scan database and the billing system separate columns because the nightly transfer between them runs unattended, and that transfer is where later analysis focuses. A database folded into a human column makes automated steps look like somebody's decision.
How is an overlap shown if the notation has no symbol for it?
With an annotation and a legend entry. The sample uses margin letters and a red circle, both explained in the key, which keeps the standard symbols untouched. Some instructors prefer a separate table beside the chart listing each role's functions; either approach is acceptable when the overlap is visible and explained in writing.
Where can I find a free AC550 Unit 3 sample paper?
This page holds a full AC550 Unit 3 system flowchart of the cylinder exchange at Halvorsen Welding Supply with seven columns, authorization, recording and custody marks, two circled gaps and APA 7 references.
Why use a system flowchart instead of a data flow diagram here?
A data flow diagram shows how data moves but not who handles it. The control question is about which role authorizes, records or holds cylinders, so a chart with role columns is the better tool.