Theproject will demonstrate your comprehension of accountingsystemsandyourabilitytoeffectively communicateinwriting.

 

Assumeyou are the owner of a small CPA practicein a major metropolitan area.  You have six professionalemployees, of which 2 arerelativelynewCPAs(recentgraduatesfromUMUC), and an experienced office manager. In the past, your practice consists primarily of tax and advisory services, but you want to expandthepractice.Baseduponyourdesirestoexpandthepractice,youhavefoundapotential newclient. The client has a growinghomeowners’associationconsistingof 1000homeowners,whoisinthe process of acquiring withfourotherhomeownerassociationswithinthenext 90 days. This acquisition will increasethenumberof homeowners to 3000.  Thenewclientis interested in using a single automated accounting information system that will be able to perform the following functions:

 

1.  Billing – Each month, the system will generate an itemized bill for each homeowner. The fees will vary from $100 to $200 per month, based upon the location of each home, and the type of home (townhouse or single family homes). Late feesare 20 percent per month of the unpaid balance. The bills are mailed the 25^th of each month and payment is due by the 10^th of the following month.  .

2.  Collections– Payments can be made in person (at the HOA main office); via mail (via a PO Box); or electronically. Payments will be deposited to the client’s account.  

3.  Payments: It is expected that the system will generate a minimum of 100 checks / payments each month. These payments will cover a variety of services, such as expenses for 

·      office supplies

·      rental space for the HOA

·      utility expenses for the HOA  office as well as for lighting for each of the 5 HOAs

·      lawn care

·      refuse & snow removal 

4.  Payroll: It is expect that the client will have roughly 20 full-time employees and 30 part-time employees. Employees will be paid on a bi-weekly basis.  Payment will be made from the client’s payroll checking account, which is separate from the client’s primary account.

5.  Reporting: It is expected that the system will be able to handle any and all reporting, including periodic financialstatements.

 

Currently two of the four HOAs (including the client) are using an automated accounting system (Sage and QuickBooks), while the others are using Microsoft Excel to perform its accounting functions.  Per this, you can see why the client will want to move to a single system. The client is using QuickBooks, but is open to using another system.

 

As the owner o the CPA firm, you are excitedbythisopportunitybecauseitisawaytoexpandyourpractice, but this is an opportunity that is very new to you. As the result of this opportunity, you have asked your lead CPA to develop a document that will help you to determine if you should proceed with this opportunity. You have given your resources 4 weeks to complete this assignment.  

 

Required:Usingthemethodologydevelopedinthiscourse,documentandillustrate the system from anautomatedfunctionviewpoint.Aspart of your documentation,youwillneedtoidentify the specific system requirements in the areasofinputs,outputs, and controls for each of the service areas. You will be also required to provide mock-ups of sample forms, documents, and reports.  Your finish product will be a paper & a PowerPoint presentation (a summary of the paper), based upon the following outline.

 

1.  ExecutiveSummary

2.  Introduction

o    Purposeof  NewSystem

3.  ProposedSystemRequirements

o    Billing

o   InputRequirements

o   Output Requirements

o   Control Requirements

o    Collection

o   InputRequirements

o   Output Requirements

o   Control Requirements

o    Payments

o   InputRequirements

o   Output Requirements

o   Control Requirements

o    Payroll 

o   InputRequirements

o   Output Requirements

o   Control Requirements

o    Financial Reporting

o   InputRequirements

o   Output Requirements

o   Control Requirements

4.  Proposed Outsourcing Functions

5.  System Selection  

6.  ChallengestoAutomation

7.  Appendix

 

 

Listedbelowisasummaryofeachsection, including projected page lengths.

 

Paper Guidelines

·      SectionI – ExecutiveSummary:In this section, you will provide an executivesummary of SectionII–VI.Yoursummaryshould be limited to 2 pages.

·      Section II – Introduction:In this section, you will provide narrativeregardingthecurrentbusiness problemandhowautomationmay or may not address the problem.Thissectionshouldbe limited to 2 pages.

·      Section III – System Requirements:In this section, you will document the specific requirements (input,output, & control) asrequiredforeachoftherespective functions(collections, payments, etc.). In order to complete this, you will need to identify the following:

 

·      Key data you would need to collect  in order to perform the function

·      Key data & information that will need to be produced / generated when processing transactions

·      Key controls to need to be implemented to support & secure the function. 

 

 

·      Section IV – Outsourcing Considerations:In this section, you will identify functions that may be prime candidates for outsourcing.  For those functions that are selected for outsourcing, you will need to explain why they are; the possible benefits; and potential concerns. Thissection shouldbe at least 2pageslong.

 

·         SectionV – System Selection:  Inthis section, you will discuss which PC-based accounting system will be the best choice. You can need to select 3 PC-based systems to evaluate and determine which one is the best choice. In developing your recommendation, you should discuss each of the system’s relative strengths & weaknesses, and recommend a solution. Also, you will recommend a migration plan (parallel, phase, etc.) for implementing the solution. Thissectionshould a minimum of 4 pages.

 

·         Section VI –Challenges to Automation: In this section, you will identify and discuss the challengesto migrating to a new automated system. Thissectionshouldbe at least 3pageslong.

 

·         Appendix:In this section, you will provide a mock-upoftwosamplereports; andtwosamplefinancialstatements.

 

Presentation Guidelines

·      Introduction:Summary of  Section II – not to exceed 2 slides

·      System Requirements:Summary of Section III – not to exceed 2 slides for each area (billing, collection, etc.)

·      Outsourcing Considerations:  Summary of Section IV – not to exceed 2 slides

·      System Selection  Summary of Section V – not to exceed 4 slides

·      Challenges to Automation:Summary of Section VI – not to exceed 2 slides

 

Yourgradefor this project willbe based on the quality of both contentandpresentation,considering thefollowing:

 

·     Discussionofallrequiredpointsrelatedtotheoutlineabove.

·      Ability to apply concepts from this course in order to design a solution.

·      Ability to conduct the appropriate analysis based upon the limited information that has been provided.

·      The creativeness of your solution.

·      Formatting considerations, such as

o    Well-written and free of grammaticalandtypographicalerrors

o    Professional,neatappearance

o   Abilitytousespecificformattingguidelines(aslistedbelow)

 

Interms of formatting guidelines, you can rely ont

Both American Psycho and American Beauty make comments on the idea of the American Dream.  Ideas of materialism, crisis of identity, stereotyping, and true free will permeate from the films with regards to both the imagined and the reality of the American Dream.  Focusing on a specific concept within the films, you should be able to write an essay that answers the following questions through analysis:

What contributes to certain characters need to change, to act?  What is its significance?

What do the films’ endings say about the act of change?  Does anything actually change?

How do these films shatter the image of the American Dream?  How is the American Dream different from its initial inception?

Requirements:

4-6 pages (1,000-1,300 words)

MLA format 

At least 3 sources 

Works Cited page

 INCLUDEPICTURE “https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif” * MERGEFORMATINET 

 

 

 

 

Need 5 pages .Timeline is 2 days

Assignment 1: LASA 2—Research in the Community

Throughout this course, you have worked on a course project designed to help you identify human services in your community and determine how such services meet the needs of certain at-risk populations, including people living in poverty, children and adolescents, the disabled, AIDS and HIV patients, the elderly, the homeless, victims of abuse, battered women, substance abusers, people with mental illnesses, and offenders.

You first identified an agency for use in your course project. You developed a list of questions for an interview with a human services professional in a chosen agency. You made revisions to your questions based on facilitator feedback for your interview. You then conducted your interview with the key human services professional working at the agency. In addition, you carried out additional research on the agency using the library, local resources, and the Internet.

For this assignment, complete and submit a PowerPoint presentation on the selected agency/organization. Apply the theories covered in the readings of this course to analyze the institution. Include the following in your presentation:

• Identify the agency/organization and describe its mission statement.
• Describe the role or position of the human services professional interviewed.
• List and describe the range or types of services the agency/organization provides.
• Describe the population the agency/organization serves and explain the broader social needs and issues that affect this population.
• Describe how the agency/organization is staffed and its funding sources.
• Recommend training for staff based on analysis of information. Make sure you address ethical standards specific to the population/s they serve.
• Focusing on the population of clients served at the agency/organization, describe what you have learned about how those clients are influenced or affected by events and decisions at 1) the selected agency/organization, 2) your local community, 3) national or global society.
• Explain whether you would want to work at the agency and, if yes, the position you would like to hold and why.
• Describe what you have learned about yourself in the context of completing this assignment (your preconceptions, experiences, and insights about certain populations, services, or agencies).
• Use the PowerPoint notes feature to include comprehensive speaker notes for your presentation. Include your references on one slide. Include graphs and tables where appropriate.

Develop an 8–10-slide presentation in PowerPoint format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A1.doc.