Bradford, Samuels, and Wood (2008) offer a more comprehensive case, involving conversion from a legacy system to an Access database. Schafer and Hurtt (2006) provide a thorough project for developing a database for the revenue cycle at a lemonade stand, while Ballenger (2007) provides a “moderately complex” project for a database for a veterinary clinic. A search of Access cases published in accounting education journals over the past ten years revealed several Access and database projects. While these resources are appropriate for semester-long courses focusing on Access alone, for most AIS courses, they are excessive. A search on revealed Access 2013 resource books ranging in price from $15.00–$68.00 all included multiple lessons and projects. Once students become competent in Access, they can apply these skills in newer contexts, such as creating databases to record financial transactions associated with revenue and expenditure cycles.Īs noted earlier, existing Access instructional resources are available, but tend to be long and complex. By using familiar tasks (tracking assignments and grades), students can focus on learning database design and implementation, rather than being concerned with whether they are properly applying accounting rules and conventions. The project purposely focuses on a non-financial context that is familiar to students.

The project requires students to create tables, add validation controls on fields, design forms to ease data entry, create relationships, and develop useful queries and reports. Students create a database to keep track of students, assignments, and related dates and grades on assignments. This project introduces students to database implementation using Microsoft Access 2013. Virtually all introductory accounting and management information systems (AIS and MIS) courses include database design as a topic ( Murthy & Ragland 2009). While accounting graduates will probably never need to create a database from scratch, they will routinely evaluate data, processes, and controls associated with databases.

Although students interact with databases on a daily basis (e.g., student registration system, online shopping, social media sites), they rarely think about the underlying structure, design, and controls of those databases.

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