Accounting Information Systems: The Processes and Controls, 2nd Edition

STORING AND ACCESSING DATA (STUDY OBJECTIVE 2)

The storage of data and the way in which data are used are strongly interrelated. To understand this concept, it may be helpful to think of how you store and use things in your personal life. Things that you need to find and use frequently, you put in places where you can easily grab them and go. For example, you frequently need your car keys, and you usually don't have time to search for them. So, you probably have a habit of keeping your keys in a handy spot at home to make them easy to get and use. In other words, the need to quickly access and use your keys has led you to store them in a fashion that makes it easy to find them and use them. On the other hand, you have items that you need less frequently. For example, you may have kept an accounting book from a previous class in case you ever needed it for reference. Since you probably will not refer to it often, your book can be put in a less accessible location, such as on a closet shelf. As you know, there is a limit to how much you can store in easy-to-access locations. Therefore, some items, such as your old accounting book, have to be put in less accessible places.

This personal life example leads us to an important concept about storing and using data. Data that will be needed quickly and frequently must be stored in a manner that allows frequent and quick access. The reverse of this is true also. Data that are stored in a manner that allows frequent and quick access are ...