Strategic Information System Analysis of Bell Studio: A Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Bell Studio's strategic information system, focusing on its business processes and internal workings. The report begins with an executive summary and introduction, outlining Bell Studio's operations as a wholesaler of art materials and its reliance on traditional business methods. It delves into the specifics of the purchasing, payroll, and cash disbursement systems, presenting data flow diagrams (DFDs) and system flowcharts to illustrate these processes. A key component of the report is the identification of internal control weaknesses within each system, such as reliance on manual entries, human error, and slow processes. The report meticulously details the risks associated with these weaknesses, including potential inventory shortages, errors in payroll, and monetary losses. The conclusion summarizes the findings, emphasizing the need for strategic improvements to mitigate the identified risks and enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of Bell Studio's information systems. The report is aimed at the Chief Operating Officer, offering insights to evaluate the current processes and risks associated with the systems.

Strategic Information System: BELLS STUDIO
[Student Name]
[University Name]
[Author note]

Executive Summary:
The organization which has been chosen for analysis is Bell Studio which is an organization
associated with dealing of various materials of art. In this report the business procedure of the
organization has been discussed in brief. Bell Studios is a whole seller of different art supplies
and is associated with imparting of materials from various countries which includes China, Japan
and New Zealand. Being one of the largest art material supplies the Bell studio, is seen to be
associated with the usage of the traditional methods of handling all the business related
processes. So the report has been associated with discussing about all the transaction processes
which has been discussed in brief along with the DFD or the data flow diagram associated with
the system flowchart as well. From the analysis it has also been identified that there exists few
internal weaknesses which are seen to be affecting the internal workflow of Bell Studio. This
report has highlighted all the internal weaknesses along with the risks associated with the
weaknesses.

Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................4
Discussion........................................................................................................................................6
Data flow diagram of purchases and cash disbursements systems..................................................6
Data flow diagram of payroll system...............................................................................................7
System flowchart of payroll system................................................................................................8
System flowchart of cash disbursements system.............................................................................9
System flowchart of purchases system..........................................................................................10
Internal Control Weakness and the Risk Associated:....................................................................10
System: Purchasing System.......................................................................................................10
Internal Weakness:.................................................................................................................10
Associated risk:......................................................................................................................11
System: Payroll System.............................................................................................................12
Internal problems:..................................................................................................................12
Risks:.....................................................................................................................................12
System: Cash Disbursement System:........................................................................................13
Internal Weakness:.................................................................................................................13
Risks:.....................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................14

Introduction:
The major contents of the entire report is associated with highlighting the case study of
Bell Studio which is associated with dealing with the different kind of art materials. One of the
major content of this report includes the discussion about the working procedure of the
organization Bell Studio. Being one of the largest wholesaler of the art materials the organization
supplies different kind of art materials along with being associated with importing of different
kind of raw materials as well from other countries which mainly includes Australia, Chine, New
Zealand and Japan. The report is mainly associated with highlighting the different systems
existing in the organization Bell Studio which mainly includes the cash disbursement system, the
payroll system and the purchasing system. The organization Bell studio is also seen to be
associated with following the central system approach for the purpose of conduction its different
operations which includes the payroll system and the usage of the computer dependent systems.
Along with the central system approach the organization is also seen to be associated with
involving certain other approaches which mainly includes the following of the manual ledger
system along with reporting system so as to store the data of Bell Studio.
The business conducted by Bell Studio can also be done in different ways and from the
case study it has been seen that the business process which are followed by Bell Studio is also
having different faults as well as internal weaknesses which are in turn responsible for making
the entire organization face a lot of risks. Those risks have been highlighted in this report. The
operations of Bell studio is seen to be dependent upon human resources and this in turn is
associated with putting forward of the risks related to occurrence of errors by humans in the
organizational processes. Along with the risks which are faced by Bell Studios, the report would
also be discussing about all the flaws existing the internal processes in an elaborate manner. In

this report the DFD or the Data flow diagram of all the processes related to transactions,
reporting of finance and the reporting systems have also been provided. In addition to all this in
the later section of the report the flowchart of the system along with the sub-systems of the
organization Bell Studio has also been provided along with the explanation of the different
internal weaknesses which are faced by the organization while operating the different processes.

Discussion
Data flow diagram of purchases and cash disbursements systems
Fig 1: Data flow diagram of purchases and cash disbursements systems
Source: Created by Author

Data flow diagram of payroll system
Fig 3: Data flow diagram of payroll system
Source: Created by Author

System flowchart of payroll system
Fig 4: System flowchart of payroll system
Source: Created by Author

System flowchart of cash disbursements system
Fig 5: System flowchart of cash disbursements system
Source: Created by Author

System flowchart of purchases system
Fig 6: System flowchart of purchases system
Source: Created by Author
Internal Control Weakness and the Risk Associated:
System: Purchasing System
Internal Weakness:
 The major weakness of this system is that it is entirely dependent upon the decisions and the
choice of the purchasing clerk. So it is very essential to have an purchasing clerk in order to
make sure that the organization is capable of conducting its business
 The processes associated with the purchasing system is seen to be extremely slow and the
major reason behind this is the involvement of the traditional approach of making manual
entries

 The processes of the purchasing system is seen to be including a lot of documentation which
are one of the major weakness as this might be associated with facing a lot of mistakes due to
human errors.
Associated risk:
Some of the major risks which are seen to be faced by the purchasing system because of
the internal weaknesses have been listed below:
 The major risk which is faced by the system is that it is associated with taking a lot of
time in completing the work. Due to the reason that the system is entirely dependent upon
the purchasing clerk might be responsible for entire stopping of the work in case of
absence of the purchasing clerk.
 The slow process of the purchasing system is associated with putting forward of the risks
related to the inventory of the Bell Studio. Which means the Inventory of Bell Studio
might remain empty for a longer time span which would be initially responsible for the
reduction in the customer base. The reduction would mainly be happening because the
organization would not be capable of meeting the requirements of the customers.
 The processes involved in the purchasing system of Bells Studio is seen to be done
manually and this in turn is associated with leading to the need of huge documentations.
Due to the involvement of the human resources errors might occur in the process of
documentation of the entire system or for completing any task by system.