glossary of REA . from l to x

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Labor acquisition event //.......... an economic increment event in which employee labor is purchased; each instance covers some time period; often represented by a timecard document

Labor operation //...... an economic decrement event that uses up the employee labor resource

Labor type resource //...... a resource-type entity set that represents a list of the kinds of labor activities that can be performed in labor operations

Lapping //.............. a method of stealing cash whereby an employee steals cash from a customer payment, delays posting a payment to the customer's account, and then uses funds from a subsequent customer payment to post to the first customer's account; the process continues with the employee continually stealing from subsequent customer payments to post as prior customer payments

Left join //............. a combination of tables based on a common attribute that includes unmatched records from the first table in the join and does not include unmatched records from the second table in the join; a partial outer join

Level zero DFD //............. a high level (just under context level) representation that depicts only the very high-level processes within an information system

Linkage relationship //..... an association between two resources to represent the fact that one of the resources is composed of the other; in the conversion cycle this provides a means for identifying the materials a finished good is composed of and the types of labor that are needed to produce a finished good

Load (high and low) //........... the percentage of data values for an attribute that are non-null; if most cells in a column have actual values, the load is high; if most cells in a column have null values, the load is low

Logical access control //........... restricting unauthorized access to the programs and data in systems

Logical level implementation compromise //............. an implementation compromise made when converting a conceptual model into database objects

Logical model //............ in database design, a model into which the conceptual model is converted once the type of database software to be used has been chosen (e.g., relational or object-oriented); hardware independent and somewhat software independent (if relational is chosen as the database type, then any relational software may be chosen but object-oriented software may not)

Logical operator //............ Boolean search terms used in queries to define which records are included in the query result (examples include AND, OR, and NOT)

Machine operation //............ an economic decrement event that partially consumes a machine in the conversion cycle

Margin //............. the difference between value and cost in Porter's generic value chain model

Marketing and sales //.......... primary value activities in Porter's generic value chain; activities associated with providing a means by which customers can buy products or services and the means for inducing them to buy

Marketing event //........... an activity such as a sales call, advertising campaign, or promotion intended to inform customers about products and/or services and persuade them to trigger the sales/collection process; an internally instigated instigation event

Master reference check //............. verifies that an event/transaction record has a corresponding master record to be updated

Materiality of risk //........... a function of the size of the potential loss, its impact on achieving the enterprise's objectives, and the likelihood of the loss

Materialization of task as entity //........... a conceptual model level implementation compromise in which an activity that could be reengineered is established as an entity (base object)

Mathematical operation //........... a calculation that manipulates data values

Maximum participation cardinality //........... represents the maximum number of times each instance of an entity set may participate in a relationship; legal values are one and N (many)

Minimum participation cardinality //............ represents the minimum number of times each instance of an entity set must participate in a relationship; legal values are zero (optional participation) and one (mandatory participation)

Model //........... a representation intended to serve as a plan or blueprint for something to be created; an object that represents in detail another (usually larger and more complex) object; used in systems design to help control complexity

Monitoring //.............. one of COSO's five interrelated components of an internal control system; the process of assessing the quality of internal control performance over time and taking corrective actions as needed

Move ticket //............. a document typically used in the conversion cycle to indicate the actual use of raw materials (i.e., the materials issuance event)

Mutual commitment event //............. an event that obligates an enterprise to participate in at least two future economic events, one that increments a resource and another that decrements a resource

Name conflict //............. a form of entity conflict in which two different entities are assigned the same name or a single entity is assigned two different names

Noncash related economic event //.............. an activity in which a resource other than cash is increased or decreased

Null to zero (Nz) function (in Microsoft Access) //.............. a Microsoft Access procedure used in querying that treats null values as if they are zeros

Null value //............ a blank cell in a database table; a cell into which no data has been entered

Object //............ a thing that has a physical or conceptual existence

One-fact, one-place rule //........... a principle in database design that prohibits a pairing of a candidate key value with another attribute value from appearing multiple places in a database table and also prohibits multiple pairings of candidate key values with other attribute values in the same place; helps to ensure well-behaved relational tables

Open purchase order file //............. a repository that contains information about purchase order events that have not yet been fulfilled by purchase events; a collection of unfilled purchase orders

Open purchase requisition //............ a purchase requisition that has not yet been fulfilled by a purchase order

Open sales invoice file //.......... a repository that contains information about sales events that do not yet have related cash receipts

Open sales order file //............ a repository that contains information about sale order events that have not yet been fulfilled by sale events; a collection of unfilled sale orders

Operating event //............. an activity performed within a business process to achieve enterprise objectives that does more than just communicate information (e.g., economic events, commitment events, and some instigation events)

Operations //............ primary value activities in Porter's generic value chain; activities associated with transforming inputs into final products or services

Operations list //.............. a document that identifies the labor types needed to create a finished good; captures the same information as the linkage relationship between labor types and finished goods

Opportunity //............ a potential for reward

Outbound logistics //........... primary value activities in Porter's generic value chain; activities associated with collecting, storing, and physically distributing products or services

Outer join //............ a combination of tables based on a common attribute that includes unmatched records from both sides; accomplishes a set union of the tables

Outflow //.............. the flowing out (disbursement or distribution) of a resource from an enterprise

Packing slip //.......... a document that identifies the goods that have been shipped to a customer

Parameter query (in Microsoft Access) //............ a query in which variables are used in lieu of data values as part of the query's selection criteria; allows the user to specify the data value to be used each time the query is run, thereby allowing reuse of the same query many times for different decisions

Participation cardinalities //............ represents business rules for how many times an instance of an entity set is allowed to participate in a relationship

Participation relationship //............. an association between an event and an internal or external agent

Password //............. a unique identifier that only an authorized user of a system or application should know and that the user is required to enter each time he or she logs onto the system; a weak form of protection; a logical access control

Pattern //........... a template or configuration from existing scenarios that can be used to make sense of other scenarios

Paycheck //............. a document representing a cash disbursement (economic decrement event) to an employee

Payroll clerk //.............. an internal agent responsible for accomplishing the cash disbursement event in the payroll transaction cycle

Performance review //............ a review of some element of an enterprise's performance that provides a means for monitoring (e.g., comparison of actual data to budgeted or prior period data; comparison of operating data to financial data; and comparison of data within and across various units, subdivisions, or functional areas of the enterprise)

Personal identification number (PIN) //.......... a numeric identifier used as a logical access control to authenticate a user; similar to a password

Physical database model //............ a working database system that is dependent on the hardware, software, and type of software chosen during the design stages

Physical level compromise //............... an implementation compromise made when entering the logical database objects into a database software package to create the working database

Picking slip //............ a document that identifies the goods that have been taken out of the warehouse and made available to be shipped

Posted key //............ an attribute of a database table that is added to another database table to create a link between the tables

Preventive control //........... a control activity that focuses on preventing errors or irregularities either from occurring or from being entered into the enterprise information system

Primary key attribute //........... a characteristic that uniquely and universally identifies each instance in an entity or relationship set

Primary value activities //............. the events that create customer value and provide organization distinctiveness in the marketplace; events viewed as the critical activities in running a business

Primitive DFD //............ the lowest level (most detailed) representation of a system process; cannot be further decomposed

Primitive level data //............ data that cannot be decomposed into any component parts

Procurement //.......... a support value activity in Porter's generic value chain; the function of purchasing inputs to a firm's value chain

Production employee //........... an internal agent involved in labor operations and production runs in the conversion process; a worker who participates in the manufacture of finished goods

Production order document //............ a document that captures information about a production order event

Production order event //............ an event that represents the enterprise's commitment to engage in a future economic increment event (a production run) that will increase the finished goods resource

Production run //........... an economic increment event that increases the quantity of a finished goods resource

Production supervisor //.......... an internal agent who authorizes events in the conversion cycle

Project //......... a relational algebra operator (pronounced pro-JECT' rather than PRO'-ject) that specifies a vertical subset to be included in the query result

Proposition relationship // ........ an association between an instigation event and a resource or resource type; often specifies quantity and proposed cost or selling price for the item(s) identified as needed

Purchase //........ an economic increment event in which services or the title to goods transfers from a supplier to the enterprise; also called an acquisition

Purchase order //......... a mutual commitment event in which a supplier agrees to transfer title of goods to the enterprise at an agreed upon future time and price and the enterprise agrees to pay for those goods; a document reflecting the terms of the mutual commitment event

Purchase requisition //......... an instigation event in which the need for goods or services is identified; an internal document that communicates this need to the enterprise purchasing function

Purchase return //......... an economic increment reversal event in which the title to goods previously transferred from a supplier to the enterprise is transferred back to the supplier

Query //....... a request for information submitted to a database engine

Query by example (QBE) //...... a type of query interface intended to be more "point and click" in nature than is SQL; in this interface the user creates a visual example of what tables and fields should be included in a query result and specifies any calculations to be included

Query grid (in Microsoft Access) //........ the lower half of the QBE view into which fields are dragged and in which aggregations or horizontal calculations may be created to establish the desired logic for a query

Query window (in Microsoft Access) //....... the screen in which queries are created; user may toggle back and forth between QBE design, SQL design, and Datasheet (result) views within the query window

Range check //........ an instruction in a computer program that compares entered data to a predetermined acceptable upper and/or lower limit and rejects data that falls outside the specified limits unless special authorization is obtained

Raw material //....... an input resource in the conversion process that is completely used up in the transformation to finished goods

Raw material issuance //........ an economic decrement event involving the using up of raw materials in the production process; the raw materials are usually transformed into finished goods and lose their own identity and nature in the process

Raw material requisition //....... a commitment event whereby the inventory clerk or warehouse supervisor commits to the production supervisor to transfer materials from the materials warehouse to the production floor; assumes the raw materials are available within the enterprise and reserves them for use

REA core pattern //........ the original version of the REA model at the business process level; includes resources, economic events and agents, duality relationships, stockflow relationships, and control (participation) relationships

Read-only file designation //......... a property used to mark data as available for reading only; the data cannot be altered by instructions from users, nor can new data be stored on the device

Reality //........ that which exists objectively and in fact

REA ontology //........ a domain ontology founded by Bill McCarthy at Michigan State University that attempts to define constructs that are common to all enterprises and demonstrate how those constructs may be represented in an integrated enterprise information system. The REA ontology is made up of four layers: the value system, value chain, business process, and task levels.

Reasonableness check //....... an instruction in a computer program to verify whether the amount of an event/ transaction record appears reasonable when compared to other elements associated with each item being processed

Receiving report //...... a document that lists the items and the quantities and condition of each item received in an acquisition event; the receiving report identifier is often used as the identifier for the acquisition event

Reciprocal relationship //....... a relationship between a commitment to an economic increment and a commitment to an economic decrement; the commitment level equivalent of the duality relationship; in the conversion cycle, represents a schedule of what is to be produced and what will need to be used and consumed in the production process

Record //....... a row in a relational database table

Redundancy //......... in database design, duplicate storage of the same information

Reengineering //........ the redesign of business processes or systems to achieve a dramatic improvement in enterprise performance

Referential integrity // ........ a principle in relational databases that requires a value for a foreign key attribute to either be null (blank) or to match exactly a data value in the table in which the attribute is a primary key

Relational algebra // ...... the original data manipulation (querying) language that was constructed based on set theory and predicate logic as part of the relational database model; primary operators include Select, Project, and Join; however, other operators are also part of the relational algebra

Relational database //....... a collection of tables that meet the criteria of the relational model

Relational model //......... a logical level database design model developed by E. F. Codd based on set theory and predicate logic; primary constructs are relations (tables) that represent entities and relationships between entities

Relational table //......... a relation; a two-dimensional storage structure (i.e., a storage structure with rows and columns) that represents either an entity or a relationship between entities and that adheres to relational principles such as entity integrity, referential integrity, and the one-fact, one-place rule

Relationship //............ an association between two or more entity sets

Relationship conflict // ........ a discrepancy in the assignment of participation cardinalities or in the label used to name the same relationship in different view models

Relationship layout (in Microsoft Access) //........ a window in which relationships between tables are visually depicted

Remittance advice //........ a document (usually the portion of a customer invoice or statement that says "return this stub with payment") that advises the enterprise the customer is remitting payment; often used as the identifier for a cash receipt event

Rental // .......... an economic decrement event that does not involve the transfer of title of goods, but instead involves a transfer of the right to use goods for an agreed upon length of time; begins when the right to temporary possession of the goods transfers from the lessor to the lessee and ends when possession of the goods transfers back from the lessee to the lessor

Repeating group //......... multiple facts stored in one place; the same value of a key attribute field associated with multiple values of another attribute

Representation //.......... a surrogate for something; a symbol that closely resembles the actual construct; the closer the resemblance to the real object, the better the representation

Request to return goods //......... notification to a supplier of the enterprise's dissatisfaction with goods that seeks permission to return those goods in lieu of making payment (or in exchange for a refund)

Required data entry (field property) (in Microsoft Access) //........... a choice specified in table design view; a user will not be allowed to enter a record into the table without including a value for any field(s) for which this property is set to "yes"; a user may leave any field except the primary key field(s) blank for which this property is not set to "yes" (Microsoft Access automatically enforces entity integrity so there is no need to set the required data entry field property to "yes" for primary key fields)

Reservation relationship //......... an association between a mutual commitment event and a resource or resource type; often specifies quantity and budgeted cost or selling price for the item(s) involved in the agreement

Resource // ......... a thing of economic value (with or without physical substance) that is provided or consumed by an enterprise's activities and operations

Resource flow // ......... the increase or decrease of a resource as the result of an event

Resource inflow //........ the increase of a resource as the result of an event

Resource outflow //......... the decrease of a resource as the result of an event

Reversal relationship //.......... an association between an economic reversal event and a resource or resource type; often specifies the quantity and cost or selling price information for the item(s) involved in the event

Right join //....... a combination of tables based on a common attribute that includes unmatched records from the second table in the join and does not include unmatched records from the first table in the join; a partial outer join

Risk // ........... an exposure to the chance of injury or loss

Risk assessment //......... one of COSO's five interrelated components of an internal control system; the identification and analysis of relevant risks associated with the enterprise achieving its objectives; forms the basis for determining what risks need to be controlled and the controls required to manage them

Row //.......... the data attribute values that apply to a single instance of an entity or relationship set as represented in a relational database table

Sales/collection process //......... transaction cycle in which goods or services are exchanged to customers or clients for cash or some other form of compensation

Sales call //........... An internally initiated instigation event; typically involves a sales representative calling on a customer, either via telephone or in person, to describe the features of one or more products or services

Sales invoice // ........... a document used to communicate to a customer the fact that the enterprise has fulfilled a commitment to transfer title of goods to the customer; sometimes also serves as a request or reminder for the customer to fulfill its commitment and remit payment to the enterprise

Sales order //........... a mutual commitment event in which the enterprise agrees to transfer title of goods to a customer at an agreed upon future time and price and the customer agrees to pay for those goods; a document reflecting the terms of the mutual commitment event

Sales return //......... an economic decrement reversal event in which the title to goods previously transferred to a customer transfers back to the enterprise

Schedule //......... a mutual commitment event in the human resource business process wherein the employee agrees to provide labor as specified in the schedule and the enterprise commits to pay the employee the contracted wage rate for the labor provided

Schema //........... the column headings, or intension, of a relational database table

Script //.......... a sequence of events that typically occur in combination with each other

Select //........... a relational algebra operator that specifies a horizontal subset to be included in the query result

Select-From-Where //........... the format of SQL queries; the Select clause specifies a vertical subset to be included in the query result; the From clause specifies which table(s) are to be queried and any subgrouping to be done; the Where clause specifies a horizontal subset to be included in the query result and, if multiple tables are included, helps to define the join

Semantic orientation //.......... a goal of REA-based systems that requires objects in the system's conceptual model to correspond as closely as possible to objects in the underlying reality

Separation (or segregation) of duties //......... the structuring of employees' job functions such that one employee is prohibited from performing two or more of the following functions: authorization of transactions involving assets, custody of assets, record keeping, and reconciliation; reduces the opportunity for one employee to steal enterprise assets and to conceal the theft in the normal course of his or her work

Sequence check //....... a control used to verify the records in a batch are sorted in the proper sequence and/or to highlight missing batch items

Service //.......... primary value activities in Porter's generic value chain; activities associated with providing service to enhance or maintain the value of the products or services

Service engagement //........ an economic decrement event in which the enterprise transfers services to a customer

Service type // ......... a kind of service an enterprise has the ability to provide to customers; a resource type

Shares of stock // ....... units that represent the holder's right to share in various ownership interests of an enterprise

Show Table window (in Microsoft Access) //......... a screen from which the user may choose which table(s) to include in the relationship layout or in a query

Simple attribute //......... a characteristic of an entity or relationship that cannot be further decomposed into component characteristics

Smart card or token //.......... a logical access control that authenticates a user through a hardware device combined with a log-in password process; the smart card generates a random code that changes at predetermined intervals and must be matched against the host system; the user must also enter a password to gain access to the system

SQL view (in Microsoft Access) //....... a mode for viewing the underlying SQL statement for a query; even if a query was created in QBE mode, Microsoft Access generates a corresponding SQL statement that the user may view to evaluate the query's logic

Statement on Auditing Standards No. 94 //........ an auditing statement that largely established current standards for internal control

Static derivable attribute //....... a derivable attribute for which the derived value will not change if additional transaction data is entered into the database

Stockflow relationship //...... an association between an economic event and a resource or an association between an economic reversal event and a resource; often specifies quantity and actual cost or selling price for the item(s) involved in the event

Stock issuance commitment event //..... an equity financing agreement that commits an investor to provide a determinable cash dollar amount (stock proceeds) on a specified date

Stovepipes //..... functional areas structured such that the only pathways for communication are at the top (i.e., between the managers of each area); also called functional silos

Strategy //....... an enterprise's planned course of action for achieving an objective

Structured Query Language (SQL) //......... a query language developed to enable the performance of multiple operations in a single query and to use a standard format for every query statement (Select-From-Where) to simplify the task of query development

Structuring orientation //.......... a goal of REA-based systems that demands the use of a pattern as a foundation for the enterprise system to facilitate automated reasoning by intelligent software interfaces to the enterprise system

Sum //......... the mathematical total of a column of numerical data values

Supplier //........ a person or organization from which an enterprise purchases goods or services

Supply chain // ....... the entire network of enterprises (e.g., retailers, wholesalers, transportation firms) involved in providing a particular product or service to an end customer

Support value activities //......... in Porter's generic value chain, activities that facilitate accomplishing the primary value activities

Symbol //.......... something that stands for or represents something else

Synonym //....... a word that has the same meaning as one or more other words

Syntax //....... the formatting rules of a query language (and also other types of languages)

System flowchart //........ a graphical representation of the inputs, processes, and outputs of an enterprise information system; includes details about the physical as well as the logical aspects of the system components

Task level REA model // ...... a task is a workflow step or activity that may be changed or eliminated without fundamentally changing the nature of the enterprise and therefore should not serve as a foundational element in an enterprise information system; task level models in the REA ontology are graphical representations of workflow processes for which there is no identified pattern

Technology development //......... support value activities in Porter's generic value chain; the know-how, procedures, or technology embedded in processes that are intended to improve the product, service, and/or process

Threat //...... a situation or event that causes possible or probable loss to a person or enterprise

Timecard //......... the primary document prepared by the enterprise in conjunction with the economic increment event; may be completed on a daily, weekly, or other basis; is typically completed by employees and approved by supervisors; lists the times employees started working (punched in) and stopped working (punched out) for each day in the covered time period

Token //.......... an individual object; token-level representation uses a separate token for each individual instance in the piece of reality that is being modeled

Training //...... the provision of education to employees to further develop their skills and/or knowledge

Transfer duality relationship //...... an association between economic increment and decrement events in which the resource(s) decremented are traded for the incremented resource(s)

Transformation duality relationship // .......... an association between economic increment and decrement events whereby the resource(s) decremented are changed into the incremented resource(s), i.e., the incremented resource(s) is created from the decremented resource(s)

Tuple //....... a row in a relational database table

Type // ......... a category into which individual objects may be classified; type level representation uses one type to represent as many individual instances as fit the category

Typification //....... a relationship between an entity and an entity type; allows for storage of characteristics of entity categories

Use stockflow relationship //........... a relationship between a resource and an economic decrement event whereby the resource is completely subsumed by the decrement (i.e., the resource is completely used up)

Validity check //........ an internal control in which a comparison is made between entered data and prespecified stored data to determine whether the entered data is valid

Valid sign check //....... an internal control used to assess whether a field's sign (positive or negative) makes sense; used to highlight illogical values, particularly balances in master file records

Value chain //........ the interconnection of business processes via resources that flow between them, with value being added to the resources as they flow from one process to the next

Value chain level REA model // a representation that depicts the interconnected business processes for an enterprise, the resource flows between the processes, and the duality relationships within each process

Value system //....... an enterprise placed into the context of its various external business partners such as suppliers, customers, creditors/investors, and employees

Value system level REA model // a representation that depicts the resource exchanges in which an enterprise engages with external business partners

Vendor invoice //......... a document sent by a supplier to the enterprise to communicate the fact that the supplier has fulfilled its commitment to transfer title of goods to the enterprise; sometimes also serves as a request or reminder for the enterprise to fulfill its commitment and remit payment

Vertical calculation //....... a computation that is a summarization of data values within a single column; also called an aggregation function

Vertical subset of a table //........ a part of a table that includes only some of the table's columns (but includes all the rows)

View integration //....... the process of combining separate conceptual models into one comprehensive model

View modeling //.......... the creation of conceptual models to represent separate parts (usually transaction cycles) of an enterprise

Virtual close //....... the ability to produce financial statements without actually closing the books; often touted as a benefit of ERP system software

Voice recognition technology //........ used for internal control, creates a digital representation of a person's voice and stores it in a database; to access a resource the person speaks into a device; the spoken voiceprint is compared to the stored voiceprint and the person is denied access if the voiceprints do not match

Volatile derivable attribute //..... a derivable attribute for which the derived value will change if additional transaction data is entered into the database

Withholdings // .... employee pay amounts retained by the employer to remit to governmental or other agencies on behalf of the employee (e.g., social security, income tax, health insurance premiums)

Workflow //......... detailed procedural steps and activities used to accomplish events and business processes in enterprises

XBRL //..... Extensible Business Reporting Language; a tagging language used to identify data values of business reporting line items such as financial statement elements

XML //..... Extensible Markup Language; a tagging language used in the creation of websites

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