Slusarski Excavating and Paving Inc.

Accounting Information Systems Final Project

Gabrielle Corbin
ACC376
Professor Eric Jones
18 December 2015

Corbin 2
Professor Eric Jones
ACC376
18 December 2015
Gabrielle Corbin
AIS Final Project: Slusarski Excavating and Paving Inc.
Slusarski Excavating and Paving Inc. is a locally owned company
that serves Lenawee, Hillsdale, Washtenaw, and Jackson counties.
Established in 1982, the firm struggled initially due to high interest
rates and a poor economic climate. Today, the company is one of the
most popular in its area, providing many different services to its
customers. Underground work, textured paving, snow removal, and
demolition are a few of the services that the company performs,
however asphalt paving and site work development are their most
popular. Site work includes engineering and design-built projects such
as roadway construction. Over the past 10 years, the types of services
Slusarski has provided havent changed much, but they have become
more technical and regulated. Due to this, Slusarski does well when
projects are difficult and hard to perform. They provide critical
experience and problem solving to their clients ventures and
developments. In the early 90s, Slusarski faced their first big
project, which helped bring a period of growth for the company.
However in 2007, when the recession hit, it was tough for the company
to survive. Many improvements and changes in the fundamentals of

Corbin 3
how they did business were required in order to stay profitable. Just
this year, in 2015 Slusarski freed the company from long term bank
financing. This debt remained from during the time of the recession.
The relief from this type of bank financing has now increased the
companys capability to grow sustainably in the future.
The company has been using Timberline accounting software for
approximately the past ten years. No changes have been made to their
system other than the updates provided by the software company.
Timberline is a variation of the popular and commonly used Sage
accounting software. This variation is specifically designed for
construction companies like Slusarski. It provides the basic modules
such as accounts payable, general ledger, payroll, and accounts
receivable but also provides functions for materials management and
job costing. The presence of these industry specific modules is a great
tool for Slusarski. This allows the company to use the software for all of
the companys accounting tasks, instead of having to use separate
programs for separate processes. The company uses multiple PC
computers to run the system and doesnt plan on stop using Timberline
in the near future.
Information that is processed in this cycle all starts from the
main database. Stored in this database, is all of the important
information such as employee information, payroll data, employee
timecards, etc. To complete the companys payroll process, the

Corbin 4
database (Timberline) uses the information that is stored such as pay
rates and amount of hours worked to prepare the payroll. Next, the
payroll distribution module generates the electronic checks that are
either sent directly to employee bank accounts or hand delivered to
employees in the office. In order for the payroll to be calculated, the
employees time card information must also be inputted into the
system. Along with the hours worked, tardiness and absences are also
recorded for future records. Inquiries and reports can also be
generated by this system and can be done by retrieving information
from the main database.
Slusarski Excavating and Paving is a growing company however
is still fairly small and locally owned. Therefore the company only
employs one human resources manager. This could be problematic
because there is no segregation of duties in place. The sole human
resources manager completes the many tasks that, in a larger
company, multiple people would perform. However, Slusarski isnt a
large company and it would be illogical to hire multiple employees for
the small amount of work in their human resources department. In
order to prevent this sole employee from taking advantage of their
power in this position, upper management reviews this employees
work often. Also, upper management authorization is needed for many
tasks such as generating checks for payroll, finalizing other employees

Corbin 5
personal information in the system, and running reports with important
information.
The companys accounting software also provides a place to
store employee information. This module is utilized to store an
employees personal and work information. Items such as home
address, phone numbers, absence and tardy paperwork, and past time
cards are saved in each employees file in the system. This type of
information is private; therefore it is crucial that unauthorized
employees and people do not gain access to this part of the system.
Slusarski has multiple authorizations and log-ins in order to prevent a
security breach. In order to be sure the information is accurately
recorded into the system, upper management reviews all information
before it is finalized and entered into the system. The software allows
the company to perform back ups of the information. The company
stores these back-ups offsite in a locked area. This is important in case
a loss or destruction of data was to occur. The company also keeps all
offices locked and secured when left unoccupied to keep paper
documents secure. This also restricts anyone from attempting to gain
access to the system after hours.
Slusarskis payroll process has very few weaknesses. Employees
use paper timecards that are turned in and stored in the locked office
at the end of each day. At the end of a pay period the timecards are
handed in and are entered into the computer system. Supervisors

Corbin 6
review the timecards prior to checks being generated in order to
prevent errors. After the timecards are entered into the computer
system, the hard copies are stored in a locked filing cabinet in the
office. This prevents unauthorized employees from accessing them.
The firm gives employees the option to utilize direct deposit. Checks
are hand delivered to employees that do not elect to use direct
deposit. This helps prevent ghost employees or theft of checks. The
Timberline accounting software is used for the companys payroll
preparation. Checks are generated electronically by the system and
then signed by upper management. The company also uses a separate
checking account for payroll; this is a great internal control the
company possesses. If an employee or unauthorized person were to
gain access to the account, they wouldnt be able to steal all of the
companys funds, just the amount that had been set aside for payroll.
When examining the firms hiring and firing processes, I learned
that their procedures possess a few weaknesses. The company does
conduct interviews and reference checks on their prospective
employees, however does not perform criminal background checks
prior to hiring. Employees with an extensive criminal background could
cause problems for the company. Most of the applicants, however, are
not applying for finance related positions; therefore this isnt as big of
an issue. The company should still be aware of the possible problems
they could face when hiring applicants with a criminal background.

Corbin 7
Also, the companys hiring and firing processes are not formally
documented. This could become a problem if the company faces any
type of legal issues with any of their current or past employees.
Although this isnt crucial, it is still a good procedure to have in place.
Employees are evaluated on their performance one a year, and
although currently the process is informal, the company is working
toward implementing something more formal. They are already in the
process of generating an evaluation form with more detailed
procedures. These documents will then be stored in the employees
personnel file. The company uses verbal and written warnings to
enforce tardiness or absences. Although this is enforced, there are not
any formal rules in place on how to deal with these types of situations.
Lastly, the company does not perform exit interviews when employees
are fired or when employees choose to quit. However, an exit form is
filled out and placed in the employees personnel file.
One important question when looking at a firms accounting
information system is: Are the users needs being met? Its important
to be sure that the manager(s) are receiving the right and correct
information they need to make good business decisions. When
reviewing Slusarskis human resources cycle, it appears that upper
management is receiving a decent amount of information. They are
obtaining enough to make good business decisions, however their
processes could be improved to receive more. The company is still

Corbin 8
fairly small, however it is growing steadily in size. Therefore, the
owners and management should be aware of some of the processes
implemented by larger businesses in their human resources
departments. They should even begin to think of how they can change
and adapt their current procedures to reflect those of a much larger
company. After examining the different processes of Slusarskis human
resources department, I recognized several areas that could use
improvements. The following paragraphs detail these improvements.
When reviewing Slusarskis human resource department procedures, many areas
were discovered where processes could be improved. One main issue with the department
is that there is essentially no segregation of duties in place. If the company can swing it
financially, they may want to look into hiring another employee to help in this area.
Having two employees would free up upper management from being required to perform
the many authorizations needed for daily operations. To ensure the safety of important
information, one employee would be responsible for entering data into the system and the
other would be responsible for performing reports and working with the data. Another
way segregation of duties could help the company, is the increased security of finances
during the payroll process. One employee would be responsible for preparing the payroll,
upper management could review and authorize the payroll, and the second employee
could create the payments.
In addition to adding some segregation of duties, Slusarski could also improve
their payroll processes by changing from hard-copy time cards to electronic time cards.
The time cards are only stored in the office after each day, this make it fairly easy for

Corbin 9
another employee or unauthorized person to tamper or view them. Electronic timecards
would only be accessible to the employee and upper management, making them safe
from tampering. Also, changing to electronic timecards would make it easier when
processing payroll. Employees would not have to input the data, therefore making it less
likely there are input errors or omissions.
When assessing Slusarskis hiring and firing processes, the largest weakness was
the absence of criminal background checks on applicants. Hiring employees with
criminal backgrounds could lead to larceny or other activity affecting the company.
Although most of Slusarskis employees arent working with finances, it is still a good
procedure to have in place for the company. Also, hiring and firing is not formally
documented. This could become an issue if the firm was ever to face legal issues with
prior employees and needed the documents for reference. Slusarski should also generate
an employee handbook stating the different rules and expectations for employees. This
could include information about tardiness and absences policies. Additionally, having
recently hired employees sign a document stating they understand the companys rules
and procedures identified in the handbook would be beneficial. By including the listed
improvements, Slusarski could operate more efficiently and could use their accounting
information system to the best of its ability.

Corbin 10
Works Cited
Romney, Marshall B., and Paul John. Steinbart. Accounting Information Systems. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.