Download - Document Flowcharts
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DOCUMENT FLOWCHARTS
A document flowchart shows the flow of
documents and information among areas of
responsibility in an organization.
These flowcharts trace a document from cradleto grave and show:
Where a document comes from
Where its distributed
How its used
Its ultimate disposition
Everything that happens as it flows through the
system
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DOCUMENT FLOWCHARTS
Internal control flowcharts are document
flowcharts used to evaluate the adequacy of
internal controls, such as segregation of duties or
internal checks. They can reveal weaknesses or inefficiences such
as:
Inadequate communication flows
Unnecessarily complex document flows Procedures that cause wasteful delays
Document flowcharts are also prepared in the
system design process.
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This is part of the
document flowchart
from Figure 3-9 in
your textbook.
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Lets step through some guidelines for
preparing flowcharts:
As with DFDs, you cant effectively prepare a
flowchart if you dont understand the system,
so:
Interview users, developers, auditors, and
management.
Administer questionnaires.
Read through narratives.
Walk through systems transactions
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Identify:
Entities to be flowcharted, e.g., departments,
functions, external parties (the parties who do
things in the story) Documents or information flows
Processes
As you read through a narrative, you may
want to mark the preceding items with
different shapes (e.g., drawing a rectangle
around entities, circling documents, etc.).
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Use separate columns for the activity of
each entity.
Example: If there are three different
departments or functions that do things in
the narrative, there would be three columns
on the flowchart.
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What are the entities
in this flowchart?
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Flowchart the normal course of operations,
and identify exceptions with annotations.
As much as possible, the flow should go from
top to bottom and left to right. Use standard flowcharting symbols, and draw
with a template or computer.
Clearly label all symbols. Use annotations ifnecessary to provide adequate explanation.
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Give the flowchart a clear beginning andending. Show where each document originated and its final
disposition.
One approach you can use is to read throughthe narrative and for each step define: What was (were) the input(s)
What process was carried out
What was (were) the output(s)
Note on the next slide that the flow sequenceis input -- process output.
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Identifies where input is coming from
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Inputs
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Process
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Output tostorage
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Input for
nextprocess
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Process
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Output
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Every manual process should have at least
one input and at least one output.
Show all data entered into or retrieved from a
computer file as passing through a processfirst.
Do not show process symbols for:
Forwarding a document to another entity
Filing a document
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Forwardinga document
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Filinga document
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Do not connect two documents except
when forwarding to another column.
When a document is forwarded, show it in
both locations.
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Show forwarded
document in both
locations
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
When using multiple copies of a
document, place document numbers in
the upper, right-hand corner.
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What happens to the
document numbers
as the documents
move to other
locations?
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Show on-page connectors and label
them clearly to avoid excess flow lines.
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
Use off-page connectors if the flow goes
to another page.
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Are there other off-
page connectors on
this flowchart?
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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
FLOWCHARTS
If a flowchart takes more than one page, labelthe pages as 1 of 5, 2 of 5, 3 of 5, etc.
Show documents or reports first in the columnwhere they are created.
Start with a rough draft; then redesign toavoid clutter and crossed lines.
Verify the accuracy of your flowchart by
reviewing it with users, etc. Place the flowchart name, the date, and the
preparers name on each page of the finalcopy.