Company Background:

Florida Chocolate Inc. was first opened as a sole proprietor in 20x2 under the name Alexandria's Chocolates. The company produced 4 specialty chocolate products using an old family recipe, which only the owner, Alexandria Vierra, knows. The company started as a small homebased business.

In 20x4 Alexandria decided to expand the business, opened a factory in Ft. Lauderdale Florida and converted the business to a corporation named Florida Chocolate Inc. Due to the huge success of the business she decided to expand to Europe in 20x6, opening another factory in England. This factory is run by Alexandria's brother Nelson. The third factory was open in Brazil in 20x9 and is run by Alexandria's sister Laura.

Project Information:

All of the factories produce the same 4 products and since only Alexandria knows the recipe, the other factories purchase the premixed raw materials from the Ft. Lauderdale location.

Coordinating the shipment ofsupplies for an international company is a massive undertaking that requires good organizational, communication, and coordination skills. The process begins with managementat each location deciding on the amount of sales they anticipate each month. This will determine the amount of raw materials needed at each location. Since this is a specialty chocolate company their inventory is very limited. The relevant raw materials requests from the European and South American factories are approved by the factory managers at each location and sent to the main office.

The communication currently takes place via a phone call or an e-mail request to the warehouse manager at the Ft. Lauderdale location. The warehouse manager prepares a standard requisition form in triplicate: one copy for the requesting overseasfactory manager, one for the warehouse department, and one for the owner to review. When the mixture is prepared, the warehouse department prepares two copies of a shipping report; one is filed at the warehouse, while the second is forwarded to the accounting department. Once the shipment arrives at the overseas factory the warehouse manager there calls or emails the warehouse manager in Ft. Lauderdale that the shipment has arrived.All of the documents and emails are sent to the accounting department after the shipment arrives at the overseas location.

Over the past year the company has been experiencing a number of "lost shipments" or orders being sent to the wrong locations. They are asking you to assist them in developing a system that is more efficient.

Please explain the need for an accounting information system (AIS) and key elements of an AIS. Include a

• Flowchart of the current system and identification of the role and need of an AIS (using Lucid Chart or Visio software)
• Identification of the key elements of an AI

Please cite sources