INTERMEDIATE (IPC) COURSE

PRACTICE MANUAL

PAPER: 7A

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

BOARD OF STUDIES
THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF INDIA

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

This practice manual has been prepared by the faculty of the Board of Studies. The objective
of the practice manual is to provide teaching material to the students to enable them to obtain
knowledge and skills in the subject. In case students need any clarifications or have any
suggestions to make for further improvement of the material contained herein, they may write
to the Director of Studies.
All care has been taken to provide interpretations and discussions in a manner useful for the
students. However, the practice manual has not been specifically discussed by the Council of
the Institute or any of its Committees and the views expressed herein may not be taken to
necessarily represent the views of the Council or any of its Committees.
Permission of the Institute is essential for reproduction of any portion of this material.

THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF INDIA

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Revised Edition

July, 2015

Website

www.icai.org

E-mail

bosnoida@icai.in

Committee /
Department

Board of Studies

ISBN No.

Price

Published by

The Publication Department on behalf of The Institute of

Chartered Accountants of India, ICAI Bhawan, Post Box No. 7100,
Indraprastha Marg, New Delhi 110 002

Printed by

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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

A WORD ABOUT PRACTICE MANUAL

The impact of Information Technology on several aspects of accounting profession and practice has
been pronounced over the last three decades. The revolutionary developments of various IT tools and
techniques have a far reaching impact on the organizations. The survival and the growth of a dynamic
profession such as Chartered Accountancy depends, to a large extent, on understanding fundamentals
of Business Information Systems, Business Process Automation and Telecommunication and
Networking to face the emerging challenges in this globalized competitive business environment.
Due to prompt world of Information and Communication Technologies, the Institute felt an urgent
need to relook the syllabus of IT related papers separately and hence the syllabus of Information
Technology has been revised with a view to rationalize the same in the light of recent
technological developments by making necessary modifications therein. The paper provides a
conceptual knowledge of how Business Process Management and contemporary Information
Systems are closely interfaced with IT to provide the required Business Process Automation for
enterprises. The knowledge acquired by the student through the study of the course entitled
Information Technology" will be very helpful in the current dynamic business scenario.
This Practice Manual has been designed with the need of home-study and distance-learning
students in mind. Such students require full coverage of the syllabus topics, and also the facility to
undertake extensive question practice. The main aim of this Practice Manual is to provide guidance
as to the manner of writing an answer in the examination. The main features of this Practice
Manual are as follows:

Concepts in Brief: Important definitions, concepts and points have been given on each topic
for quick recapitulation in accordance with the study material.

Questions: Numerous questions are incorporated for the purpose of practice questions.
Students are expected to attempt the questions and then compare their answers with the
answers provided in the manual in order to improve their presentation in the examination.

Assignment: Exercises have been given at the end of each chapter for independent practice.
New questions have been incorporated in this edition vis--vis the revisions carried out in the study
material and have been highlighted in Bold and Italics. This edition also contains the questions of
the past examination. The matrix showing chapter-wise distribution of past examination questions
with marks has been included on the next page. The matrix will assist the students in getting an
idea about the trend of questions being asked and relative weightage of each topic in the past
examination. It will serve as a useful and handy reference guide while preparing for the
examination. It will guide the students to improve their performance in the examination and also
help them to work upon their grey areas.
In case you need any further clarification/guidance, please send your queries at bosnoida@icai.in
/sukriti.arora@icai.in.
Happy Reading and Best Wishes!
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Statement indicating Chapter-wise distribution of Examination

Questions along with Marks
Terms of Examination
November 2014
Chapter
No.

Name of the Chapter

Question

Marks

Total
Marks

Business Process Management 1(a), 2(a), 2(b),

& IT
7(b)

12

12

Information Systems and IT 1(b), 3(a), 3(b),

Fundamentals
7(a), 7(e)

14

14

Telecommunication
Networks

12

12

Business Information Systems

12

12

Business Process Automation 1(e), 6(a), 6(b)

through Application Software

10

10

and 1(c), 4(a), 4(b),

7(c)
1(d), 5(a), 5(b),
7(d)

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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

CONTENTS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
CHAPTER 1

Business Process Management & IT

1.1 1.22

CHAPTER 2

Information Systems and IT Fundamentals

2.1 2.22

CHAPTER 3

Telecommunication and Networks

3.1 3.35

CHAPTER 4

Business Information Systems

4.1 4.21

CHAPTER 5

Business Process Automation through Application

Software

5.1 5.14

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India