Class 11 Accountancy - Chapter Applications of Computers in Accounting NCERT Solutions | Describe the various elements of a compu

A computer system is a combination of six elements :

(i) Hardware: Hardware of computer consists of physical components such as keyboard, mouse monitor and processor.

(ii) Software: A set of programmers which is used to work with such hardware, is called its software. A coded set of instructions stored in the form of circuits is called firmware. There are six types of software as follows.

(a) Operating system
(b) Utility Programmer
(c) Application Software
(d) Language Processors
(e) System Software
(f) Connectivity software

(iii) People: People interacting with the computer are also called live - aware of the computer system. They constitute the most important part of the computer system such as System Analysts, Programmers and Operators.

(iv) Procedures: The procedure means a series of operations in certain order or manner to achieve desired results. There are three types of procedures which constitute technical components. Parts of computer system hardware - oriented, software-oriented system and internal procedure.

(v) Data: These are facts and may consist of number, text, etc. These are gathered and entered into a computer system.

(vi) Connectivity: The manner in which a particular computer system is connected to others through telephone lines, microwave transmission, satellite link, etc. is the element of connectivity.

Distinct Features of Computer System and Manual System A computer system has some special feature which a manual system fails to maintain .Some of them are as follows

(i) Speed: Speed of computer makes it special. Normally, human beings take into account a second or a minute as a unit of time. But computers have such a fast operating capability that the relevant unit of time is fraction of a second.

(ii) Accuracy: It refers to the degree of exactness with which computations are made and operations are performed. Through the manual system one might spend years in detecting errors in computer calculation or updating wrong records. Most of the errors in the Computer Based Information System (CBIS) occur because of bad programming ,erroneous data and deviation from procedures. These errors are caused by human beings.

(iii) Reliability: Its Refers to the ability with the computers to remain functional to serve the user. Computer systems are well -adapted to performing repetitive operations. They are immune to tiredness and boredom of fatigue. Therefore, they are more reliable than human beings. On the other hand manual systems cannot be reliable upto that extent.

(iv) Versatility: It refers to the ability of computers to perform a variety of tasks, simple as well as complex. Computers are usually versatile unless designed for a specific application. A general purpose computer is capable of being used in any area of application business, industry, scientific, statistical, technological, communications and so on. A general purpose computer, when installed in an organisation, can take over the jobs of several specialists because of its versatility.

(v) Storage: The computer system, besides having instant access to data, has a huge capacity to store such data in very small physical space. On the other hand, the human brain has some limitations to remember all the events.

It is clear from the above discussion that computers' capabilities outperform human capabilities. As a result, a computer, when used properly, will improve the efficiency of an organisation.