Introduction to Querying

Introduction to QueryingThis book is an excerpt from a larger book by the same authors: REA Accounting Systems and Analytics. REA is an acronym that stands for the words resources, events, and agents. More importantly, REA is a model of economic exchange, and by extension, a model of accounting and accountability. Because enterprise databases should derive from conceptual models that resemble the enterprises economic reality as closely as possible, REA provides an excellent

This book is an excerpt from a larger book by the same authors: REA Accounting Systems and Analytics. REA is an acronym that stands for the words resources, events, and agents. More importantly, REA is a model of economic exchange, and by extension, a model of accounting and accountability. Because enterprise databases should derive from conceptual models that resemble the enterpriseÕs economic reality as closely as possible, REA provides an excellent framework for designing such databases. Readers who want to see accounting and business applications of the introductory concepts presented in this book may want to read the larger book.

Structured Query Language (SQL) is widely used and underlies most information retrieval and report writing tools. SQL may be used for foundational accounting analytics such as the materialization of financial statement information, as well as for business analytics, such as identifying the most profitable product sold to customers living in the state of California during the month of June this year. This book introduces the logic of designing queries using both Microsoft AccessÕ design view and SQL. Querying is a skill that is best learned through repeated practice rather than by reading and observation, so once readers should not only read this book, but replicate the examples portrayed herein.

After introducing the basics of querying, this book applies the concepts to a database designed with REA to illustrate how financial statement numbers can be calculated from an operational database. Such querying can be done by auditors who want to verify the numbers generated by a traditional general ledger-based accounting system, or, a company could use a non-traditional database accounting systems and derive its financial reports via queries. This book only includes examples of queries that are encompassed within single acquisition or revenue business processes. For examples of queries in manufacturing or payroll processes and for examples of queries that span across multiple business processes, please see the larger book.