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The Design of an Animated Representation of the Firm's Operating Activities

Interpretation and audit of financial information is a significant undertaking that must rest on a fuller understanding of the firm and its operations. A pictorial representation of firm activity offers promise for supporting this requirement. After reviewing the literature related to visualizations, we describe the design of an animated version of the operating cycle. It assists users in developing an intuitive sense about the operating cycle itself, while exploring and visualizing how firms at various stages of growth, sustenance, and decay are affected by specific operating decisions. Findings from the accounting and information systems literatures were used to drive the design of the representation. This resulting system adds depth to traditional accounting representations by conveying information about the momentum of the firm’s activities, the rate of change at which various operating activities are occurring. The animation facilitates identification of backlogs or breaks in operating processes, thus increasing understanding of the firm’s operating health.