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Accounting Analytics Hub / Charles River

Learn accounting through one connected business

Charles River
Accounting processes
and evidence.

Meet Charles River, a home-furnishings business in Greater Boston. Follow its sales, purchases, production, and people through source documents to the general ledger. Use SQL, Excel, and guided cases to explain what happened and support a decision.

Understand the company before analyzing its records.

Meet the company Begin learning
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Charles River / operating model

Different processes.
Connected accounting evidence.

Order-to-cashSell & collectProcure-to-payBuy & replenishManufacturingMake & complete
Design ServicesPayroll & timeFinancial close
  1. EvidenceSource documents & subledgersOrders · receipts · invoices · time
  2. Recognition & reconciliationGeneral ledger / GLEntryTrace source links, amounts, and timing
  3. InterpretationReports → analysis → decisionsExplain the result and its limitations
Processes share customers, suppliers, items, people, and accounts. Posting depends on the event and its accounting rules.

82connected accounting tables

2024–2026main operating years

SQLite · Excel · CSVthree published formats

Open educational resourceCC BY-SA 4.0

The business behind the data

Merchandise, manufacturing,
and hourly
Design Services.

Charles River Home Furnishings, Inc. combines purchased merchandise, selected in-house manufacturing, and hourly Design Services. These operating choices connect demand to inventory, labor, receivables, payables, and financial close.

Start with the customer and the people doing the work. Follow their documents through the process guides, then examine the records to explain a balance, investigate a difference, or recommend a next step.

Read the Company Story

A clear way into the work

Start with a question.
Build toward a decision.

Keep the company familiar while the accounting questions become more demanding.

01 / Understand the system

Business processes & AIS

Follow an order, a supplier receipt, or a work order. Explain the documents, controls, and accounting consequences before writing a join.

Explore the business processes

02 / Build analytical skills

SQL, Excel & accounting

Begin with a focused evidence exercise. Then connect tables, compare results, and explain what an accounting measure can tell you.

Find your first exercise

03 / Investigate a question

Cases, reports & decisions

Examine working capital, manufacturing cost, payroll, pricing, or controls. Support a conclusion with traceable evidence and its limits.

Browse the case library

From operations to interpretation

Follow the evidence.

An operational event, an accounting entry, and a useful conclusion are different steps. Explore how they connect.

This is a conceptual reading path. Use the process guide to check the specific document links and posting rules.

Read the Order-to-cash guide

Order-to-cash: event to decision

  1. 01 / Business event

    A customer orders goods. Fulfillment, invoicing, and cash collection occur at distinct stages.

  2. 02 / Source evidence

    SalesOrder → Shipment → SalesInvoice → CashReceiptApplication

  3. 03 / Accounting interpretation

    Compare the shipment and invoice evidence with revenue, inventory, receivables, and cash postings. An order alone is not recognized revenue.

  4. 04 / Decision question

    Is the billed sale supported, and has the customer balance been settled?

Three starting investigations

Build an explanation.
Recommend a next step.

Explore all 8 cases

One environment, connected resources

Teach the concepts.
Examine the company.
Interpret the results.

Accounting Analytics Hub brings the learning resources together. The textbook develops the concepts, while Charles River provides the company, data, and investigations.

Read Accounting Analytics: An Integrated Approach
Reports & analytics48 reports organized by business topic, with interpretation guidance.SQL Query Library170 SQL files, source tables, and guided reconciliation paths.Dataset referenceLook up keys, document relationships, and posting logic.For instructorsConnect AIS, analytics, financial, managerial, and audit coursework.Charles River at the HubPublication overview, dataset identity, and connections to the wider learning environment.

Ready to explore

The files are ready.
Bring an accounting question.

Download the company records and begin with a focused investigation.

The Dataset Guide explains the tables and settlement postings beyond the main operating years.

Get the dataset