Business Commons^™

A Welfare Comparison Of Historical Cost And Fair Value Accounting Regimes, Palmer Edholm

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

With ongoing controversy concerning fair value and historical cost accounting, existing accounting theory is focused on intra-firm decision making and is thus deficient in addressing the issue of maximizing social welfare. I propose models of historical cost and fair value accounting regimes which are embedded in models of monopoly and oligopoly. This allows for social welfare implications. I find that historical cost results in greater expected profits for both monopolists and oligopolists. However, if the market is elastic enough, a fair value regimes is welfare enhancing. Whereas, if the market is inelastic enough, historical cost is welfare enhancing.

The Benefits That Come From Moving Out Of State For College, Sadie Morris

Student Research Symposium

My topic is about how moving to a new state can benefit a student when starting college. Not that many students move to a different state to go to college, and there can be a lot of benefits that come from moving some where new. This poster highlights the positives that come from moving to a new state from college.

Mental Health Literacy And The Impact Of Gender, Nathan Clay

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Purpose of the study We examined associations between gender and components of Mental Health Literacy (MHL). The baseline assumption, based on prior literature, is that women will have a higher knowledge related to mental health compared to men.

Maximizing Returns For Investors Using Modern Portfolio Theory And The Efficient Frontier, Charity Smith Parkinson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There exists an efficient frontier upon which there is an optimal point of allocation of an investor’s assets among different types of investment vehicles. Identifying this point and allocating a portfolio accordingly allow an investor to capture the highest market return with the least amount of risk. This research study offers a model which can be used to find this optimal investment allocation and discusses the challenges and assumptions associated with using it. Using techniques discussed in Markowitz (1952), we obtain the optimal allocation of wealth for two portfolios of 13 and 12 assets, respectively. Such a model is not …

The Relationship Between Income Taxes And Market Returns, Chelsea Hepworth

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper investigates the relationship between book to tax differences and market returns. Prior research has been conducted that shows the ability of book to tax differences to predict future earnings, and this study expands that research to see if book to tax differences have predictive value in terms of actual market returns. This study uses a sample of firms from the Compustat database and runs a regression using book to tax differences and company returns as compared to the market. Results show that book to tax differences do have some predictive value which could potentially allow an investor to …

The Opm Data Breach: Lessons Learned, Michael Wheat

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In 2015 the federal government announced the largest data breach in United States government history. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was hacked, and the personal information of more than 25 million American people was lost to foreign attackers. This incident has spawned concern and outrage about the security of government data in the emerging digital age.

Moving forward from the breach questions remain about how this event happened. It's clear that there were weaknesses that were taken advantage of by malicious threats abroad, and investigations into the attack have yielded surprising results. Not only was the security in place …

Entrepreneurship: The Why And How Of Starting Your Own Business, Braiden Coleman

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

What resources are available to the new entrepreneur? How do I know if my business idea is a good idea? What are the tax advantages of starting your own business? My research answers each of these questions in addition to many other questions the new entrepreneur might have. Part of my research insights were gained by experiential learning: I took a business idea of my own and took it through several key processes such as business idea generation, business model creation, market research, and advertising. I sought to learn more about the resources available to the new entrepreneur. In addition …

How To Navigate Public Accounting Recruitment, Jill Heather Aoki

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

For many accounting graduates, public accounting is an excellent place to start a career. However, recruitment at accounting firms is highly competitive. The majority of personnel are hired through internships, and competition for these positions is fierce. The process usually spans over multiple years and involves participating in leadership seminars, attending social events, and much more in addition to interviewing. Successful placement requires not only exceptional academic achievements but also strong relationships with personnel at the firm. One primary differentiator among the numerous public accounting firms is their people and culture. Other factors include local clients and specializations. Thus, candidates …

Personal Intern Experience Assessment, Jacob Reed

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

I am a senior, finishing up the last accounting class for my undergraduate degree in accounting. I recently completed an internship with PwC in the McLean, Virginia office. At PwC, I was an assurance intern primarily responsible for assisting my engagement teams by performing tests around financial statement line items such as 'cash.' I learned quite a bit about the PWC process for auditing these items because I performed these same procedures on six different clients.

My role as an intern was to perform uniform tasks that needed to be done on each engagement, and when I was done I …

"A Lean Accounting Curriculum", Jake Lewis

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper is written as a part of my honors thesis. My objective for my thesis was to develop a curriculum to be used in the classroom here at Utah State University, on the subject of lean accounting. This curriculum includes a set of lecture slides, selection of an assigned textbook, a case study assignment, and a DVD. Also compiled were several other optional materials that may be used as supplements to the aforementioned set of materials or as a means to briefly cover lean accounting in another course if so desired. This paper contains a brief summary of lean …

Corporate Positions And Punishment For Corporate Accounting Fraud, Stephanie Curtis

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The accounting industry has changed in many ways during the last few years. These changes have come at many different levels and have had different effects on those in the accounting industry and those without. The biggest change has been the litigation and government involvement in the industry. Changes have been made because of the fraud committed by those in the accounting industry. This has led to the government making laws to restrict those in the industry, making fraud harder to commit. The laws that the government has made have made it very expensive and hard for those in the …

Characteristics Of Firms That Commit Fraud, Genie Hanson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This research paper consists of an analysis of all issued AAERs from September 1995 through October 2003. It discusses who commits the fraud, the types of fraud committed, and the interaction of fraud types and firm types.

Your I.R.A. And You, Jacob Brent Hawkins

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

After thorough discussions with my senior academic advisor, Dr. Grange, and the Honors advising department, I decided to conduct my honors senior project on a topic that involved both my educational training and my professional activities. The project addresses the issue that most students outside the college of business do not understand investments. For the past 3 years I have been employed as an intern with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. In this capacity I have had opportunities to meet with a wide variety of students looking for financial and investment advice. I observed that there was a general lack of …

Helping Cob Students Use Their Business Degree To Get Into Law School, Jon Jeffery Carlston

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Getting into law school these days has become ultra-competitive. GPA's and LSAT scores that worked just a few years ago will not get a law school applicant into the same schools they will today. The economy as well as the attractiveness of a law degree (J.D.) have lead to record increases in the number of students applying for law school. Law schools have been forced to "raise the bar" in order to deal with the demand. Because this is the case, undergraduate students must find ways to distinguish themselves among applicants, stay on top of the application process, and achieve …

Tax Challenge Working Papers, Hal Allen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

My thesis project for my honors degree consisted of preparing working papers for the tax challenge team in the Accounting department of the College of Business. The Tax Challenge team has competed two years ago in the Anderson Tax Challenge and then the Deloitte & Touche Tax Challenge this last year. The tax challenge team has begun to build a credible reputation for the tax program at Utah State University. The last two years the graduate tax team was one of the top six teams in the nation. Dr. Grange is the tax challenge advisor and is working hard to …

A Lesson Plan For Teaching Accounting For The Home Using Quicken 8.0, Larry Bond

All Archived Publications

This exercise is designed for the beginning Quicken user. It assumes the user knows how to run a computer, and to start Quicken. The time it takes to complete the entire exercise will depend on; a) how familiar the participants are with computers, b) their ability to type, and c) previous exposure to Quicken or similar software. If there is insufficient time in the workshop to complete all the tasks, most participants should be able to complete it at home.

The Effects Of The Computer On The Tax Consultant In The State Of Utah, J. Lyle Tuddenham

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The purpose of this paper was to determine the effects of computerized tax services on tax practitioners in the State of Utah. Initial data was obtained from a questionnaire which was mailed to members of the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants who were engaged in public practice, and also from personal interviews with various other practitioners. The comparisons of firms which offer services to accountants resulted from a review of current literature and also through direct correspondence.