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Edwards & Cobb Collections (Mss 35), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 35. Account books, 1857-1858, of G.W. Edwards and T.W. Cobb, general merchants at East Fork, Metcalfe County, Kentucky.

Distance Learning In Accounting Courses From The Student's Perspective (1999-2006), James P. Beaghan

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

Universities throughout the nation are faced wiih the reality of an increase in demand from place-bound, adult working students who live and work in locations that may be hundreds of miles from traditional college campuses, and require a less centralized mode of course instruction. At the same time technological advances are now available that provide universities with a wide range of instructional modes of instruction that include interactive television (ITV) with real time audio and visual at a number of decentralized classroom sites, live and remote. Distance learning/distance education (DE) technologies currently allow an instructor to deliver university course instruction …

Bankruptcy Probability Changes And The Differential Informativeness Of Bond Upgrades And Downgrades, Yongtae Kim, Sandeep Nabar

Accounting

Prior studies have found that stock returns around announcements of bond upgrades are insignificant, but that stock prices respond negatively to announcements of bond downgrades. This asymmetric stock market reaction suggests either that bond downgrades are timelier than upgrades, or that voluntary disclosures by managers preempt upgrades but not downgrades. This study investigates these conjectures by examining changes in firms' probabilities of bankruptcy (assessed using bankruptcy prediction models) and voluntary disclosure activity around rating change announcements. The results indicate that the assessed probability of bankruptcy decreases before bond upgrades, but not after. By contrast, the assessed probability of bankruptcy increases …

Disaster Recovery Planning: What Section 404 Audits Reveal, Dana R. Hermanson, Daniel M. Ivancevich, Susan H. Ivancevich

Faculty and Research Publications

This article summarizes U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act section 404 internal control reports that reveal material weaknesses due to inadequate disaster recovery planning. According to the authors, Section 404 applies to public companies with over $75 million in public float. They advise that auditors evaluating internal control over financial reporting must consider key information technology-related risks and controls that affect financial reporting, including issues related to disaster recovery planning.

Auditing Management Assertions: The Impact Of Sas No. 106, Deborah S. Archambeault

Accounting Faculty Publications

The Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the AICPA recently issued eight new statements on auditing standards (SASs), which are effective for audits of financial statement periods beginning on or after Dec. 15, 2006. Included within this new set of audit standards is SAS No. 106: Audit Evidence, which provides guidance on the use of management assertions in obtaining audit evidence.

An Analysis Of The Obstacles Of Culture, Government, And Lack Of Support For International Accounting Standards, Bethany Theodore

Senior Honors Theses

With the prevalence of international markets comes the need for universal accounting standards. The International Accounting Standards Board has created a set of these standards, but unfortunately some skeptics have found that the obstacles of culture, government, and lack of support would make these standards impossible to implement. Since the globalization of international standards is inevitable, there must be a way to get past the present obstacles. Through an analysis of the countries of China, India, and Australia, it has been found that it is possible to have the same accounting standards among diverse countries. International accounting standards will become …

Making The Case For Sustainable Business Practices: An Introduction, Kathryn Lancaster

Accounting

No abstract provided.

Is Direct Method Cash Flow Reporting Better At Predicting Future Performance?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

“Cash is king” goes the saying. Even companies enjoying brisk business have been known to fail because of unhealthy cash flows. The accounting profession is split over the benefits of the direct method (DM) versus the indirect method (IM) of preparing cash flow reports. In a study of over 100 US-based companies which used direct cash flow statements, Singapore Management University accounting professor Yoonseok Zang shows conclusively that the direct method does better at predicting future performance and earnings. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Legal Systems And Earnings Quality: The Role Of Auditor Industry Specialization, Chee Yeow Lim, Soo Young Kwon, Patricia Mui Siang Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper extends prior studies in auditor industry specialization to an international setting and examines if the impact of industry specialist auditors on earnings quality is dependent on the legal environments. Using data for 28 countries over 20 industries from 1993 to 2003, we find that clients of industry specialist auditors have lower discretionary current accruals and higher earnings response coefficients than clients of nonspecialist auditors. In addition, we find that the impact of auditor industry specialization on earnings quality increases as the legal environment weakens. Collectively, the results suggest that the benefits from engaging the services of industry specialist …

Information Opacity, Credit Risk, And The Design Of Loan Contracts For Private Firms, Lucy Ackert, Rongbing Huang, Gabriel G. Ramirez

Faculty and Research Publications

This paper examines the structure and cost of a large sample of bank loans to private firms. Compared to public firms, private firms are more informationally opaque and riskier. The results suggest that the design of a loan to a private firm is significantly different from that to a public firm. Bank loans to private firms are more likely to be by a sole lender, collateralized, and have sweep covenants than loans to public firms. The cost of borrowing is higher for a private firm than for a public firm, even after holding constant firm and loan characteristics.

Monitoring: Which Institutions Matter?, Xia Chen, Jarrad Harford, Kai Li

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Within a cost–benefit framework, we hypothesize that independent institutions with long-term investments will specialize in monitoring and influencing efforts rather than trading. Other institutions will not monitor. Using acquisition decisions to reveal monitoring, we show that only concentrated holdings by independent long-term institutions are related to post-merger performance. Further, the presence of these institutions makes withdrawal of bad bids more likely. These institutions make long-term portfolio adjustments rather than trading for short-term gain and only sell in advance of very bad outcomes. Examining total institutional holdings or even concentrated holdings by other types of institutions masks important variation in the …

The Dynamics Of Implementing And Managing Modularity Of Organizational Routines During Capability Development: Insights From A Process Model, Shan Ling Pan, Gary Shan Chi Pan, Adela Chen, Ming Huei Hsieh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Past research using the resource-based view of a firm suggests that it is important to consider how firms develop, manage, and deploy resources and capabilities to influence the overall process of strategy formation and implementation. Relatively little research has been conducted in conceptualizing how firms implement and manage modularity of organizational routines during capability development. Yet, most companies would benefit from implementing modularity in organizational routines when competing in dynamic market conditions. Such implementations may require fundamental organizational reorientation that incurs significant coordination costs, and in some cases, such modularization attempts may fail, costing organizations significant amounts of valuable resources. …

Barker, S. & D. W. Middleton - Farm Ledger, 1872-1885 (Sc 1522), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1522. Farm ledger kept by S. Barker and Daniel Wilcoxson Middleton of Warren County, Kentucky. The farm was located approximately five miles east of Bowling Green on the Louisville Road (Highway 31-W). Records expenses and wages for farm laborers.

The Association Between Corporate Governance And Audit Fees, Cindy K. Harris

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) established not only corporate governance reform but also legislated significant changes to the practice of auditing publicly held corporations. Rules implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) further reinforced stronger corporate governance standards. The effect of these reforms on the cost of public audits is indisputable: the initial rise in audit fees was dramatic as corporations complied with the new provisions. This paper examines the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and audit fees for a random sample of 100 publicly traded corporations drawn from the 2005 Fortune 500 list. The data is obtained …

Minimum Profitability Ruling A Boon Or Bane? Some Lessons From China, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

China’s Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) stands out in its approach to tighten restrictions for listed companies wanting to initiate rights issues or seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). The country’s experience, relevant to other emerging markets, is the subject of a research paper published recently in the International Journal of Accounting, co-authored by Kevin C.W. Chen, accounting professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Singapore Management University accounting professor Jiwei Wang. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Top Performing Hedge Funds: Does Geography Make A Difference?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Do hedge funds earn above-average returns? Is there a way to identify these top performers? Where hedge funds are located makes the difference, according to Singapore Management University finance professor Melvyn Teo, who is also director of the university’s BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre. Teo puts forward evidence for the hypothesis that locally-managed hedge funds are better able to monitor their investments and, therefore, generate superior returns.

Treatment Of Legal Fees Incurred By Individuals, Annette M. Nellen

Faculty Publications

If the origin of a claim that generated legal fees is personal, the fees are not deductible. Possible favorable treatment for legal fees includes either above-the-line deductions or adjustments to basis or selling price in a property transaction. Some taxpayers have claimed described legal fees in such a way that they directly reduce the related income.

Do Direct Cash Flow Disclosures Help Predict Future Operating Cash Flows And Earnings?, Steven Francis Orpurt, Yoonseok Zang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Motivated by recent FASB, IASB and CFA Institute comments, we extend the scant literature on direct method cash flow disclosures by exploring their predictive ability. A primary stated purpose of the direct method is to better forecast future operating performance. To test this purpose, we use a FERC (future ERC) methodology, finding that firms voluntarily producing direct method statements reflect more information about future earnings in their current stock returns than other firms. Supporting our FERC analysis, we document that substantial articulation errors exist when direct method cash flow components are estimated from either indirect method cash flow statements or …

Accounting For Ecosystem Flows: Setting A Standard For Australian Industries To Make Sustainable Decisions, Emily Gilbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper explains the System of Environmental and Economic Accounting’s (SEEA) approach to environmental accounting flow systems and how this system is now being utilized in the creation of new Australian standards of accounting. The first part of the paper discusses in depth different accounting systems, primarily physical and hybrid accounting systems, as they relate to the measures set forth by the SEEA. The second part analyzes the differences between the SEEA’s gross accounting system in comparison to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) net accounting system. This includes a type of “pro-con” way of looking at which is …

The Value Relevance Of Earnings And The Prediction Of One-Year-Ahead Cash Flows, Oliver Kim, Steve C. Lim, Taewoo Park

Faculty and Research Publications

In this paper we examine the validity of using one-year-ahead cash flows prediction tests as a substitute for the value relevance test of earnings. We show theoretically that the R2 of the cash flows prediction regression is contaminated by the presence of (1) noise in the cash flows and (2) spurious, i.e., value-unrelated, correlation between one-year-ahead cash flows and current earnings. We test if either of the above two factors contribute to the result of Kim and Kross (2005) that the ability of earnings to predict one-year-ahead cash flows has increased over the recent decades, in contrast to the evidence …

Should China Keep Its Dollar Peg? Some Parallels From Japan, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

At a recent Singapore Management University School of Economics Distinguished Lecture, Stanford University international economics professor Ronald I. McKinnon warned of a possible ‘lost decade’ of falling price levels and undesirably low interest rates in China, similar to those experienced by Japan in the 1990s. McKinnon draws parallels between Japan in the late 1980s and present day China in his paper entitled “Why China Should Keep its Exchange Rate Pegged to the Dollar: A Historical Perspective from Japan”. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An International Comparison Of Student Perceptions Of Earnings Management: Evidence Of Effects Of National Origin Between Mexico And The United States, Marshall A. Geiger, Carmen Quirvan, Alejandro Hazera

Accounting Faculty Publications

Manipulating reported earnings is a temptation faced by accountants and financial professionals around the world. Manipulating, or “managing,” one’s accounting earnings takes a variety of forms and includes not only the avoidance of prescribed accounting rules but also the practice of selectively choosing accounting estimates or timing operating decisions to move reported earnings toward a desired goal. Prior research reveals wide disagreement regarding the perceived ethical acceptability of this practice. This study investigates whether national origin influences perceptions of earnings management. Participants from the United States and Mexico evaluated thirteen vignettes describing various earnings management practices (Merchant and Rockness 1994). …

Are Us Family Firms Subject To Agency Problems? Evidence From Ceo Turnover And Firm Valuation, Xia Chen, Zhonglan Dai

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper investigates the impact of the founding family's presence in US public firms on the extent of agency problems related to CEO turnover decisions and on firm valuations after poor performance. In particular, we focus on three types of US public firms: family CEO firms, professional CEO family firms (family firms managed by a hired CEO outside the founding family), and non-family firms. We hypothesize that, the agency problem arising from the expropriation of small shareholders by large shareholders in family CEO firms and the agency problem arising from the separation of ownership and control in non-family firms, lead …

Earnings Management And Its Implications, Michael Akers, Don Giacomino, Jodi L. Gissel

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

In the wake of continuing, highly publicized financial frauds and failures, the accounting profession has placed renewed emphasis on issues related to earnings management and earnings quality. Staff Accounting Bulletin 101, Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements, which was issued in December 1999 in response to the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission report, illustrates the importance of earnings to the SEC. The SEC and the public are demanding greater assurance about the quality of earnings. Notwithstanding the grave threat that abusive earnings-management practices pose to the reliability and accuracy of financial statements, the accounting profession may be reluctant …

Auditor Locality, Audit Quality And Audit Pricing, Jong-Hag Choi, Jeong-Bon Kim, Aini Qiu, Yoonseok Zang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Role That Forecast Surprise And Forecast Error Play In Determining Management Forecast Precision, Jong-Hag Choi, Linda Myers, Yoonseok Zang, David Ziebart

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

No abstract provided.

Fraud: The Human Factor, Sridhar Ramamoorti, William Olsen

Accounting Faculty Publications

Eighty percent of respondents to a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) survey of public company audit committees felt that failure resulting from poor risk management couldn't happen to them. However, 50 percent thought it could happen to other companies.

This feeling of relative "invincibility" is similar to the statistically impossible "Lake Wobegon" effect--where "all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking and all the children are above average." Could this Lake Wobegon effect--which results from the human tendency to overestimate one's achievements and capabilities in relation to others--extend to an organization's assessment of its vulnerability to fraud …

Whistleblowing And Good Governance, Tim V. Eaton, Michael D. Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) has forever changed corporate governance for publicly held corporations. Recent data suggest that the costs of compliance with the provisions of SOX can be very significant. Problems exist in the government and nonprofit sectors just as they do in the corporate sector. Recent alleged problems at the World Bank include kickbacks, payoffs, bribery, embezzlement, and collusive bidding. In 2002, the United Way scandal came to the public's attention. Its aftermath has had a dramatic impact on fundraising. Even universities are not immune from scandals. Organizations of all kinds should better understand what whistleblowing is, …

Systematic Share Price Fluctuations After Bankruptcy Filings And The Investors Who Drive Them, Mark C. Dawkins, Nilabhra Bhattacharya, Linda Smith Bamber

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Beginning in the 1990s, firms often continue to trade on the major national exchanges after Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. For bankruptcies filed from 1993-2003, we find that the more negative the filing period price reaction, the more favorable the immediate post- filing returns, on average. This reversal is not attributable to bid-ask bounce, it holds after controlling for other factors associated with post-filing returns, and it appears more attributable to the activities of large traders than to small traders. Supplementary tests reveal that the pattern of post-filing returns differs significantly for bankruptcies filed in bull versus bear markets. Bankruptcies filed …

Bonding To The Improved Disclosure Environment In The Us: Firms Listing Choices And Their Capital Market Consequences, Ole-Kristian Hope, Tony Kang, Yoonseok Zang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper examines whether the current reporting and disclosure requirements for foreign registrants in the United States affect foreign firms' decisions to list on a U.S. exchange. We find that while firms from a weak disclosure environment are more likely to cross-list and either trade over-the-counter or be placed privately among institutional investors, they are less likely to list on an exchange in which firms are required to comply with U.S. GAAP. This is consistent with the idea that the decrease in the potential private control benefits accruing to managers discourages them from listing on an organized exchange. We further …