Business Commons^™

Women Accountants In The 1880 Us Federal Census: A Genealogical Analysis, Diane H. Roberts

Accounting

This historical census micro-data project examines the characteristics of women who self report as accountants in the 1880 US Federal Census. Using the data provided by the actual Census forms the demographic, familial, and economic characteristics of women accountants are examined and found to be quite different from the experience of accountants overall found by Lee [2007]. A fairly clear picture of a typical 1880 female accountant emerged and analysis of their multi-generational families gave insight into the changing occupational landscape of the period. Almost all women accountants were US born of US born parents and most did not migrate …

Teaching Freshman Business Students Ethics: A Case Study, John Koeplin

Accounting

Making ethical decisions is important for both personal and business situations. This case study suggests a different approach to educating business students about ethics and personal character. By exposing beginning business students to personal and business dilemmas, requiring reflection papers on their experiences, debating business and political issues, and through other activities such as discussion various business ethical dilemmas, students will become more sensitive to ethical issues and ideally see character development as something directly related to their studies. Additionally, by having students take this course in their first year of undergraduate studies, this will affect the context and experience …

Sustainability Reporting Practices In Portugal: Greenwashing Or Triple Bottom Line?, Diane H. Roberts, John Koeplin

Accounting

This paper examines the status of sustainability reporting in Portugal. The Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) guidelines for sustainability reporting is an initiative that attempts to create a paradigm of triple bottom line reporting that encompasses the economic, environmental, and social performance of business. Measurement and reporting of environmental and social aspects are in their infancy compared to financial/economic reporting. The objective of the GRI's framework is to elevate environmental and social reporting to the level of financial reporting by developing reporting principles and information qualities similar to those used in corporate financial reporting. In the post-Enron corporate reporting environment, such …

Auditor’S Independence: Increasing Expectations And Expanding Responsibilities In The Early 1930s, Diane H. Roberts

Accounting

Auditor independence is an aspect of professional ethics crucial to user confidence in contemporary times and the early 1930s. Primary sources that reflect the thinking of the leaders of the accounting profession in the United States are examined to determine the profession's stance on independence issues. The period examined begins with the stock market crash of October 1929 and ends with the American Institute of Accountants' (AIA) fiftieth anniversary meeting in 1937. Thus both events leading up to and immediately following the passage of US Federal Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 are examined. Although ownership interests in clients and …

An Exploration Of Values And Ethical Choices Of Accounting Students, John Koeplin

Accounting

An individual’s ethical and economic values impact his decision processes when faced with resolving certain dilemmas. The primary issue of this research is to examine the relationship between accounting students’ ethical and economic values and their responses to business dilemmas. Additionally, this study attempted to see if senior accounting students responded with more ethical responses to the dilemmas than did lower-division accounting students.

A measure of ethicality proposed by McCarthy (1997) was compared with subjects’ ethical responses to the business dilemmas. No correlation between the students’ measure of ethicality and the number of ethical responses to business dilemmas was found. …