Business Commons^™

The Smartest "Guise" In The Room: Why America Is Doomed To Repeat An Enron-Like Scandal, Shayne Reddington

Honors Theses

There is no question that Enron has brought change to the landscape surrounding business practices both domestically and globally. After the Emon Scandal occurred, Congress passed a very controversial and groundbreaking legislative act known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as a means of stopping the conditions that made this widespread scandal possible. There are several reasons why another Emon-type Scandal is prone to repeat itself in the near future. One of the reasons is that Sarbanes-Oxley is not the perfect bill. Although the controversial Sarbanes-Oxley is a valiant effort to reform the environment that fostered Enron, there are major gaps and …

Outsourcing: More Harm Than Good, Ly Luu Pham

Honors Theses

Outsourcing is a highly effective strategy, widely used in various types of business to gain a competitive edge. The tremendous growth of outsourcing first started in the manufacturing and information technology industries. It has also spread into the accounting industry as well. However, in accounting the major problems and benefits caused by outsourcing are different from those identified in the manufacturing and IT industries. This leads to the question of whether or not outsourcing in accounting would create more advantages than disadvantages. This paper analyzes the question through four steps: (1) how accounting outsourcing is done, (2) which accounting tasks …

The Effect Of Ifrs Convergence On Coastal Carolina University Accounting Major Students, Stephanie Wehrung

Honors Theses

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been working with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in converging United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The US is one of the last large economic powers in the world remaining that has yet to start reporting using IFRS. The business environment is not the only group that is facing great obstacles with this change; universities will also be facing difficulties as they try to properly prepare students for their future careers. Accounting students will obviously be affected, …

Incorporating Ethics Into Accounting Education: A Proposal For An Undergraduate Accounting Ethics Course For The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville, Courtney Michaluk

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Restoring The Natural Law: Copyright As Labor And Possession, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

In this Article, Professor Yen explores the problems associated with viewing copyright solely as a tool for achieving economic efficiency and advocates for the restoration of natural law to copyright jurisprudence. The Article demonstrates that economics has not been solely responsible for copyright’s development and basic structure, but has rather developed along lines suggested by neutral law, despite modern copyright jurisprudence. The Article considers the consequences of extinguishing copyright’s natural law facets in favor of the blind pursuit of efficiency and concludes by exploring the implications of restoring natural law thinking to copyright jurisprudence.

Comprehensive Income Reporting: Fasb Decides Location Matters, Dennis Chambers

Dennis J. Chambers

The article reports on Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2011-05 issued by the Financial Accounting Services Board (FASB) in June 2011. It states that the standard requires all companies to report comprehensive income and components either in one continuous statement or in two separate, but consecutive, net income and other comprehensive income statements.In both cases, companies must reportedly now report in an income statement-type location for total comprehensive income.

Students Perceptions Of Cheating In Online Business Courses, Michael P. Watters, Paul J. Robertson, Renae K. Clark

School of Accountancy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Accounting majors enrolled in business courses at two different universities were asked to complete a survey questionnaire pertaining to cheating in online business courses. Specifically, students majoring in Accounting were asked about their awareness online business courses as well as their opinions regarding the credibility of online courses and the effectiveness of different techniques that may be used to prevent cheating. Forty-six percent of students indicated that they had knowledge of students receiving help with an online exam/quiz. Overall, 75 percent of respondents indicated that the most effective technique to prevent cheating on online exams/quizzes is the use of random …

Comprehensive Income Reporting: Fasb Decides Location Matters, Dennis Chambers

Faculty and Research Publications

The article reports on Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2011-05 issued by the Financial Accounting Services Board (FASB) in June 2011. It states that the standard requires all companies to report comprehensive income and components either in one continuous statement or in two separate, but consecutive, net income and other comprehensive income statements.In both cases, companies must reportedly now report in an income statement-type location for total comprehensive income.

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 …

Contract Theory Of Organizations, Accounting And Control, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Impact On Financial Statements Of New Accounting Model For Leases, Wenqi Ma

Honors Scholar Theses

On August 17, 2010 the IASB and FASB published an Exposure Draft on leases. A new accounting model for leases which would include both financing lease and operating leases was proposed. According to the World Leasing Yearbook 2010, $640 billion was involved in leasing activity, of which a significant amount is not reported on the lessees' balance sheets [1]. The current leases which firms report in the financial statement notes showed that most companies currently have financing leases although many do not capitalize all of these leases. The new accounting model for leases would be a challenge for companies to …

Price Appreciation, Bargaining Power, And The Determinants Of Corporate Leasing Policy, Daniel John Stone

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

How Well Does The Typical Accounting Bachelor's Degree Prepare Students For A Career In The Accounting Department Of The United States Government?, Michael J. Tuttle

Honors Program Projects

This study investigates the effectiveness of the typical Accounting Bachelor’s Degree in preparing graduates to enter the Accounting Department of the United States Government. My experiences as a student at Olivet Nazarene University and as an intern with the Department of Defense have revealed a gap in accounting curriculum. Governmental accounting is rarely required by universities, presenting unnecessary challenges to entry-level government accountants. A survey conducted by the Government Accountants Journal, in 2000, revealed that only 33% of universities require governmental accounting. (Campbell, 2000) Our further analysis indicates that these numbers have not improved. To investigate this issue, we conducted …

Statistical Studies Of Accounting And Stock Markets, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Framing Online Promotions: Shipping Price Inflation And Deal Value Perceptions, Patrali Chatterjee

Department of Marketing Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose: This research seeks to examine differences in perceived shipping charge inflation associated with online promotions presented as reducing base product price, reducing shipping surcharge, or reducing all-inclusive price and its impact on deal values for shipping charge skeptics and non-skeptics. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing from research on multi-component pricing and mental accounting, a laboratory experiment investigates if shipping charge skeptics differ in their perceptions of shipping charge inflation for different presentations of online promotions from non-skeptics, and if they differ in perceived deal value of economically equivalent promotions presented as reduced product price, reduced shipping charge promotion, or reduced all-inclusive price …

Accountants’ Liability To Third Parties For Negligent Misrepresentation: The Search For A New Limiting Principle, J. H. Leibman, Anne Kelly

Anne Kelly

Examines the liability of accountants in the United States to third parties for negligent misrepresentation.

The Role Of Accounting In The Use Of Employee Options, Hemang Desai, Zining Li, Suning Zhang

Accounting Research

The determinants of the dramatic increase in the use of employee stock options in the 1990s and the subsequent decline in their popularity have been the subject of intense debate. Some have argued and found evidence to support that the discretion granted to firms to avoid recognizing the fair value of options as an expense led to their overuse for employee compensation. Others have argued and found evidence that the market “sees through” the accounting treatment for options and values firms as though options were expensed at fair value, regardless of financial statement treatment. We revisit this issue with the …

Jim Quigley, Usu Accounting Alum And Global Ceo For Deloitte, Is Author Of New Book, Usu Jon M. Huntsman School Of Business

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business News Collection

USU accounting alum and global CEO for Deloitte, Jim Quigley, has authored a soon-to-be released book entitled As One. This book provides an insightful look at management style and structure, and shows how melding leadership style with organizational architecture can contribute to powerful results. This book is apt to become a must read book for business students worldwide. You can begin to understand the concepts of “Individual Action. Collective Power.” at https://www.asone.org/asone.html. The School of Accountancy is proud to count Jim Quigley among its many outstanding alums, and looks forward to the upcoming release of this exciting new book.

The Effect Of Analyst Coverage On Accounting Conservatism, Jerry Sun, Guoping Liu

Odette School of Business Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether high analyst coverage increases or decreases accounting conservatism.

Design/methodology/approach – Sample firms were selected from the Compustat and I/B/E/S databases for years 1989-2006. The authors used both accrual-based and market-value-based measures of accounting conservatism, also the extent to which negative cash flow from operations is more timely recognized via accruals than positive cash flow from operations to measure accounting conservatism. The regression analyses are conducted to test the hypotheses.

Findings – Strong evidence was found that analyst coverage is positively associated with accounting conservatism. The results suggest that firms …

Chinese Reverse Mergers, Accounting Regimes, And The Rule Of Law In China, Benjamin A. Templin

Benjamin A. Templin

In 2010, federal regulators and politicians became increasingly concerned over the accounting practices of Chinese companies that trade on U.S. stock exchanges. In particular, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) targeted companies that went public through a process called the reverse merger. The instances of fraud became so widespread, regulators and commentators coined the term Chinese Reverse Merger (“CRM”) in order to describe a sector where investors assume the risk of accounting irregularities. Although CRMs must comply with international accounting standards, a weak rule of law in China has resulted in poor implementation and enforcement of its accounting regime. U.S. …

The Iron Cage Of The Profession: A Critique On Closure In The Australian Accounting Profession, Ronald W. Perrin, Gregory K. Laing

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the process of closure that occurs within the constructs of professions. The discussion in this paper focuses on the professional accounting bodies in Australia and how they have devolved a form of bureaucratic control over the education process through the credentialing of membership and accreditation of accounting degrees. Weber's theory of bureaucracy in conjunction with Closure theory provide the framework upon which this critique is drawn. Implicit in the regulatory role of the accounting bodies is the justification of the practice of accounting and the status of the members of the …

Race Matters: Whether We Know It, Or Like It, Or Not: Implicit Racial Attitudes And Their Effect On Accounting-Based, Balanced Scorecard Performance Evaluations, David R. Upton, Cecil E. Arrington

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

One of the dominant themes in critical accounting theory over the past two decades has to do with the relation between the construction of human identities and accounting discourse and practices. Though with strong antecedents in Marxist –inspired critique of ideology, genealogical studies (e.g., Miller & O’Leary, 19XX), deconstructive studies (e.g., Shearer & Arrington, 19XX), and critical-rational studies (e.g., Power & Laughlin, 19XX) are examples of different theoretical and methodological ways to probe the constructive force of accounting over human identity and subjectivity. This paper offers a fourth approach grounded in social-cognitive concerns with ways in which implicit attitudes, or …

Red Queen Takes White Knight: The Commercialisation Of Accounting Education In Australia, Edmund W. Watts, Carol J. Mcnair, Graham D. Bowrey

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose - This paper investigates the consequences of the commercialisation of Australian universities. It also provides a theoretical framework which focuses this action. Design / methodology - The Red Queen scenario posits that organisations that are more active than their rivals (they run faster) improve their competitive positions and increase their performance. However, organisations that are more sluggish (they run slower) experience negative performance consequences. This paper examines this process using the new institutional theory against the backdrop of the quest for increased international student numbers, higher international ranking and international accreditation. Findings - Using data from the 2011 Excellence …

The Effect Of Culture On The Implementation Of International Financial Reporting Standards, Mitchell A. Skotarczyk

CMC Senior Theses

As globalization increases at a blistering pace, more and more business entities continue to get involved in cross-border capital investments. A considerable cost can be applied to these types of transaction for the translation of financial statements prepared under dissimilar accounting guidelines into a comparable form. There exist a multiple number of accounting systems that create these dissimilarities, because accounting is a language of business that has been created by society to provide information as to the economic health of an entity. Similar to any other language, varying types of “accounting language” are used across different regions of the globe …

International Financial Reporting Standards: A Cautionary Note For Emerging Economies, Khursheed Omer, Darshan Wadhwa

Business Review

Long before the present economic crisis unfolded, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) had been working to achieve harmonization in accounting and financial reporting standards across the globe. Now that the world economic community has become more integrated, cross border flow of capital has gained unprecedented momentum and steps are underway to achieve this goal as early as possible. Initial efforts to harmonize local accounting principles and practices with those followed in developed economies were generally aimed at facilitating foreign multinationals operating in other countries. The desired goal of harmonization now ought to …

Ethics In Accounting: Sustainability As A Predictor Of Financial Statement Usefulness, Kyle L. Shipley

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the impact of ethics on financial statement usefulness in 120 publicly traded companies. Because ethics are difficult, if not impossible, to quantify, Corporate Social Responsibility ratings are used as a proxy. The potential implications of this study are vast, though the main idea is that investors would be able to make better financial decisions should the hypothesis come to fruition. Contrarily, investors will also be able to avoid potentially bad investments if they can ascertain certain companies that lack ethical values. In this paper, I will discuss several facets of corporate ethics such as creative accounting in …

The Accounting Consensus: Implications For Accounting Education, Research And The Profession, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.