Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Are Accounting Firms Breaching The Age Discrimination Act With The Inclusion Of Mandatory Retirement Provisions, Emily Haggard

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Age is just a number. This phrase has been murmured time after time in history. From famous movie scenes, song lyrics, pages in books, and wisdom from mothers, everyone has heard this at least once in their lives. Some joke that age only matters in wine and cheese. Some argue that age is all a limitation that the mind gives you. People are taught to never ask a woman how old she is, and as a society we celebrate certain ages such as twenty-one and sixteen, yet shun and deny those such as thirty and fifty. There are rules for …

Societal Trust And Corporate Tax Avoidance, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald Lobo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using aninternational sample of firms from 25 countries and a country-level index for societal trust, we document that societal trust is negatively associated with tax avoidance, even after controlling for other institutional determinants, such as home country legal institutions and tax system characteristics.We explore the effects of two country-level institutional characteristics—strength of lega linstitutions and capital market pressure—on the relation between societal trust and tax avoidance. We find that the relation between trust and tax avoidance is less pronounced when legal institutions in a country are stronger and is more pronounced when capital market pressure is stronger. Finally, we examine …

Cryptocurrency Fraud: A Look Into The Frontier Of Fraud, Stafford C. Baum

Honors College Theses

This research project was conducted to look into what sort of frauds can be committed to steal unsuspecting investors’ cryptocurrencies. The inspiration for this research came in the form of the fact that millions of dollars are lost to cryptocurrency fraud each day, and many of these frauds are successful due to the public’s naivete towards the dangers of investing in cryptocurrencies. After researching many different cryptocurrency fraud cases, the frauds could be categorized into four major categories. These categories include Ponzi schemes, fake initial coin offering schemes, pump and dump schemes as well as cryptocurrency theft.

Ideological Diversity In Standard Setting, Jivas Chakravarthy

Accounting Faculty Articles and Research

I explore whether the level of ideological diversity among Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) members has declined since the emergence of their conceptual framework. I analyze votes made by FASB members on Statements of Financial Accounting Standards and compare them to comment letters submitted by constituent sponsoring organizations. I demonstrate that, relative to the Pre-CF regime (1973–1986), FASB members’ voting positions in the CF regime (1987–2007) are (i) less like their constituent sponsors and (ii) more like one another. The former result is primarily attributable to differences between FASB members with auditor and preparer backgrounds and those groups’ sponsors. Both …

The Evolution Of The International Corporate Tax Regime, 1920-2008, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Reflective Practice Series: Selected Instructional Models Using Synchronous Video Conferencing Software, Martin W. Sivula

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

With the vast array of resources available to instructors, one would think that instruction and teaching would yield success for all learners. Now, well into the 21^st century has much changed in the classroom? Certainly, movable desks and chairs, advanced audio and visual equipment, and a plethora of all types of technologies which might be able to enhance training and education. Over the last several decades research on individualized instruction, cognitive science, educational psychology, and multimedia instruction (to name a few) have permeated the literature on instruction. With all the research and the vast array of studies on improving …

Zombie Board: Board Tenure And Firm Performance, Sterling Huang, Gilles Hilary

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We show that board tenure exhibits an inverted U-shaped relation with firm value and accounting performance. The quality of corporate decisions, such as M&A, financial reporting quality, and CEO compensation, also has a quadratic relation with board tenure. Our results are consistent with the interpretation that directors’ on-the-job learning improves firm value up to a threshold, at which point entrenchment dominates and firm performance suffers. To address endogeneity concerns, we use a sample of firms in which an outside director suffered a sudden death, and find that sudden deaths that move board tenure away from (toward) the empirically observed optimum …

Cross-Country Evidence On The Role Of Independent Media In Constraining Corporate Tax Aggressiveness, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using an international sample of firms from 32 countries, we study the relation between media independence and corporate tax aggressiveness. We measure media independence by the extent of private ownership and competition in the media industry. Using an indicator variable for tax aggressiveness when the firm’s corporate tax avoidance measure is within the top quartile of each country-industry combination, we find strong evidence that media independence is associated with a lower likelihood of tax aggressiveness, after controlling for other institutional determinants, including home-country tax system characteristics. We also find that the effect of media independence is more pronounced when the …

Domestic Asset Tracing And Recovery Of Hidden Assets And The Spoils Of Financial Crime, Nathan Wadlinger, Carl Pacini, Nicole Stowell, William Hopwood, Debra Sinclair

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

A Close Look At Audit Standards And Best Practices How To Validate The Existence Of An Asset, Luis Lebron

Economic Crime Forensics Capstones

A comparative analysis will be conducted seeking to identify how to obtain sufficient evidence to determine the existence of an asset within an organization during an independent audit. The external auditor is often regarded as the “gatekeeper” of the financial markets which has a fiduciary duty to its clients. (Choy, Fields, & King, 2008) Accounting firms are required by operation of law to act in an ethical manner and have a social responsibility to protect the interest of the public. However, there exists an ongoing issue in the performance of audits by larger firms. In a recent study conducted by …

Corporate Governance A Comparative Analysis In India And The Us, Pallak Bhandari

Honors Projects in Accounting

My senior capstone project focuses on the importance of transparency and monitoring within corporate governance, especially in India and the US. To understand corporate governance, I studied the different theories and models of corporate governance as well as sustainability reporting. This research discusses the legal and regulatory environment within India and the US, and through a comprehensive study of the regulatory bodies within the two countries, I determined the best practices of corporate governance. I conducted a comparative analysis across India and the US with focus on 13 elements: insider trading, disclosure and certification of financial statements, remuneration disclosure, code …

A Descriptive Study Investigating Accounting Students' Job Selection Preferences, Richard Wesley

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Many accounting students are selecting accounting audit firms without exhausting a thorough research about the firms or getting an idea of the firms’ expectation. Moreover, accounting firms are hiring students without getting a clear understanding of the students’ job selection preference. As a result, both the students and employers are finding a cultural mismatch. Often employers and students have different perspectives about the nature of the professional skills that are required for a successful accounting career. Once hired, many students soon leave because they become disillusioned with job-related realities. The value of this research adds to the body of research …

Glossary Of Business Evidence, Paul C. Boyd

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Risk Consumption, Sridhar Ramamoorti, Rick Stover

Accounting Faculty Publications

Understanding the difference between risk appetite and risk tolerance can deter organizations from digesting too much risk.

The concepts of risk appetite and risk tolerance were introduced in 2004 in The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission’s (COSO’s) Enterprise Risk Management–Integrated Framework. Specifically, COSO defines risk appetite as “the amount of risk — on a broad level — that an entity is willing to accept in pursuit of value.” Naturally, organizations will have different risk appetites depending on their industry, management philosophy, operating style, culture, and objectives. Therefore, a range of appetites potentially exist for distinct risks, which …

Dealing With Un(Expected) Ethical Dilemma: Experience From The Field, Zaleha Othman 6762207, Fathilatul Zakimi Abdul Hamid

The Qualitative Report

Despite the growing interest in qualitative research and discussion of ethics, there has been little focus in the literature on the specific ethical dilemmas faced by researchers. In this paper, we share our fieldwork experiences regarding the ethical dilemmas that we encountered while doing research on a sensitive topic. Specifically, we share some of the ethical dilemmas, that is, concerning confidentiality, anonymity, legitimacy, controversial data, interpretation and off-the-record data, which emerged from the research. Most importantly, this paper shares ideas concerning how researchers might deal with ethical issues while preserving their integrity in the research process. Overall, this paper suggests …

Keeping Investors Onboard: A Corporate Social Responsibility Crisis Response Framework, Clarence Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

There is evidence to suggest that managers use CSR reporting as a means to manage their firms’ CSR reputations. In this study, I jointly examine CSR reputation and CSR crisis response in the context of CSR crises, and how they can influence investor judgments and decision making. In particular, in the context of CSR crises, I build on situational crisis communication theory to develop a CSR crisis response framework which managers can use to examine and understand how specific types of CSR crises can influence their firm’s CSR reputations, which can in turn influence investor judgments and decision making. Following …

Are Corporate Codes Of Ethics And Risk Assessment By Internal Auditors Associated With Sustainability Audits By Internal Auditors?, Steven M. Desimone, Mohammad Abdolmohammadi

Economics Department Working Papers

An increasing number of organizations engage in sustainability reporting to the public. However, assurance of this disclosure is relatively new. In this study we investigate corporate codes of ethics and risk assessment by internal auditors as correlates of organizations’ engaging their internal audit functions (IAFs) in sustainability audits. Using data from a large sample of chief audit executives (CAEs) we find significant and positive associations between code of conduct and risk assessment and sustainability audits by IAFs. Also, we find positive and significant association between industry (environmentally sensitive vs. others), CAE experience, and CAE major (accounting vs. others) and sustainability …

Financial Literacy And Accountability Within Black Baptist Churches, Joanne Suttington

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study explored the lack of financial literacy and accountability of church leaders within black Baptist Church in fulfilling their financial stewardship responsibilities in overseeing the church’s resources. In order for churches to grow both spiritually and financially, the church leaders are critical to the overall success and sustainability of the organization. The conceptual framework for this study was based on the stewardship theory, which implied that church leaders would perform as responsible stewards in managing the church’s resources. In this study, the researcher used a qualitative method with a case study design to explore the education and experiences of …

The Emerging International Taxation Problems, James G. Yang, Victor N.A. Metallo

Department of Accounting and Finance Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The problems of tax evasion and tax avoidance are as old as taxes themselves. Between 2015 and 2016 alone, many U.S. multinational corporations were involved in tax disputes with the European Commission. From a historical perspective, these disputes are unprecedented as they have resulted in tremendous amount of tax penalties. The most notable case was Apple for €13 billion of unpaid tax. This article discusses what tax strategies these corporations used that caused such disputes. It specifically investigates seven corporations: Apple Inc., McDonald’s, Starbucks, Fiat, Amazon, Google, and Ikea, and elaborates on the following tax strategies: high royalties, intercompany transfer …