Accounting Commons^™

Staggered Boards And Human Capital Disclosure, Xue Yang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This article examines the effects of staggered boards on human capital management (HCM) disclosure quality. I find that firms with staggered boards exhibit significantly better HCM disclosure scores than non-staggered boards. Additionally, firms that transition from staggered boards to non-staggered boards are shown to experience significant decreases in their HCM disclosure scores. These results are robust to the exclusion of firms that switch to or from staggered boards to non-staggered boards, propensity score matching, and alternative disclosure quality measures. While various cross-sections and the usefulness of HCM disclosure information for analyst forecasts are explored, the results were not significant.

The Effect Of Remote Work On Career Success In The Accounting Profession, Erin Bynum

Honors Theses

This study analyzed the results of career success assessments of hypothetical public accountants working remotely and in a traditional office setting to determine if remote work affects assessments by partners, managers, and staff accountants. Subjects were randomly assigned resumes that included indications of either remote work or traditional in-office work. Resumes were otherwise identical. After an initial assessment of an assigned hypothetical accountant, subjects were asked to recommend activities that would increase the likelihood of future career success. Subjects were then told that the hypothetical accountant engaged in the recommended activity and were provided a description of a high or …

Essays In Accounting And Financial Institutions, Hanmeng Wang

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Financial institutions, e.g., mutual funds and banks, are important entities in the capital markets. They make decisions based on accounting information. Further, their activities influence information production on the firm side, because interests are aligned between institutional investors and firms either through contracting or through market price pressure. Within this context, my dissertation focuses on the interactions between financial institutions and firms. In Chapter 1, I study how institutional investors’ myopia affects firms’ voluntary disclosures. This research question is motivated by the concurrent debate in accounting theory about whether myopia leads to more or less voluntary disclosures. I explore the …

The Implications Of Artificial Intelligence On Junior Auditors, Kaye Ragasajo

Senior Honors Theses

The aim of this paper is to explore the evolving intersection of financial statement auditing and artificial intelligence (AI). A timeline of AI adoption in auditing is traced, detailing its impact on audit processes and the contemporary role of junior auditors. Challenges faced by junior auditors are identified, with an emphasis on the potential benefits and ethical concerns surrounding AI integration. Recommendations for adapting to AI's emergence and addressing challenges are provided. The analysis underscores the need for industry-wide collaboration, regulatory adjustments, and the cultivation of digital ethics. As AI continues to reshape auditing, future trends expected within the profession …

The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act And The Increase Of Stock Buybacks, Ruben Colon

Honors Theses

In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) decreased the corporate tax rate from thirty-five (35) percent to twenty-one (21) percent. In addition, the TCJA imposed a one-time tax on liquid and fixed assets held off-shore at fifteen-point five (15.5) percent and eight (8) percent, respectively, paid over eight (8) years, by awarding essentially an interest-free loan, creating an incentive for corporations in the United States to repatriate their offshore cash. This research investigates how the TCJA impacted corporate government tax revenue (CGTR), how corporations used the cash gained from the corporate tax rate decrease, whether the decrease in …

Presentation Format And Disclosure Overload: Evidence From The Public Sector, Melissa Hicks

Dissertations

Disclosure overload is a condition that occurs in some users of financial statement disclosures that may result in adverse effects, such as a lack of comprehension of information and increased time for cognitive processing. Disclosure overload research has focused primarily on decision quality and accuracy when using non-mandatory disclosures, largely excluding consideration of mandatory financial statement disclosures. This study examined mandatory financial statement disclosures through the lens of cognitive fit theory using an experimental research design. Cognitive fit theory was tested across different disclosure formats and at varying levels of financial accounting literacy to measure the effect on overload symptoms. …

Exploring Entrepreneurial Intention And Subjective Beliefs: A Comparative Analysis Of General Education Schools And Commercial Schools, Julia Riess, Bettina Fuhrmann, Gerhard Geissler

International Journal for Business Education

This study examines the entrepreneurial intentions of Austrian secondary school students, specifically comparing students from commercial schools with those from general education schools. We analyzed 2,329 data sets and found that subjective beliefs, primarily behavioral and control beliefs, significantly influence entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, demographic factors such as gender, language, acquaintance with entrepreneurs, and school type play a significant role in explaining the variance in entrepreneurial intentions.

Our detailed analysis shows that students from commercial schools have stronger entrepreneurial intentions and subjective beliefs. Particularly notable are the differences in behavioral beliefs, where students from commercial schools find all aspects of …

Navigating Uncertainty In Tax Strategy Due To The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act (Tcja) Sunset, Tate Smith

Student Research Symposium

Everyone files taxes and wants to pay as little as possible, but tax planning becomes complicated when new laws could come into effect. This research was designed to find the best tax planning strategy for the upcoming 2025 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Sunset.

The Impact Of Recent Accounting Exam Scandals On Students' Perceptions Of The Accounting Profession Versus Individual Firms, Emily Blondin

Honors Projects in Accounting

Scandals regarding major accounting firms have not been uncommon throughout the twenty-first century; however, advancing technology and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam restructuring have created a new era of significant accounting scandals. This research paper analyzes the effects of the 2022 Ernst & Young LLC (EY) exam scandal on the perceptions of the accounting profession for the future workforce. Data collected explored undergraduate and graduate students’ perceptions of both the accounting profession and EY before and after reading about the scandal. This examination investigates whether the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants’ (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct (Code) holds true, …

The Effect Of Massage Therapy On Test Anxiety Experienced By Traditional-Aged Undergraduate Business Students, Jorge A. Pazmiño

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Test anxiety impacts traditional-aged undergraduate business students and influences their academic performance and overall well-being. This study explored the efficacy of massage therapy (MT) as a means of mitigating test anxiety within this demographic. Building on existing literature that addresses the consequences of anxiety and alternative coping mechanisms, this research study focused on MT as a potential strategy for test anxiety management. The study employed the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale–College Version (AMAS-C) to gather data from participants at a private liberal arts institution in the East South-Central region of the United States. An experimental group received an MT intervention, while …

Market-Based Oil Spill(Overs): Market Reactions To The Energy Windfall Tax Announcements And Disclosures In The United Kingdom, Kristian D. Allee, Raffael Speitmann, Arthur Stenzel, Yuchen Wu

Accounting Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigate the market reaction to a windfall tax regulation announcement for oil and gas firms in the UK. We find that firms subject to the windfall tax experience a significant abnormal price effect of 6.0 to 7.3 %. The effect is concentrated among large and more profitable firms. The results also show that firms voluntarily disclose more precise information after the regulation to offset the negative abnormal price reaction at the windfall tax announcement date. Evidence suggests that these disclosures are largely effective at allaying the price effects associated with increased investor disagreement. Moreover, our analyses show that firms …

Using Education To Protect The Elderly Against Fraud, Erik Charles

Honors College Theses

This study’s goal is to provide a guide to anyone looking to educate the elderly on fraud. Advice is provided for those who want to help an elderly person in their life and for people who wish to create fraud educations programs of their own. My own experience creating and giving a fraud lecture at a senior living facility is used as evidence for my advice, as well as research into various elderly and fraud related topics.

Strategies For Maintaining The Financial Viability Of Behavioral Health Programs, Antonia Alford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Biases Within Internal Managerial Reports: The Trickle-Down Effect, Elizabeth Marses

Honors Projects in Accounting

Internal managerial reports are constantly utilized by managers within an organization to make decisions on behalf of the company. When biases become present within these reports, a trickle-down effect also becomes present being that biases have the power to impact one’s decisions and alter the future of a company. This thesis project presents literature that supports this idea and presents one of the more common causes of biases within internal managerial reports, subjective performance evaluations. This project empirically tests whether biased reports alter decision making by presenting an investment type scenario to respondents in both a neutral and biased tone. …

Do Eastern Religious Traditions Stifle Or Encourage Corporate Innovation? Evidence From China, Lihong Liang, Siyi Liu, Chunqiu Zhang

Accounting - All Scholarship

Although the relationship between Western religiosity and innovation is widely investigated, the effect of Eastern religious traditions on corporate innovation remains unexplored. Using a sample of firms listed in Chinese A-share stock exchanges, we find that firms registered in areas with stronger Eastern religious traditions (Buddhism and Taoism) are generally more innovative than firms registered in areas with weaker Eastern religious traditions. This result suggests that Eastern religiosity promotes rather than stifles corporate innovation. We find additional evidence suggesting that Eastern religiosity promotes corporate innovation mainly through the following three channels: (1) fostering nonexclusivity and openness to science and innovation, …

Reduced Audit Quality Acts: A Review And Organizational Model, Troy A. Hyatt, Douglas F. Prawitt, Kyle M. Stubbs

Accountancy Faculty Publications and Presentations

With increasing regulatory focus on improving audit quality, research on drivers of audit quality remains important to academics, professionals and regulators. One compelling branch of this research focuses on auditors' intentional actions that reduce audit quality, often referred to in the literature as reduced audit quality acts (RAQAs). This paper provides a review and synthesis of the RAQA literature, including a unifying definition for RAQAs and a model for organizing past and future RAQA research. With the model, we explore antecedents to RAQAs as well as the discovery of, responses to and subsequent consequences of RAQAs. We also discuss potential …

Money Laundering In The United States: A Review Of Current Regulations And Threats, Grace Hutchinson

Senior Honors Theses

Money laundering is the act of hiding illegally obtained money in the financial system. There are three stages of money laundering: placing, layering, and integration. In the United States, the Bank Secrecy Act, monitored by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), requires companies to establish an anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program and to exercise customer due diligence as preventative measures. The US government can detect money laundering through Suspicious Activity Reports, Currency Transaction Reports, and whistleblower tips. However, AML threats and vulnerabilities such as Professional Money Launderers, cryptocurrency, and the global art market allow criminals to continue to launder money …

Proving Their Mettle: Managerial Ability And Firm Performance In Trying Times, Barry Hettler, James Cordeiro, Arno Forst

School of Accountancy Faculty Publications

This study investigates the impact of trying economic times, i.e., periods of economic decline and uncertainty, on managerial ability. We find that trying economic times positively moderate the association between managerial ability and firm profitability. Consistent with these primary findings, we also find that the positive moderating role of economic decline and uncertainty on the ability-performance relationship is most salient in procyclical industries. Our results are robust across multiple measures of economically trying times and managerial ability. Further analyses indicate that in trying times more capable managers generate stronger performance through both improved asset turnover and profit margins.

How Does The Degree Of Remote Work Impact Perceptions And Productivity For Undergrad Accounting Workers?, Jonah Hauf

ALL - Honors Theses

A recent development in the field of accounting is the concept of working remotely and being able to be part of a company without ever setting foot inside its doors. This concept has been accelerated by the recent pandemic that prevented companies from surviving financially if they did not adapt to allow employees to work remotely. As companies have recently been opening their doors back up to employees working in person, there is increasing dialogue about whether or not remote work should be embraced as a tool for success or rejected as a potential distraction.

This study will explore literature …

Understanding The Ey Split: A Qualitative Approach, Joseph Long

Honors Projects

This research project takes a qualitative approach at analyzing the proposed split between the audit and consulting operations of the accounting firm known as Ernst & Young (EY). The two specific research questions this project attempts to answer are: 1. What specific reasons led to the downfall of EY’s proposed split? 2. Could a similar project be more successful in the future for EY or another firm? In order to answer these questions, a variety of articles in reputable business publications pertaining to the EY split were analyzed to get their take on the proposed split. In addition, an assortment …