Three Studies Examining The Effects Of Psychological Distance On Judgment And Decision Making In Accounting,
2015
University of Central Florida
Three Studies Examining The Effects Of Psychological Distance On Judgment And Decision Making In Accounting, Martin Weisner
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation comprises three studies, a literature review and two experimental studies, that center on the effects of psychological distance on judgment and decision-making in accounting. Construal level theory (CLT) of psychological distance (Liberman and Trope 1998; Trope and Liberman 2003), a framework recently developed in the field of social psychology, constitutes the theoretical foundation for each study. The first study reviews extant literature on CLT and illustrates the theory's potential for investigating previously unexplained phenomena within the accounting domain. Selected publications that apply CLT in contexts that are of particular interest to accounting researchers are emphasized and a series …
A Study Of Earnings Managent And Financial Statement Reporting Issues Surroding Public Traded Corporations,
2015
University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College
A Study Of Earnings Managent And Financial Statement Reporting Issues Surroding Public Traded Corporations, Juntao Wu
Honors Theses
The purpose of this paper is to study some publicly traded companies' financial reporting systems. I chose four companies in different industries to conduct a series of analyses and evaluations. In Section One, the quality of these companies' financial reporting systems is carefully examined and evaluated. First, I discuss some potential earnings management strategies that managers from different departments tend to adopt. Next, some of the chosen companies' important policies, such as revenue recognition, are compared with industrial standards or relevant policies from competitors. In addition, earnings management and financial reporting issues that relate to income taxes are discussed separately. …
Fraud And Its Relation To The Hospitality Industry,
2015
University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College
Fraud And Its Relation To The Hospitality Industry, Nicole Ross
Honors Theses
The purpose of this study is to analyze and explore the numerous components of fraud, including its relation and presence in the hospitality industry. Additionally, the study contains findings and analyses derived from participation in a professional development series conducted in a classroom setting and two accounting case studies hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and KMPG in Fall 2013. I will dissect fraud down to its various elements and compile a work plan and proposal originating from the findings from the study. The study examines the causes of fraud, people who commit fraud, fraud legislation, and fraud trends. Through primary and secondary …
A Strategic And It Analysis Of Quirky And An Examination Of Business And Accounting Case Studies,
2015
University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College
A Strategic And It Analysis Of Quirky And An Examination Of Business And Accounting Case Studies, Lisa-Marie Schalk
Honors Theses
The purpose of this secondary and primary research is not only to explore the concept of management and information technology consulting in the context of a startup up company based in New York called Quirky, but also to present the culmination of my participation in two accounting case study competitions, PricewaterhouseCoopers' xACT competition and KPMG's International Case Competition. After my secondary research on management and IT consulting and the role of IT in various functional areas such as human resources, supply chain management, and financial reporting, I present a brief background on Quirky, a startup company with the mission to …
An Analysis Of Corporate Social Responsibility And Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting,
2015
University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College
An Analysis Of Corporate Social Responsibility And Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting, Anna Claire Wammack
Honors Theses
The purpose of this thesis is to present an overview of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and CSR reporting. The research done in preparation of this report was done by reviewing articles and professional reports and surveys on the topic of CSR. The report defines CSR and examines several surveys of businesses to see what the current CSR trends are. Next, government initiatives and expenditures related to CSR are described and quantified. The report continues by describing the benefits and format of CSR reporting and attestation. Other areas of business and CSR are studied such as CSR investing and consulting. Lastly, …
Narrowing The Gap Of Financial Fraud Detection In Corporations,
2015
Walden University
Narrowing The Gap Of Financial Fraud Detection In Corporations, Solomon Aborbie
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Business leaders remain exposed to financial and accounting fraud as well as loss of profitability, despite the dictates of the SOX Act of 2002. The most challenging aspect of corporate management is the unexpected nature of an emerging, existing, or an inherent financial risk. Guided by the evolution of fraud theory, this exploratory case study's purpose was to identify and explore the financial management strategies that corporate financial managers need to adequately protect investors. Twenty participants from a population group of corporate auditors of Fortune 1000 corporations within 70 miles of Columbus, Ohio provided input for this study. Data from …
"Lean"Ing Towards Improvement,
2015
The University of Akron
"Lean"Ing Towards Improvement, Katie Wojciechowski
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
According to Balzer (2010) and Liebtag (2014), Lean Six Sigma is ubiquitous in the workforce, including areas of higher education institutions and accounting firms. Lean Six Sigma is primarily prevalent in areas of healthcare and manufacturing. Having knowledge in Lean Six Sigma can drastically improve the way people think about implementing and evaluating projects and processes. This paper describes research conducted, applied, and executed to help departments within the Division of Student Success at The University of Akron. These departments have significantly reduced the amount of waste and are now producing more revenue due to the Lean Six Sigma processes …
Taxation On Morals,
2015
The University of Akron
Taxation On Morals, Alex J. Fulop
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
This paper discusses five (5) tax topics and their relationship to the government attempting to influence taxpayer behavior. These topics include the charitable contribution deduction, excise taxes, §179 deductions, the first-time homebuyer credit, and soil, water, and endangered species conservation expense deductions. The above aspects of tax law are the government’s way of encouraging some behaviors and discouraging others. I believe that doing so is well within the government’s rights to do. However, I also think that encouraging moral actions is different from requiring them, and they certainly should not be required.
Does The Pcaob Inspection Have An Effect On Audit Fees And Audit Quality?,
2015
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Does The Pcaob Inspection Have An Effect On Audit Fees And Audit Quality?, Elizabeth Schwartzhoff Johnson
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
I investigate the effects of the issuance of the PCAOB Part II report on audit fees and audit quality. The PCAOB replaced the peer review auditor program with an independent inspection of audit firms. Upon completion of each inspection, the PCAOB issues inspection reports that include a public portion (Part I) of identified audit deficiencies, and most include a nonpublic portion (Part II) of identified quality control weaknesses which is not disclosed publicly unless the audit firm does not sufficiently complete remediation during the next 12 months. Upon issuance of the Part II report, I find that audit firms experience …
Short Selling Pressure, Stock Price Behavior, And Management Forecast Precision: Evidence From A Natural Experiment,
2015
Arizona State University
Short Selling Pressure, Stock Price Behavior, And Management Forecast Precision: Evidence From A Natural Experiment, Yinghua Li, Liandong Zhang
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Using a natural experiment (Regulation SHO), we show that short selling pressure and consequent stock price behavior have a causal effect on managers' voluntary disclosure choices. Specifically, we find that managers respond to a positive exogenous shock to short selling pressure and price sensitivity to bad news by reducing the precision of bad news forecasts. This finding on management forecasts appears to be generalizable to other corporate disclosures. In particular, we find that, in response to increased short selling pressure, managers also reduce the readability (or increase the fuzziness) of bad news annual reports. Overall, our results suggest that maintaining …
Can Fair Value Accounting Create A Cognitive Bias? The Effects Of Recognized Level 3 Fair Value On Manager Selling Decisions,
2015
Virginia Commonwealth University
Can Fair Value Accounting Create A Cognitive Bias? The Effects Of Recognized Level 3 Fair Value On Manager Selling Decisions, Karen Y. Green
Theses and Dissertations
This study examines the effects of the discretion allowed in fair value accounting on manager selling decisions of Level 3 fair value assets and liabilities. Grounded in motivated reasoning and prospect theory, the discretion permitted for Level 3 fair value assets and liabilities is predicted to have behavioral consequences. The study employs a 2 X 2 between- participant design, manipulating a conservative level of the discretion used to ascertain the fair value (more or less conservative) and the volatility of the historically recognized fair value (low or high). Both graduate students and accounting professionals were asked to read a case …
Asset Price Bubbles With Specific Focus On Stock Prices In Pakistan,
2015
Indus University, Pakistan
Asset Price Bubbles With Specific Focus On Stock Prices In Pakistan, Nawaz Ahmad, Rizwan Raheem Ahmed, Yaseen Ahmed Meenai
Business Review
This research paper is an attempt to investigate Asset Price Bubbles (APB) with reference to Pakistan stock market. The analysis of time series graph shows a linear trend between Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Money Supply Index (M2I) whereas a nonlinear trend with stock prices. Moreover, the graph also shows an unequal spread with the stock prices, which indicate Heteroskedasticity. Then, descriptive statistics test shows high Standard Deviations for stock prices compared with CPI and M2I, which indicate a higher volatility in stock prices. Finally, the hypothesis test for equality of variance concluded the presence of Asset Price Bubbles by …
Impact Of Board Characteristics And Audit Committee On Financial Performance: A Study Of Manufacturing Sector Of Pakistan,
2015
Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Impact Of Board Characteristics And Audit Committee On Financial Performance: A Study Of Manufacturing Sector Of Pakistan, Arfan Ali, Saad Bin Nasir
Business Review
The research will examine the role of corporate governance (CG) practices on firm’s financial performance. Population of this research will be manufacture sector of Pakistan. For the purposes of measurement of impact of corporate governance practices such as board size, board independence, CEO/chairman duality and audit committee will take as independent variables and for the measurement of firm’s performance return on assets and return on equity will take as dependent variables. Panel data regression model will used to estimate the impact of CG on firm performance.
Insights Into Large Audit Firm Sampling Policies,
2015
Brigham Young University - Provo
Insights Into Large Audit Firm Sampling Policies, Brant E. Christensen, Randal J. Elder, Steven M. Glover
Faculty Publications
Changes in the audit profession after Sarbanes-Oxley, including mandatory audits of internal control over financial reporting and PCAOB oversight and inspection of audit work, have potentially changed the nature and extent of audit sampling in the largest accounting firms. In our study, ‘‘Behind the Numbers: Insights into Large Audit Firm Sampling Policies’’ (Christensen, Elder, and Glover 2015), we administered an extensive, open-ended survey to the national offices of the Big 4 and two other international accounting firms regarding their firm’s audit sampling policies. We find variation among the largest firms’ policies in their use of different sampling methods and in …
Compensation Or Feedback: Motivating Performance In Multidimensional Tasks,
2015
University of Georgia
Compensation Or Feedback: Motivating Performance In Multidimensional Tasks, Margaret H. Christ, Scott A. Emett, William B. Tayler, David A. Wood
Faculty Publications
Employees often perform tasks with multiple dimensions. In this study, we examine how employees’ performance on multidimensional tasks differs under different control structures. We conduct two experiments in which we manipulate the presence of compensation controls and the presence of feedback controls on multiple task dimensions. Our findings suggest that when employees are compensated on multiple dimensions they commit to multiple goals and divide their attention among those task dimensions. However, when feedback controls are implemented on one task dimension with compensation controls on another dimension, employees can improve performance on individual dimensions as well as their overall task performance. …
The Effects Of Out-Of-Regime Guidance On Auditor Judgments About Appropriate Application Of Accounting Standards,
2015
University of Iowa
The Effects Of Out-Of-Regime Guidance On Auditor Judgments About Appropriate Application Of Accounting Standards, H. Scott Asay, Tim Brown, Mark W. Nelson, T. Jeffrey Wilks
Faculty Publications
Accountants making judgments with respect to a particular set of standards are increasingly aware of standards from other reporting regimes that offer additional or conflicting guidance. In fact, IFRS encourages reliance on out-of-regime standards when IFRS lacks guidance. This paper reports the results of two experiments which provide evidence that auditors in such circumstances are vulnerable to contrast effects, whereby reporting judgments under IFRS are systematically influenced away from the accounting treatment supported by standards from another regime (U.S. GAAP). Contrast effects are observed (1) when out-of-regime standards are considered before making a reporting judgment under IFRS and (2) when …
March Market Madness: The Impact Of Value-Irrelevant Events On The Market Pricing Of Earnings News*,
2015
Brigham Young University - Provo
March Market Madness: The Impact Of Value-Irrelevant Events On The Market Pricing Of Earnings News*, Michael S. Drake, Kurt H. Gee, Jacob Thornock
Faculty Publications
Each year, the NCAA basketball tournament (March Madness) is a daytime distraction for millions of people, providing a largely exogenous shock to investor attention. We investigate whether March Madness influences the market response to earnings by diverting investor attention away from earnings news. We find that the price reaction to earnings news released during March Madness is muted. This result generally holds across several samples and additional analyses. We also find that the result is more muted for low institutional ownership firms, consistent with the effect being driven by less-sophisticated investors. Furthermore, we find that it takes the market 30 …
When Does Pre-Ipo Financial Reporting Trigger Post-Ipo Legal Consequences?,
2015
New York University
When Does Pre-Ipo Financial Reporting Trigger Post-Ipo Legal Consequences?, Mary Brooke Billings, Melissa F. Lewis-Western
Faculty Publications
Prior research suggests that the fear of litigation precludes most managers from manipulating earnings in the initial public offering (“IPO”) setting. Yet, managers’ restraint is perhaps unwarranted: research has not yet linked instances of aggressive pre-IPO reporting to increased litigation risk. This paper investigates when aggressive IPO reporting triggers legal consequences. Examining 2,037 IPOs, we find that even when ex post evidence indicates the presence of earnings inflation, litigation is more likely to occur when investors have relied on the suspect earnings during the pricing process. Why might investors rely on some firms’ abnormal accruals when valuing the IPO and …
Historical Cost Measurement And The Use Of Dupont Analysis By Market Participants,
2015
University of Washington
Historical Cost Measurement And The Use Of Dupont Analysis By Market Participants, Asher Curtis, Melissa F. Lewis-Western, Sara Toynbee
Faculty Publications
We investigate whether historical cost measurement of assets lowers the usefulness of DuPont analysis for investors. Because firms report assets at modified historical cost under US GAAP, accounting ratios can be biased upward when assets have appreciated. Thus, variation in asset turnover, which is the DuPont ratio most affected by asset measurement, can be due to both economic forces and measurement effects. We assess the extent of measurement effects using the average age of a firm’s assets and find that asset turnover ratios are higher and more persistent for firms with older assets. Forecast errors of asset turnover are associated …
Disclosure Transparency About Activity In Valuation Allowance And Reserve Accounts And Accruals-Based Earnings Management,
2015
University of Arkansas
Disclosure Transparency About Activity In Valuation Allowance And Reserve Accounts And Accruals-Based Earnings Management, Cory A. Cassell, Linda A. Myers, Timothy Seidel
Faculty Publications
We examine the relation between the transparency of disclosures about activity in valuation allowance and reserve accounts and accruals-based earnings management. We classify disclosures as being transparent if they provide detailed information about activity in the allowance and reserve accounts during the fiscal period. We find strong evidence that the extent of accruals-based earnings management is lower among companies with transparent disclosures than among companies without transparent disclosures. We also investigate whether the extent of accruals-based earnings management is lower for companies that provide transparent disclosures in one comprehensive schedule (i.e., the Schedule II) relative to those that provide transparent …
