Accounting Commons^™

The Asymmetric Market Valuation Of Special Items And Accounting Conservatism, Madeline Kay Trimble

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the asymmetric market valuation of both negative and positive special items as explained by accounting conservatism. I argue that special items, also known as nonrecurring operating gains and losses, have asymmetric market valuations, as tested using earning response coefficients (ERC). I believe that this difference in ERC between positive and negative special items can be explained by accounting conservatism. This thesis has two main findings: (1) an asymmetry exists in the valuation of positive and negative special items; and (2) the asymmetry can be explained by the idea of accounting conservatism, which is the tendency that firms …

Audit Quality And Accrual Persistence: Evidence From The Pre- And Post-Sarbanes-Oxley Periods, Dennis Chambers, Jeff L. Payne

Faculty Articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, to examine whether the quality of accruals, as measured by accrual persistence, improved in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) period, and second, to examine the degree to which SOX-related improvement in accrual persistence varies across companies depending on the degree of their auditor's independence.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper compares accrual persistence in the pre- and post-SOX periods to test the first question. Then, partitioning on relative client importance as a measure of auditor independence, the paper compares the SOX-based improvement for clients of low and high independence audit firms.

Findings – The …

Learning The “Craft Of Auditing”: Applications Of The Cognitive Apprenticeship Framework, Kimberly D. Westermann

2011

This dissertation consists of three studies examining component(s) of the cognitive apprenticeship (CA) model applied to on-the-job learning in auditing. This abstract summarizes each study, including purpose, methodology, and findings. The first study provides descriptive evidence on the importance and pervasiveness of CA as a model of on-the-job learning (OTJL) in auditing, investigates changes in its use over time, and assesses factors that promote or hinder auditors’ learning through apprenticeship. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 relatively new and more experienced audit partners at a Big 4 firm, seeking their impressions about past and current OTJL practices in public accounting. …

Past Financial Reporting Credibility: Does It Influence Market Perceptions Of Fair Value Assets?, Jason M. Rehhaut

CMC Senior Theses

During the financial crisis, many assets became illiquid and ceased trading on the open market, thus classifying them as level three assets. This study attempts to determine whether fair value asset disclosures, especially level three assets, were viewed by the market as valued correctly, given the amount of subjectivity involved. This paper will discuss prior literature on the topics of fair value accounting, various earnings quality measures, and corporate governance impact on fair value disclosures. Using models similar to prior papers, many of the coefficients of interest proved insignificant. However, the models improved when examining only the least credible firms.

The Impact Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act On American Business From 1977-2010, Ajani Harris

CMC Senior Theses

This paper seeks to present the moral and ethical frameworks in which to consider the effect of bribing on business and the great community; confront the cultural differences that lie between American businesses and its potential interest abroad, as well as the growing international move to implementation similar to that of the FCPA; analyze prior anti-bribery legislation and the historical events that prompted the need for a policy like the FCPA, discuss the basic elements of the policy’s two pronged approach of anti-bribery and disclosure regulation; examine several cases in the enforcement of the FCPA on American businesses; and consider …

Determinants Of Corporate Cash Holdings, Yun Lai (William) Li

CMC Senior Theses

The paper explores the driving forces behind corporate cash holdings by analyzing past literature and extending this research to the behavior of firms after the 2008 recession. I look at the cash to assets and net debt to assets ratios from October 1980 to October 2011 to obtain an understanding of the past and current state of cash holdings. A comprehensive literature review is done on agency costs and transactional motives to give the reader an overview of the costs and benefits of holding cash. This provides the foundation for the precautionary motives for companies today to keep cash as …

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 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 …

Market Value Vs Historical Cost Valuations Of Fixed Assets In The Context Of International Convergence, Alexander Y. Varga

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the differences between accounting for fixed assets under IFRS and U.S. GAAP.  Primarily the discussion will be driven by the question: which standard should the FASB lobby for in its joint effort with the IASB to converge U.S. GAAP with IFRS?  The paper will start by establishing that financial reporting, as it has evolved in the United States, was developed primarily to assist in the accountability relationships between management and both credit and equity investors.  From there the paper will look at which standard is better suited to fulfill this goal and …

Regulations Governing Practice Before The Internal Revenue Service; Treasury Department Circular 230 (Rev. 8-2011), United States. Internal Revenue Service

Federal Publications

No abstract provided.

A Structural Analysis Of The European Monetary Union And Its Effect On Greece In Light Of The European Financial Crisis, Stephanie C. Ramos

CMC Senior Theses

The intent of this paper is to analyze the structural composition of the European Monetary Union and its implications for the European Financial Crisis, specifically with respect to Greece. This analysis will be driven by a trend analysis of several economic variables from 1999-2010. These variables range from the four requirements set under the Maastricht criteria, competitiveness indicators, and relative European trade balances, to international investment position. A quantitative and empirical analysis of this data finds that the Greek crisis was a result of structural issues with the EMU and the Greek government. The ECB’s inability to enforce the Maastricht …

An Evidential Reasoning Approach To Fraud Risk Assessment Under Dempster-Shafer Theory: A General Framework, Lei Gao, Theodore J. Mock, Rajendra P. Srivastava

School of Accountancy: Faculty Publications

This paper develops a general framework under Dempster-Shafer theory for assessing fraud risk in a financial statement audit by integrating the evidence pertaining to the presence of fraud triangle factors (incentives, attitude and opportunities), and evidence concerning both account-based and evidence-based fraud schemes. This framework extends fraud risk assessment models in prior research in three respects. 1) It integrates fraud schemes, both account schemes through which accounts are manipulated, and evidence schemes through which frauds are concealed, into a single framework. 2) It incorporates prior fraud frequency information obtained from the Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases issued by the Securities …

Financial Reporting Fraud : A Practical Guide To Detection And Internal Control, Charles R. Lundelius

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Optimization Of Adult Multipotent Stromal Cell-Bioscaffold Interactions For Tissue Regeneration With Bioreactors, Lin Xie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Adult multipotent stromal cells (MSCs) in combination with biocompatible scaffolds may augment well-established medical and surgical techniques. Pre-implantation cell loading and viability on scaffold carriers followed by in vitro differentiation and extracellular matrix (ECM) formation contribute to the efficacy of in vivo tissue formation. Given the specificity of the parameters for each cell-scaffold construct, it is vital to assess the relative potential of various combinations to select the best option for various clinical needs. High demand for equine and human bone regeneration especially non-union fracture repair is still largely unaddressed. Therefore osteogenesis potential of both equine and human MSCs engrafted …

Reconciling Archival And Experimental Research: Does Internal Audit Contribution Affect The External Audit Fee?, Douglas F. Prawitt, Nathan Y. Sharp, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

Consistent with guidelines from external auditing standards, a large body of experimental and survey research suggests that an internal audit function (IAF) can contribute in ways that lead to decreased external audit fees; however, research using archival methodologies generally finds either no relation or a positive relation between proxies for IAF contribution and external audit fees. In this paper, we provide new evidence using a unique and previously unavailable data set to develop archival proxies of internal audit contribution. We find that SAS No. 65-based proxies for the contribution of internal audit are associated with lower unexpected external audit fees. …

Accounting Doctoral Program Rankings Based On Research Productivity Of Program Graduates, Nathaniel M. Stephens, Scott L. Summers, Brady Williams, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

This paper presents rankings of accounting doctoral programs based on the research productivity of each institution’s graduates in the years immediately following their graduation. We use two time periods for analysis: the first three years after graduation and the first six years after graduation. We extend previous doctoral program ranking literature by expanding rankings of accounting doctoral programs with specific rankings for topical areas (accounting information systems (AIS), audit, financial, managerial, and tax) and methodologies (analytical, archival, and experimental). We show that rankings for topical and methodological areas differ significantly from rankings produced using methodologies that create a singular doctoral …

An Empirical Investigation Of Decision Aids To Improve Auditor Effectiveness In Analytical Review, Robert N. Marley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is considerable evidence in the audit literature that even though auditors usually identify the relevant information needed to propose and select the correct cause of an unexpected fluctuation, they frequently do not propose the correct cause, and even when they do propose the correct cause, they often fail to select it. I suggest that working memory limitations might be a factor contributing to this analytical review paradox. Consequently, this study investigates whether two new decision aids, designed from Cognitive Load Theory, reduce auditors' cognitive load during analytical review, freeing cognitive resources for problem solving, and ultimately leading to improved …

U.S. & International Accounting : Understanding The Differences, Teresa Conover, Frederick D. Niswander

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Risk Assessment For Mid-Sized Companies : Tools For Developing A Tailored Approach To Risk Management, Scott M. Mckay

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Bill What You're Worth, David W. Cottle

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.