Business Commons^™

Gender Inequity Within Public Accounting, Paige Petersen

Honors Thesis

Traditionally a male-dominated field, the public accounting industry has seen recent progress in the presence and advancement of women in the profession. Today, women comprise half of accounting students, Certified Public Accountant test-takers, and employees at public accounting firms. However, women in public accounting face an invisible barrier when it comes to reaching the level of partner, where they represent only nineteen percent of partners. Uneven distribution of female representation should be of concern to public accounting firms seeking to maximize the potential of their talent pool and gain the benefits of diverse leadership. Traditional viewpoints on this issue promote …

The Impact Of Unions On Information Asymmetry, Caroline Burke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior literature documents a positive association between union power, calculated using industry-level union data, and information asymmetry. Prior literature also finds a mitigating effect from employee ownership on the negative association between union power and voluntary disclosure. Using a sample of company observations for fiscal years 2008 through 2010, I examine the effect of company-specific measures of employee unionization on market-based measures of information asymmetry (proxied for by insider trading activity, analyst following, and analyst dispersion). I also examine whether employee ownership impacts the effect of company-specific measures of employee unionization on my market-based measures of information asymmetry. I find …

Who Is The One Percent?, Christopher Chupp

Honors Theses

This paper explores the topic of the wealthiest one percent of Americans, in terms of net economic wealth. I have observed many generalizations of this group from school, work, media, and so forth, thus, I will be approaching the topic from a statistical standpoint to gain a deeper understanding of the role that these Americans play in our society. The goal of this paper is to inform the reader, through the presentation and discussion of available data used to define this group. To accomplish this, I will be covering several topics. First, I will discuss who the one percent is …

Follow The Crowd: How Viral Social Information And Social Identity Increase Investors’ Suboptimal Investing Decisions, Stephen Kuselias

Doctoral Dissertations

Recently enacted standards have formally allowed organizations to offer equity using the crowdfunding model. The crowdfunding model raises capital over the internet by soliciting relatively small contributions from a relatively large number of people who make up a “crowd” (Mollick 2013). Organizations using equity crowdfunding strive for the spread of viral social information to solicit investments (Belleflamme, Lambert, & Schwienbacher 2014). However, research has not yet explored how virality impacts investor decision making. In this study, I investigate whether viral social information can shift investors away from financial maximization goals, leading them to make suboptimal investing decisions. Social identity theory …

Identifying Factors Related To Nonprofit Success Through The Use Of A Multidimensional Approach, Kendall M. Hayes

Selected Honors Theses

Nonprofit success is a complex and inconclusive term. Rather than attempting to define nonprofit success, this thesis seeks to identify factors attributed to organizational effectiveness. Support for the credibility of these factors is derived from a review of literature and an interview with the CEO of an acclaimed successful nonprofit. The balanced scorecard is referenced as a multidimensional approach to structuring and evaluating organizational effectiveness. Factors within these perspectives and those mentioned in an interview with the CEO have been analyzed and identified for the use of nonprofit personnel or entrepreneurs.

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Ceo Compensation And Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Type And Quality, Nicole M. Heron

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The construct of corporate social responsibility (CSR) itself is comprised of three underlying components: environmental, social, and corporate governance. However, it is unclear from the extant literature whether and how these underlying components of CSR are related to CEO compensation. In the absence of a theoretical model of CSR that specifically considers its underlying components, I present in this paper an exploratory analysis of the relationships between CEO compensation and CSR disclosure type and quality. My CSR proxies are based on a firm’s environmental, social and corporate governance-related disclosure, as reported by Bloomberg. I calculate total CEO compensation as the …

Do Executives Have Fixed Effects On Firm-Level Stock Price Crash Risk?, Jiaxin Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper investigates whether individual CEOs and CFOs have “styles” (i.e. manager’s fixed effects) in withholding corporate bad news, which is captured using firm-level future stock price crash risks. Tracking managers that move across firms and employing a manager fixed-effect model, I find that both CFOs and CEOs have fixed effects on firm-level stock price crash risks in the future using multiple crash risk measures adopted from previous studies (e.g. Kim et al.(2011a,b)). In addition, I find that CFOs’ managerial ability is positively associated with one crash risk measure. Lastly, I find systematic differences in CEO vis-à-vis CFO’s preferences in …

Enterprise Risk Management: The Transformation Of Board-Level Engagement As Evidenced By Disclosure, Timothy L. Baker

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

Utilizing available information about ERM practices within organizations disclosed by boards of directors in annual proxy statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this study expands the understanding of the value of disclosure of board-level ERM oversight information in proxy statements. The study first creates a board-level ERM engagement index (BODERMX) to identify aspects of board engagement in the ERM efforts disclosed by companies. Development of this index will present opportunities to future researchers to conduct empirical ERM-related research as information about firms’ ERM is costly to obtain. The study next examines associations between the extent of …

Car Rental Industry Fraud, Dennise Veasley

Economic Crime Forensics Capstones

Fraud occurs in all industries and businesses large and small. The car rental industry is not immune to fraud. Fraud is committed by the owners and employees against the customers for personal or corporate gain. The car rental industry is considered a large business based on revenue of a minimum of $38.5 million dollars annually. (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations from http://www.ecfr.gov/) The car rental industry in the United States in 2015 grossed over $27.11 billion as defined by the market data for the U.S. Car Rental Market published by Auto Rental News (http://autorentalnews.com). The revenue places them outside the …

Audit-Related Services And Audit Quality: Evidence From Benefit Plan Audits, Jaclyn Prentice

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following study examines a material but less understood component of the public audit marketplace, namely the provision of “audit-related” services to financial statement audit clients. I use the benefit plan audit service setting to examine the company and benefit plan characteristics associated with auditor selection and the impact of audit-related services on financial statement audit quality. I provide market evidence of distinct shifts in the use of the same audit firm for the financial statement audit and other audit-related services over time as well as characteristics of the choice of auditors. I then test whether having the same audit …

Does Assurance Matter? Evidence From U.S. Financial Institutions, Ashley Warwick Douglass

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, I explore the determinants and consequences of the level of assurance that a bank selects. Using a sample of small, privately held U.S. (United States) financial institutions (banks), I find that two differing types of banks are more likely to purchase more assurance. First, larger banks that are experiencing growth purchase relatively more assurance than other banks. Second, more complex banks with lower returns on assets, losses, and higher leverage are more likely to purchase an audit than a lower level of assurance. This may indicate the influence of regulators on banks’ assurance purchasing decisions. I also …

Analyst Coverage And Stock Price Crash Risk, I-Fang Lee Yvonne

Accounting Dissertations

In this study, I investigate the impact of analyst coverage changes on firms’ subsequent firm-specific crash risk. Using a sample of 24,228 firm-year observations from 2000 to 2013, I show that changes in analyst coverage are negatively associated with changes in one-year-ahead crash risk. This result is consistent with analysts’ information gathering activities and analyses limiting bad news hoarding behavior, and is generally inconsistent with analyst pressure leading to more bad news hoarding by managers. Moreover, I find the negative association between coverage changes and changes in subsequent crash risk to be more pronounced when the coverage change is attributable …

Capital Market Reactions To Ifrs In The United States: Evidence From Foreign Private Issuers, Jennifer Yardley

Accounting Dissertations

The rise of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a contender to be the single globally-accepted set of accounting standards has been accompanied by a wealth of research studying the consequences of IFRS adoption. However, prior research does little to address the potential effects of and market sentiment toward the use of IFRS rather than U.S. GAAP in the United States. This study fills this gap by examining the accounting standard choices of foreign private issuers in the United States. In addition to identifying the factors that are associated with a firm's accounting standard choice in the U.S., this study …

The Relationship Between Income Taxes And Market Returns, Chelsea Hepworth

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper investigates the relationship between book to tax differences and market returns. Prior research has been conducted that shows the ability of book to tax differences to predict future earnings, and this study expands that research to see if book to tax differences have predictive value in terms of actual market returns. This study uses a sample of firms from the Compustat database and runs a regression using book to tax differences and company returns as compared to the market. Results show that book to tax differences do have some predictive value which could potentially allow an investor to …

Taxation And Economic Inequality: An Analysis Of Income Taxes And Their Impact On Various Levels Of Income, Thomas C. Jones

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Three Essays On Auditor Liability, Jeffrey Scott Pickerd

Doctoral Dissertations

Auditor liability is an important topic of accounting research as auditors respond to a constantly changing financial reporting and regulatory environment. Through three independent essays, I intend to explore how estimate uncertainty, financial statement aggregation, audit quality indicators, a company's investor base, and the size of the alleged misstatement can impact auditor liability both in the courtroom, as determined by jurors, and in out of court settlement, as determined by attorneys. I find that jurors do hold the auditor more likely to be negligent when audit quality indicators suggest the auditors did a poor quality audit. I also find that …

The Effect Of Presentation Format On Investor Judgments And Decisions: Does The Effect Differ For Varying Task Demands?, Kevin Agnew

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the efficacy of presenting footnotes information in alternative display formats on investors’ judgments and decisions. Non-professional investors play a significant role in the capital markets yet they do not always attend to information contained in footnote disclosures. As a result, nonprofessional investors systematically misprice firms and misallocate resources. Recognizing that increased mandatory and voluntary disclosures create additional challenges for non-professional investors, both the FASB and SEC have actively sought ways to increase the effectiveness of disclosures. I hypothesize that high display proximity, low signal-to-noise presentation formats can increase investors’ attention to and processing of footnote disclosures and …

Audit Firm Rotation, Audit Firm Tenure, And Audit Committee Support In Accounting Disputes, Janice E. Rummell

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

Since the late 1990s, U.S. regulators have sought to increase auditors’ independence from management and to reduce the presumed detrimental effects of economic bonding on public company financial reporting. Implementation of mandatory audit firm rotation that limits auditor tenure to reduce potential independence impairment has been discussed in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, and adopted in some non-U.S. jurisdictions. While audit firm rotation is expected to increase auditor independence, the opponents of mandatory rotation cite decreasing auditor expertise as a significant counter-argument. This independence/expertise trade-off is integral to much of the academic discussion of mandatory audit firm rotation. The audit …

Accounting For Impact: A Path To Innovation Through Csr Reporting, Madison F. Davis

Honors Projects

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting has emerged as a way for companies to communicate emphasis and measures beyond the traditional profit. CSR Reporting has the potential to be used as a tool for companies to move from just compliance with sustainability standards to promote efficiency and innovation. Through case studies of current users, my project explores three reporting platforms and how these platforms can help companies measure this transition to efficiency and innovation rather than using sustainability practices as window-dressing for the reputation company.

Earnings Management And Bargain Purchase Gains, Yan Yan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of two chapters that investigate earnings management through the recognition of bargain purchase gains in the banking industry and in other industries.

Chapter 1 In business acquisitions where the fair value of net assets acquired exceeds the consideration paid, acquiring firms recognize bargain purchase gains under ASC 805. The determination of the fair value of net assets at date of acquisition gives acquiring management considerable flexibility in judgments. In this chapter, I focus on bargain purchase acquisitions in the banking industry, and find that acquirer utilizes bargain purchase gains to avoid negative earnings and earnings decline. The …

Essays On Foreign Firms Following Deregistration From U.S. Exchanges, Kathleen Michelle Bakarich

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 2007 the SEC introduced Rule 12h-6, which significantly reduced the requirements for cross-listed firms to leave U.S. markets. While the benefits and costs of cross-listing in the U.S. have been widely analyzed in prior literature, questions as to the impact of deregistration on firms, investors, and other parties have been raised given the increase in foreign firms leaving the U.S. over the past decade. In addition, the growing global adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and worldwide regulatory developments over this time period have brought changes to the home markets to which deregistering firms return potentially influencing the …

Corporate Tax Inversions: A Brief Overview, Hannah J. Mueller

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this report is to give a brief overview of corporate tax inversions and how policymakers are attempting to curb these efforts. The U.S. Treasury is starting to feel the effects of these inversions through decreased tax revenue as they have become more common for U.S. corporations. It is important for businesspersons to analyze this argument from both sides in order to better serve their clients. Corporations feel that an inversion is necessary in order to save money in taxes and maintain competitiveness in the global market. The government insists that corporations are taking advantage of business resources …

The Effects Of Emerging Technologies On Data In Auditing, Matthew C. Oldhouser

Senior Theses

In this paper, I examine the current status of the uses and implementation of technology in the external auditing profession. For purposes of this paper, an auditor refers to a Certified Public Accountant working at a large (national and international) accounting firm. Internal auditors, those that work either internally for the client or are hired on a consulting basis by the client, are mentioned specifically when I am trying to highlight their differing approaches and practice. In addition to surveying the current status of business technology, I investigate the drivers of the present state, and try to predict what will …

A History Of Prince George And The Challenges Facing Public Entities Owning Unique Properties, Elizabeth Willcox Buyck

Senior Theses

I grew up going to Pawleys Island with my family and friends and have always been interested in the area. Hurricane Hugo destroyed many homes on the island in 1989, but most owners rebuilt larger and more modern homes because they loved the area and the land. In June 2015, I began working at the University of South Carolina Foundations office. I learned that the USC Development Foundation purchased the Prince George tract in 1994 and that there was a long and interesting story as to why the tract remained undeveloped and preserved while the vast majority of the oceanfront …

The Effects Of Technology On College Life, Tracy June Dye

Senior Theses

Ever since technology has boomed and cellphones have gone from phones to mini-computers, the effect of technology has been a hot topic in research. Students use technology for everything – from communication to school to entertainment. The times people spend on their phones and computers versus the time spent actually interacting with people seems to quickly be widening. The effects of technology can especially be seen in the college students today since these students are some of the first generation to grow up with almost complete access to technology. As a college student, these effects were of particular interest. Personal …

Social Media Paradigm: An Antidote To The Competitive Divide Between Small And Large Businesses, Mackenzie Rinefierd

Accounting

Concern for small businesses has been high since the recession in 2008. Small entrepreneurs were not generating enough income to keep their businesses open and the market was deterring anyone from creating a start-up company. The domination of social media in the digital world may be the solution to the constant struggle small businesses face against their larger competitors. This paper will discuss the social media phenomenon and how although small businesses face obstacles in implementing an online marketing system, social media will level the playing field by giving small businesses the chance to compete in the big leagues.

What Is Happening To Commercial Malls: Evaluating Contradicting Opinions, Sarah Watson

Accounting

The retail environment has been changing in recent years and this has had profound impacts on American shopping malls. This paper will examine the dying mall phenomenon and compare and contrast the differing opinions of major news outlets. This study will identify and analyze the driving forces of change including the recent shift in demographics, the rise of the bargain hunter, the power of millennials and the desire for experiences amongst consumers. It was discovered that A rated malls are thriving whilst C and D rated malls are in danger of dying out. The more successful malls are those that …

Short-Term Incentive Effects Of Temporary Full Capital Asset Expensing, John David Patrick Witesman

Dissertations - ALL

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Compensation Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (2010 Tax Relief Act) temporarily modified capital asset expensing provisions, increasing the allowed bonus depreciation percentage from 50% to 100%. The legislative intent of the provision was to encourage capital investment by firms, although prior research suggests that capital expenditures did not increase during the availability of 30% or 50% bonus depreciation. I find that the availability of 100% bonus depreciation significantly increases the likelihood that firms increase capital expenditures, as well as increases the magnitude of capital expenditures. Overall, my evidence highlights how temporary changes in capital …

The Question Of Financial Career Paths: Which Graduate Program And/Or Professional Certification Leads To The Greatest Income And Level Of Satisfaction Based On A Survey Of Professionals Working Within The Accounting/Finance Fields?, Tanner M. Shaw

Honors Theses

Thousands of men and women across the United States graduate from accounting and finance undergraduate programs and find themselves uncertain about what the future holds and what steps should be taken in order to maximize their odds of meeting their personal goals related to job satisfaction and level of income. This study aims to evaluate graduate degree and non-graduate-degree alternatives, as well as the CPA and CFA professional designations in terms of the likelihood of each route leading to high job satisfaction and a high level of income. To that end, a survey of successful accounting and finance professionals was …

A Study Of Perceptions Of Pay Systems, Kayla S. Alford

Honors Theses

This is a study which is interested in perceptions people have toward the varying forms of labor compensation. It specifically compares perceptions of hourly pay with those of performance-based pay(PBP). A survey instrument was used to gather individual perceptions of pay systems by sampling the students in the College of Business at a southern university. This study tested and confirmed that PBP is rated significantly more positive than hourly pay by its respondents. This study also tests whether workplace experience or classroom experience has a significant impact on respondents’ ratings of PBP or hourly pay. Respondents rated PBP attributes more …