Business Commons^™

Employee Benefit Plan Audits: Knowledge Spillover For Improving Quality, Lisa Ann Nash

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study provides a unique glimpse into the work of non-BigN accounting firms offering Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) audit services for single employer defined contribution plans. The study examines knowledge spillover from joint services and EBP auditor specialization to improve EBP audit quality. EBPs often incur low-quality audits, resulting in penalties assessed by the Department of Labor (DOL) for deficiencies. Companies may feel a sense of comfort hiring the same auditor they used for their company financial statements, but the EBP audits require the auditor to possess specialized knowledge beyond the requirements for the financial statements to confirm compliance with …

Secured Or Unsecured: That Is All Matters - Practical Implications Of New Reference Rates, Tunc Oygur, Alper Kirik, Yaman O. Erzurumlu

Faculty Publications – Finance, Insurance, and Law

EUR and USD overnight risk-free rates (RFRs) have undergone a period of change, with EONIA being replaced with ESTR and Fed Funds Rate (FFR) being replaced with SOFR. We conduct a comparative analysis of the representative power of EONIA vs. ESTR and FFR vs. SOFR regarding market confidence and guidance on market expectations. Our results imply a significant difference between the US and the Eurozone. ESTR-EONIA displays similar characteristics, whereas FFR-SOFR displays different characteristics. SOFR is a superior market indicator to its predecessor and more effectively reflects market confidence than the FFR. However, none of the four RFRs displays forecasting …

The Budget, Fiscal Year 2025-2026, Tennessee. Department Of Finance And Administration

Budget Volume 1

This document is the final budget for the coming fiscal year.

The Integration Of Big Data In Fintech: Review Of Enhancing Financial Services Through Advanced Technologies, Soudeh Pazouki, Mohammad B. Jamshidi, Mirarmia Jalali, Arya Tafreshi

Management Faculty Publications

Big data analytics is revolutionizing the FinTech industry, offering new opportunities for real-time decision-making, personalized financial services, and improved risk management. By leveraging advanced technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, financial institutions can efficiently detect fraud, predict market trends, and create innovative solutions tailored to customer needs. Big data also plays a critical role in promoting financial inclusion through alternative credit scoring models, providing access to credit for underserved populations and fostering broader participation in the financial system.

However, the integration of big data into FinTech is not without its challenges. Issues such as data privacy concerns, regulatory complexities, …

The Hidden Cost Of Venture Capital, Emilie Aguirre

Faculty Scholarship

Founders, employees, consumers, and even funders increasingly expect businesses to pursue social goals alongside financial performance. Yet even the most committed firms have found it difficult to maintain social performance over time. Scholars in economics, management, and law have put forth several explanations for this “mission drift,” including inappropriate governance, poor management, lack of genuine commitment, and threat of takeovers. Puzzlingly, research to date primarily focuses on later-stage firms, even though the events and decisions that take place in a firm’s early stages can critically impact retention of its social performance.

Drawing from over five years of qualitative field research …

Money: A Functional Analysis, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

Most people currently think of money as government-issued paper certificates or coins that specify units of currency, such as dollars or euros. The advent of digital currencies, which appear abstract because of their intangibility, is therefore confounding almost everyone.

This Article argues that money should also be viewed functionally—as a “right” that serves one or more of the generally accepted functions of money. The Article focuses on two of money’s most generally accepted functions: to serve as a medium of exchange to facilitate the sale of goods and services, and to serve as a store of value. To perform these …

Addressing The Challenges Of A Catholic Parish Elementary School With Systemic Design Problem Solving, Alfred E. Bradley

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

For more than a decade the repeated use of conventional analytic thinking and linear strategic planning approaches produced little effective progress or solutions for the many ongoing and emerging problems of St. Laurentius Catholic School, a parish elementary school within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Indeed, many in the community believed that their distressing pathway characterized by continued differing perceptions among stakeholders, resource limitations and lack of autonomy were leading the school to closure. When a new clerical leader who was also a Doctor of Management in Strategic Leadership student was assigned, however, he suggested a novel approach. By reframing the …

Partner Performance Evaluation, Disclosure Of Key Audit Matters, And Audit Quality, Shenghua Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Transparency of information and audit quality are crucial for the efficiency and stability of the market. The disclosure of key audit matters has become an essential part of audit reports, yet there remains widespread debate regarding the role of key audit matters. This study finds a significant positive correlation between the extent of key audit matter disclosures and audit quality. Detailed disclosures can enhance information transparency, strengthen auditors’ sense of responsibility, and reduce information asymmetry. However, over-templating may have negative effects on audit quality, leading to a lack of personalized judgment by auditors. Additionally, this paper suggests that the partner …

“The Entire Art Movement Has Become An Enormous Business Venture” Financing The American Art Museum, Lucy Owen

MA Theses

This thesis examines the intricate relationship between financial operations and the public function of American art museums. The distinctive American nonprofit model relies heavily on private funds for its survival and success. The thesis traces the historical development of this model, and then analyzes the contemporary state of American art museums, with a specific focus on two prominent institutions: MoMA PS1 and the Yale University Art Gallery. The analysis highlights the significant influence of board members' financial contributions and their business expertise on museum operations. Moreover, the thesis argues that the museum world has undergone rapid financialization in the twenty-first …

An Agent-Based Computational Finance Simulation Model To Study Market Efficiency, Wei Feng, Keng Siau, Wee-Yeap Lau, Lim-Thye Goh, Haonan Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The advancement of computational modeling, data systems, and digital infrastructure has enabled the rise of agent-based computational finance (ACF). This study models interactions among heterogeneous investors. By embedding behavioral logics such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) preferences and volatility thresholds, the model captures microstructural dynamics under different trading rules. Using ACF, the authors compare transaction plus 0 day (T+0) to transaction plus 1 day (T+1). Results show that T+0 improves price discovery, deepens liquidity, and reduces transaction costs. From a computational perspective, this research contributes to ACF by showing how policy logic and investor heterogeneity can be encoded and …

Democratization Of The Private Markets?, Colleen Baker, Christina M. Sautter

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

U.S. initial public offerings are declining and the amount of private market assets under management are exploding. Simultaneously, the number of retail investors opening taxable brokerage accounts is increasing. Private market assets are hot. Everyone–both institutional and retail investors–wants in on the action. Yet considerations such as financial resources and U.S. securities laws make such investment less accessible for many retail investors. In this short article, we explore this changing investment landscape and, specifically, one development within this craze: retail investments in private company shares via closed-end funds (or CEFs).

Recently, CEFs like ARK Venture Fund and Destiny Tech100, Inc. …

Provision Cfo: Empowering Strategic Financial Excellence For Small Businesses And Entrepreneurs, Cindra Vang

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Project Overview

ProVision CFO offers strategic financial management solutions tailored to the unique needs of entrepreneurs, small businesses, and rapidly growing organizations. This project aims to equip clients with robust financial strategies and actionable insights necessary for sustainable growth, operational excellence, and long-term success. ProVision CFO provides comprehensive financial guidance including fractional CFO and accounting services.

Project Themes

The ProVision CFO framework encompasses three key components designed to optimize financial performance and organizational effectiveness. Component One—Strategic Clarity: Establishing clear financial goals aligned with organizational vision, mission, and values. Component Two—Financial Optimization: Providing accounting services to streamline financial processes and enhance …

Introduction To The Issue, Craig S. Maher, Bruce D. Mcdonald Iii

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This edition of Public Finance Journal brings together research exploring critical issues in public finance, from voter perceptions of fiscal health to the evolving landscape of municipal finance and intergovernmental grants. As governments at all levels navigate financial sustainability, transparency, and accountability, these studies provide fresh insights into how financial policies and practices influence governance and public trust. The articles examine the political consequences of municipal credit ratings, the practical challenges of public records laws, the complexities of managing federal grants at the local level, and the rise of green bonds as a financial instrument for sustainable development. This research …

Deconstructing The Greenium: Exploring Mispricing In The Green Bond Market, Koto Yamada

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the sources and conditions under which the greenium – a yield discount observed for green bonds relative to comparable conventional bonds – appears in global fixed income markets. Using a dataset of over 26,000 bonds issued between 2012 and 2024 across 37 countries and 5,400 firms, I find that the existence of the greenium is highly context-dependent, shaped by factors such as issuer reputation, institutional trust, and green capital allocation across sectors. Repeat green issuers receive yield discounts of up to 57 basis points, particularly in the EU and Nordic countries, where strong climate policies and disclosure …

Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Low-lying deltas worldwide are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. As the risks of climate-induced flooding become increasingly clear, the thirst for infrastructure-driven adaptation increases. This highlights a patent need to understand the impacts of engineering adaptation solutions, especially those targeting built structures such as dykes and sluices, on farmers from a bottom-up, farmer-centred perspective. The study addresses this call by examining cases where dyke policies, while successful in some dimensions, have undermined small-scale farmer livelihoods in Ca Mau ― Vietnam’s southernmost rural province. It identifies areas in need of attention and adds empirical data related to this group of farmers. …

Proof Of Reserves: A Double-Helix Framework, Maksym Lazirko, Deniz Appelbaum, Miklos Vasarhelyi

Department of Accounting and Finance Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Cryptocurrency exchanges face increasing pressure to demonstrate reserve adequacy following platform failures, yet current Proof of Reserves (PoR) systems suffer from incomplete verification approaches that examine either on-chain or off-chain assets separately. This study introduces the Double-Helix Framework, a verification methodology that integrates on-chain blockchain analysis with off-chain consensus algorithms to provide complete assessment of exchange financial positions. The framework employs parallel verification strands that simultaneously validate blockchain-recorded transactions and off-chain financial information, creating a unified assessment mechanism that addresses the verification gaps in existing PoR systems. The framework's integration of traditional auditing principles with distributed ledger verification creates new …

Entrepreneur's Family Status, Strategy, Performance, Zdenka Cumano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aims to illuminate the relationship between marital status and entrepreneurial performance among entrepreneurs, focusing on the implications for female entrepreneurs. While existing studies have predominantly examined gender-related challenges, such as disparities in access to financial and social capital, the role of marital status has received limited attention. Drawing on Becker’s seminal work (1965, 1974) on time allocation and human capital investment, this study argues that entrepreneurs face distinct risks and resource constraints compared to employees, who benefit from organizational risk-sharing and stable income. In contrast, entrepreneurs bear the full burden of market uncertainty and opportunity costs, making personal …

The Financialization Of The American Dream: Private Equity’S Rise In The Single-Family Rental Market, Colby Sherwin

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis examines how private equity firms and other institutional investors are reshaping the single-family rental market in the United States, and what that shift means for homeownership, affordability, and community stability. What began as a short-term strategy to acquire foreclosed homes after the 2008 financial crisis has evolved into a long-term business model, with firms now owning hundreds of thousands of properties across the country. Leveraging their financial scale, these investors often outbid individual buyers, particularly in fast-growing cities. While proponents argue that institutional ownership brings professionalism and much-needed supply to tight housing markets, data shows that it has …

Debiasing Recency: Evidence From Individual Investor Stock Sales, Vladimir Kotomin, Abhishek Varma

Faculty Publications – Finance, Insurance, and Law

In the first large-sample study of recency bias mitigation, we show that individual investors dispose of relatively longer-held stocks in December tax-loss sales compared to other months. We argue that before engaging in December tax-loss sales, investors review all or most of their losing positions instead of focusing on the most recently acquired stocks. Thus, reviewing relevant information mitigates recency bias in a large, diverse sample of investors. This behavior is consistent across investor, stock, and portfolio characteristics; it is found even in accounts with only long-term capital losses.

Performance Auditing Trends At A Supreme Audit Institution: Uk National Audit Office, 1999 To 2021, Amir Michael, Laurence Ferry, Bruce Mcdonald, Henry Midgley

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Performance audits have become increasingly important across the world. Scholars know that a variety of practices are incorporated within performance audits and have mapped this diversity. However, few quantitative studies examine performance auditing as a practice. This study fills that gap. By analyzing the published performance audit documentation of the UK National Audit Office (NAO), the study explores the influences of governmental change and crises behind changes in a supreme audit institution's performance audit. It also examines whether performance audits are diverse by examining the language used by the auditors. The study provides evidence that neither crises nor changes of …

Budgeting For Social Equity: Exploring The (Nearly) Unknown, Bruce D. Mcdonald Iii, Sean M. Mccandless

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Public administration has become increasingly concerned with social equity, particularly in budgetary processes. Local governments have adopted so-called equity budgeting practices, yet little is understood about how and why they are adopted; what budgeting practices are deemed social equity budgeting versus traditional budgeting; what is required to adopt and implement social equity budgeting successfully; and how success is measured. We analyzed government and nonprofit documents on social equity budgeting, followed by interviews with local government budget directors serving “early adopter cities” of social equity budgeting practices. We developed a framework of social equity budgeting practices to link the findings regarding …

Do Environmental Risks Explain The Sovereign Sukuk Yields In Malaysia?, Roslina Mohamad Shafi, Norhasimah Shaharuddin, Norsaliza Abu Bakar, Amirul Afif Muhamat, Mosab I. Tabash

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

Given the increasing risks posed by environmental degradation, severe climate change, and recent pandemics, the establishment of a sustainable economy has become a priority for numerous nations. From this perspective, it is crucial to emphasize sustainable finance since it has the potential to serve as a vehicle for accomplishing a green economic agenda. Sovereign sukuk held a prominent position in the sukuk market, both domestically and internationally, but its influence was particularly significant inside the domestic sphere. The study seeks to examine the link between environmental risks and the yield performance of sovereign sukuk. Sukuk performed less favourably compared to …

The Information Spillover Effects Of Earnings Announcements: Evidence From Thailand, Panatakorn Piyawannasuth

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

AbstractThis research investigates spillover effects during announcement days in the Thai stock market, covering the period from 2015 to 2024, covering all publicly traded companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The paper aims to determine whether limited spillover effects in developed markets persist in emerging markets whose institutional features are quite different.The empirical evidence strongly confirms that Thai earnings announcements are made up predominantly of firm-specific information, as compared with industry-level information, consistent with developed-market profiles. The conditional spillover study, however, reveals characteristic Thai capital market characteristics. Firms reporting significant earnings surprises demonstrate no systematic evidence in precipitating larger …

Governance Rating Disagreement And Earnings Management In Asean Listed Firms, Pawat Dumrongkiate

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study investigates the relationship between corporate governance ratings and earnings management among publicly listed firms across six ASEAN countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—during the period 2015–2023. It examines whether the coverage, level, and disagreement of governance ratings influence the degree of discretionary accruals, which are used as a proxy for earnings management. The Modified Jones Model and Kothari’s performance-matched approach were employed to estimate discretionary accruals, with firm, country, industry, and year fixed effects applied to control for unobserved heterogeneity. The results reveal that governance rating coverage and overall rating levels do not significantly affect earnings …

Flight From Liquidity And Bond Yields: Evidence From Thai Market, Sasipim Sinithanon

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study investigates how liquidity risk influences mutual fund selling behavior and bond pricing in the Thai bond market during periods of distress. Using quarterly mutual fund holdings from Morningstar and transaction-level data from the Thai Bond Market Association (ThaiBMA) between 2015 and 2024, the analysis examines whether mutual funds exhibit “Flight from Liquidity” behavior—selling their most liquid assets under stress—and how such behavior affects bond yield spreads.Three hypotheses are tested. First, whether mutual funds are more likely to sell government bonds than corporate bonds during distress periods. Second, whether funds exhibit flight-from-liquidity behavior within each bond segment by selling …

The Moderating Role Of Investor Sentiment Regimes On The Impact Of Flow Types On Capital Structure Decisions (Evidence From Thailand), Shiva Sachaphimukh

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study analyzes how foreign and domestic capital flows influence the leverage of SET100 Thai non-financial firms, considering investor sentiment regimes and firm cyclicality (2013–2023). It contrasts fundamental foreign portfolio flows with speculative domestic trading turnover. Sentiment regimes powerfully amplify flow effects. Bullish domestic sentiment and high domestic turnover significantly increase leverage (sentiment-exploitation). Conversely, deteriorating sentiment and foreign outflows intensify debt reliance (stress-compensation). Domestic flows have stronger, more immediate leverage effects than foreign flows, revealing a behavioral asymmetry. Cyclical firms respond aggressively to domestic factors and sentiment, while non-cyclical firms prioritize foreign capital stability.The findings highlight the critical role of …

High-Yield Or Nothing? Investor Preferences For Riskier Bonds In Thailand, Thamon Chongkwanyuen

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study investigates the determinants of investor demand for high-yield corporate bonds in Thailand's primary market between 2014 and 2024, focusing on whether investors exhibit reach-for-yield behavior and how they respond to past issuance patterns. Utilizing panel regression, with the Take-Up Ratio serving as the key measure of investor participation, the findings reveal that investor behavior is highly conditional. In normal or tightening monetary periods, high nominal yields and credit spreads are generally associated with lower subscription rates, suggesting investors interpret elevated returns as a signal of greater credit risk. However, this risk aversion is reversed during accommodative monetary conditions …

Salience, Trading Volume And 52-Week High Effects On Stock Returns: Evidence From Thai Stock Market, Tonnsaai Anantrechai

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study examines the interaction between salience effects and the 52-week high phenomenon in the Thai stock market, with particular attention to the mediating role of trading volume. Using data from SET100 constituents spanning May 2005 to December 2024, we employ the salience measure developed by Bordalo et al. (2012) and Cosemans and Frehen (2021) to investigate whether stocks with salient payoffs exhibit different return patterns when approaching their 52-week highs. Following Lin (2024), we test whether abnormal trading volume amplifies these behavioral effects. Our findings reveal a notable discrepancy: while historical portfolio sorts show extreme return differentials between salience …

The Determinants Of Short-Term And Long-Term Performance Of Initial Public Offering: Evidence From The Stock Exchange Of Thailand (Set) And Market For Alternative Investment (Mai), Chittakrij Peungsugk

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study examines the determinants of short and long-term IPO performance in the SET and mai market. Using samples of SET and mai IPOs from 2014-2021, the research investigates how underwriter reputation, institutional investor ownership, and big-4 auditor influence cumulative abnormal returns across time horizons. From information asymmetry, certification, and signaling theories, the study uses multiple linear regression with OLS to analyze IPO performance. Results are different between the two markets. In SET, underwriter reputation shows no certification effect across all time horizons for all reputation measures. Institutional investor ownership demonstrates no short-term impact but exhibits negative impacts with long-term …

Disaggregating Foreign Investor Influence: Direct Holdings, Nvdrs, And Stock Price Crash Risk In The Thai Equity Market, Ploypailin Rattanaphongchirakun

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This thesis investigates the relationship between foreign ownership and stock price crash risk in the Stock Exchange of Thailand during the period 2005 to 2024. It focuses on differentiating between direct foreign investors who hold voting shares and Non-Voting Depository Receipts (NVDRs), which provide economic benefits similar to regular shares but do not confer voting rights at shareholder meetings. Additionally, this study examines whether information asymmetry and stock liquidity moderate the relationship between foreign ownership and stock price crash risk. The analysis utilizes panel data from the top 100 companies by market capitalization listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. …