Business Commons^™

Do Esg Funds Deliver On Their Promises?, Quinn Curtis, Jill E. Fisch, Adriana Z. Robertson

All Faculty Scholarship

Corporations have received growing criticism for their role in climate change, perpetuating racial and gender inequality, and other pressing social issues. In response to these concerns, shareholders are increasingly focusing on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria in selecting investments, and asset managers are responding by offering a growing number of ESG mutual funds. The flow of assets into ESG is one of the most dramatic trends in asset management.

But are these funds giving investors what they promise? This question has attracted the attention of regulators, with the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) …

Can Marketing Content Strategies Help Promote Sustainability On Social Media?: Comparing The Effectiveness Of Owned Versus Earned Endorsement, Eilleen R. Plante

Honors College Theses

The importance of sustainability is rising as consumers make more environmentally conscious purchases (Neilson, 2018). Despite the growing demand for sustainable products, there is still a consumer attitude-behavior gap concerning sustainability. Social media has proven to be an effective way to promote sustainability (Saeed, Farooq, & Kersten, 2019), and social media influencers are more effective advertising agents compared to traditional advertising (Araujo, Neijens, & Vliegenthart, 2016). However, the best way to advertise sustainable products through social media-based advertising has not yet been studied. This study examines the different content marketing strategies on social media - owned social media posts and …

Non-Gaap Earnings And Stock Price Crash Risk, Charles Hsu, Rencheng Wang, Benjamin C. Whipple

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We investigate whether non-GAAP earnings disclosures increase stock price crash risk. Consistent with non-GAAP disclosures allowing managers to inflate investors’ perceptions about firm performance, our results indicate that income increasing non-GAAP reporting increases crash risk. We also find that managers can use non-GAAP reporting as a substitute for earnings management to withhold bad news from investors (the traditional explanation for crashes). Finally, we find a positive association between non-GAAP reporting and the likelihood of subsequent events that can trigger a crash. Overall, our evidence is consistent with some non-GAAP disclosures exposing investors to risks of large and sudden price declines.

Terrorist Attacks, Managerial Sentiment, And Corporate Disclosures, Wen Chen, Haibin Wu, Liandong Zhang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study investigates the effect of managerial sentiment on corporate disclosure decisions. Using terrorist attacks in the United States as adverse shocks to managerial sentiment, we find that firms located in the metropolitan areas attacked issue more negatively biased earnings forecasts. The effect is stronger for firms with higher operating uncertainty and firms with younger, inexperienced, or less confident executives and it is weaker for firms located in states with increasing violent crime rates. A potential alternative explanation is that managers could strategically bias earnings forecasts downward and attribute the poor performance to terrorist attacks. To address this issue, we …

Honors Accounting Thesis: An Investigation Of Specific Issues In Various Accounting Methods And Their Outlook For The Future Through Case Studies, Flint Christian

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on broad topics concerning the field of accountancy. Primarily, the topics involve an analysis demonstrating an understanding on innovative technological developments, political changes, financial planning, professional preparation, and their effects on the accounting field, including possible changes. Information was found through online search engines, database analysis, and interviews and discussions with key informants from the accounting field. This thesis was performed in conjunction with the Honors Accountancy 420 class, where I also experienced case studies, interviews, and presentations with public accounting firms. Our methodology and methods were developed throughout the year in groups, as well as with …

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Standards Utilization And Influences On Their Adoption, Julie Beckel Nelsen

Dissertations (1934 -)

Many organizations disclose non-financial operations through a formal corporate social responsibility (CSR) or sustainability report assessing how the firm’s actions impact the environment, humanity, society, and economy. These publicly available reports offer detailed data to stakeholders, and they can guide companies to improve operations, reduce costs, and advance sustainability. Yet, no required disclosure or disclosure method exists for U.S.-based firms, and comparison and evaluation of impact without a standard are problematic. Using Minnesota’s Fortune 500 firms as the sample, this study determined the state of reporting CSR using a standard and determine the influences to adopting CSR reporting standards within …

Let The Punishment Fit The Crime: How Retributive Fairness Perceptions Influence Observers’ Tax Compliance Intentions, Tisha King

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of my research is to investigate how perceptions of retributive justice influence tax compliance. I address this objective by proposing two research questions: (1) How do taxpayers perceive the propriety of punishment for tax evasion? (2) How and when are observers’ compliance intentions influenced by perceptions of fairness disclosures about a specific retributive outcome, and the presence of a fairness-relevant disclosure?

To address the first research question, I conduct a survey of 331 adult Canadian taxpayers to ascertain the extent to which taxpayers perceive punishments for tax evasion as fair or unfair. I find that an appropriate punishment …