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Ethics Readiness: An Analysis Of Community College Students' Moral Sensitivity Scores, Julie Wallace Aug 2013

Ethics Readiness: An Analysis Of Community College Students' Moral Sensitivity Scores, Julie Wallace

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In this retrospective causal-comparative study, the readiness of Virginia community college students to receive an accounting ethics curriculum was analyzed by measuring and comparing their moral sensitivity scores to the moral sensitivity scores of a group of four year university students. A sample of college students attending community college principles of accounting courses and a sample of college students attending four year university principles of accounting courses were administered a nationally recognized moral sensitivity survey instrument, the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). The survey results were analyzed using a t-test for differences between means. It was found that there was …


Certified Public Accountant Education And Ethical Decision-Making Preparedness: A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Connection, Vicki Bealman May 2013

Certified Public Accountant Education And Ethical Decision-Making Preparedness: A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Connection, Vicki Bealman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was not to evaluate efficacy of ethical training for current accounting programs, but to understand the perceptions of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) for the influence of accounting ethical education requirements on their ethical decision-making preparedness. The study used pre-interview surveys, face-to-face interviews, and timeline drawings to acquire data in four principle areas: CPA ethical decision-making preparedness, accounting program ethics educational requirements, accounting program ethics learning activities, and CPA perceptions of necessary changes to accounting program ethics requirements. Results from Virginia CPA perceptions indicate the definition of ethical decision-making as doing the right thing at …


Practical Gaap Financial Statements For Investors: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between A Gaap Company's Current Ratio And Its Corresponding Stock Market Price, Alonna Cherry Apr 2013

Practical Gaap Financial Statements For Investors: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between A Gaap Company's Current Ratio And Its Corresponding Stock Market Price, Alonna Cherry

Senior Honors Theses

GAAP financial statements are an excellent way of providing comparable information to both investors and creditors. A gradually changing world causes their applicability to everyday financial decisions to be questioned. The AICPA implies a necessity for more pertinent reported information, and others advocate a study into this topic. This paper intends to launch into this research and provides a case study with the current ratio, one of the most basic ratios derived from information given in GAAP financial statements, and its relationship to yearly stock price changes in the New York Stock Exchange. The study concludes that there is no …


Organizational Ethics In Accounting: A Comparison Of Utilitarianism And Christian Deontological Principles, Katherine Y. Masten Apr 2012

Organizational Ethics In Accounting: A Comparison Of Utilitarianism And Christian Deontological Principles, Katherine Y. Masten

Senior Honors Theses

Within the field of accounting, there never seems to be a lack of conflict between an individual’s morals and the ethical responsibilities an employee has to the company. This paper will demonstrate many of these ethical conflicts within the field of accounting. It will also demonstrate how strong leadership and leaders who adhere to strong values and ethical systems will positively affect the relationship between employees’ ethical values and the application of their moral values to the company. A specific ethical dilemma that arises within accounting tends to be the utilitarian conflict. Since the greater good is accomplished in this …


Fair Value Accounting: How Bad Decisions Bring Blame To Beneficial Accounting Procedures, Thomas John Ciulla Apr 2012

Fair Value Accounting: How Bad Decisions Bring Blame To Beneficial Accounting Procedures, Thomas John Ciulla

Senior Honors Theses

The Great Recession has sparked a debate amongst accounting professionals and economic analysts. There has been a concerted effort to blame fair value accounting and FAS 157 as the recession’s root cause and an attempt to challenge FASB to return to the historic cost principle. This paper examines the guidelines and procedures for mark to market as established by FASB, observes the events leading up to the recession, conditions that materialized at the start of the recession, evaluates the role fair value played in the financial crisis, and considers how fair value should be used in the future.


The Effects Of Sarbanes Oxley On Current Financial Reporting Standards, Kiersten Clark Apr 2012

The Effects Of Sarbanes Oxley On Current Financial Reporting Standards, Kiersten Clark

Senior Honors Theses

Many changes have taken place over the past eight years in almost every sphere of the business world. The first topic discussed within this paper will be the origin and background of Sarbanes-Oxley, why it was necessary, and what the primary causes of such regulation were. There are many new regulations that are required of companies, primarily publicly-traded companies, which will be covered in the next section. Finally, the last discussion will involve the impact of SOX and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on financial reporting and the changes that have taken place within companies. The impact of this …


Leases: Off-Balance Sheet Financing And The Strive For Transparency Today, Brian R. Edman May 2011

Leases: Off-Balance Sheet Financing And The Strive For Transparency Today, Brian R. Edman

Senior Honors Theses

In today’s world, leases appear far and wide; they are commonplace throughout the business and accounting frontiers. Accounting for leases, however, is not so clear cut. Since there are various ways to account for leases, many companies pick and choose which they feel best suits their situation, even when this sweeps dirt under the rug along the way. The financial procedures for dealing with leases should entail benefits as well as limitations to ensure each company is fairly representing all of its financial information. Off-balance sheet financing is one of the hot topics in accounting for leases because of the …


Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002: Will It Be Effective In Preventing Another Enron Scandal?, Scott W. Eichar Apr 2009

Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002: Will It Be Effective In Preventing Another Enron Scandal?, Scott W. Eichar

Senior Honors Theses

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was introduced to Congress as a result of the deceit and fraud taking place at Enron in December of 2001. The three factors that led to the scandal were Enron’s weak internal control, misleading off-balance sheet entities, and conflicting interests between Enron’s employees and their chief auditor, Arthur Andersen. The provisions of SOX were established, in part, to strengthen internal control, require proper disclosure for special purpose entities, and eliminate conflicts of interests between a firm and its auditors. The purpose of this paper is to measure the effectiveness of these implementations to prevent …


Rebuilding The Foundation: Reestablishing Ethics In The Accounting Professsion, Chad P. Laughlin Apr 2009

Rebuilding The Foundation: Reestablishing Ethics In The Accounting Professsion, Chad P. Laughlin

Senior Honors Theses

Today’s business world has become increasingly diverse in its view of ethics. This lack of objective decision-making has been made clear through the scandals and questionable accounting methods in recent years. In light of these instances, the accounting profession has taken steps to regain and ensure the public’s trust, which the profession relies on. In the absence of ethical practices, the profession loses its trustworthiness and reliability. This paper will discuss the key role of ethics in accounting and the efforts that have been made in the past and are being made currently to ensure that this vital component is …


The Viability Of The Fair Tax, Jonathan M. Clark Dec 2008

The Viability Of The Fair Tax, Jonathan M. Clark

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis begins by investigating the current system of federal taxation in the United States and examining the flaws within the system. It will then deal with a proposal put forth to reform the current tax system, namely the Fair Tax. The Fair Tax will be examined in great depth and all aspects of it will be explained. The objective of this paper is to determine if the Fair Tax is a viable solution for fundamental tax reform in America. Both advantages and disadvantages of the Fair Tax will objectively be pointed out and an educated opinion will be given …