Business Commons^™

Fixed Assets Accounting: How It Can Impact Employees, Auditors & Shareholders, Zach Markey

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this thesis, I demonstrate how the proper, or improper, accounting of fixed assets can distinctly impact employees, auditors, and shareholders of publicly traded companies. As a foundation for this thesis, I give an overview of fixed assets accounting by explaining its magnitude on the balance sheet and income statement in addition to the differences between financial and tax accounting for fixed assets. Next, I focus on three areas relating to fixed assets accounting that I find the most compelling for this thesis: capital expenditures, auditing and fraud. Each of these subtopics will share studies, procedures, and stories on how …

Accounting Internship Thesis - Koch Industries, Casey Rivero

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis outlines my accounting internship experience with Koch Industries during the summer of 2021. It describes the company's background, explains my role and responsibilities throughout the summer, and details the tools and technology I worked with. This thesis shows what is to be expected of the present day accountant and bridges the gap between university course material and real-life corporate application.

Corporate Social Responsibility Takes Flight: An Exploration Of Airline Industry Csr Reporting Practices, Anna Yowell

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Corporate social responsibility reporting, or CSR, has become a way for companies to regain the trust of the public by disclosing how the firm is doing business while being mindful of the community where it operates. The value of responsibility reporting lies in the usefulness of its users; then, it is important for companies to understand how the consumers, often current or prospective shareholders, are understanding their reporting practices.

This thesis presents an overview of how corporate social responsibility disclosures to the public have evolved over a span of four years, 2016 to 2019, through a sample of commercial airlines. …

Retain Or Rotate: Outcomes Of Frequent Auditor Switching, Ryan Decker

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Regulators continue to debate the effectiveness of mandatory auditor rotation versus mandatory auditor retention in improving audit quality. Recent regulation in the European Union mandates auditor rotation, but if companies choose a more-lenient auditor with each switch, frequent switching could impair audit quality. I examine whether more-frequent switching leads to an increase in aggressive reporting and evaluate its effect on audit quality and audit attention. I find that audit quality decreases as the number of switches increases, with the results being driven mainly by switches between non-Big 4 audit firms. I also find that frequently switching between non-Big 4 auditors …

A Case Study On Whether A Business Should Own Or Lease Its Real Estate, Benjamin Cooper

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Businesses are continually faced with many difficult decisions to make daily that can have a significant impact on their success. Whether it is if they should adopt a new accounting practice, work with a new supplier, or push into a new consumer sector, these decisions will affect their operations and long-term plans. One of these major decisions that a business has to make is whether they should own or lease their real estate. Depending on the size, type, and scope of a business this decision could be made differently but for certain companies there is definitely a correct answer. Buying …

Are Accounting Firms Breaching The Age Discrimination Act With The Inclusion Of Mandatory Retirement Provisions, Emily Haggard

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Age is just a number. This phrase has been murmured time after time in history. From famous movie scenes, song lyrics, pages in books, and wisdom from mothers, everyone has heard this at least once in their lives. Some joke that age only matters in wine and cheese. Some argue that age is all a limitation that the mind gives you. People are taught to never ask a woman how old she is, and as a society we celebrate certain ages such as twenty-one and sixteen, yet shun and deny those such as thirty and fifty. There are rules for …

Implications Of Audit Office Resource Allocation Shocks: Evidence From Late 10-K Filings, Stuart Dearden

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior literature examines consequences (e.g., negative market reactions, higher subsequent audit fees, and debt covenant violations) audit clients face arising from missed regulatory due dates. These clients likely pressure the auditor to provide additional resources to perform the audit. This paper examines whether an audit office resource allocation shock stemming from late-filing clients is associated with the audit quality of the other timely-filing clients in that audit office. I find that timely-filing clients are more likely to subsequently restate their financial statements when there are late-filing clients in the same audit office. Using audit fees as a proxy for auditor …

Technology Advancement Influence In Accounting And Information System Fields, Shannon Gordon

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research serves to relate the accounting and information technology fields. The information in the research documents changes in the accounting and information technology fields, and how the fields are expected to change in the coming years. The research also discuss the relationship between the accounting and information technology fields. The topics on the ideal accounting candidates for employers and the expectation gap between graduates skills and employers’ expectations are also discussed. Careers in accounting and information systems and also similar and different basic skills of both fields are documented in the research.

The changes in accounting are influenced by …

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 …

Student Perception On Female Discrimination In Accounting, Qiuting Zheng

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Approximately 72,648,000 women participate in the labor force compared to 31,543,000 women in 1970 (U.S. Department of Labor). In the 1950s, women were only 30% of the workforce (Toossi, 2002). In 1970, 1990, and 2010, the percentage of working women increased to 40%, 45%, and 47% respectively (Humphrey, 2013). However, students have wrong perceptions about discrimination against women, and, since perceptions and facts are not the same thing, their perceptions might make them misunderstand the accounting profession. This study confirmed that there are misperceptions. To gauge students’ perceptions, I conducted a survey named “Gender Diversity in Accounting” at the Walton …

Effect Of Automated Advising Platforms On The Financial Advising Market, Benjamin Faubion

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis outlines the cost to investor differences between a traditional financial advisor and the growing group of highly competitive automated Robo-Advisors.

Seeking Peace Of Mind: A Case Study Combining Ethics And Accounting, Lauren Ghahremani

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research has been to create original work in the form of a case study that educators and accounting students can benefit from during daily exercises in accounting ethics courses.

Do Analysts Understand Momentum? Evidence From Target Prices, Benjamin Carl Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Target prices are analysts’ forecasts of a firm’s stock price. Although target prices can be used to help market participants make investment decisions, much is still unknown about how analysts make these forecasts. Because prior literature documents momentum in stock returns, in this paper, I examine whether target prices reflect the information in returns over the six months prior to the target price announcement date. I find that target prices systematically underestimate the persistence of these six month returns. I further find that the forecasted return in target price revisions is more pessimistic following periods of very good stock performance …

The Determinants And Consequences Of Disclosure Committee Adoption, Lyle Roy Schmardebeck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission recommended that companies voluntarily adopt disclosure committees to aid in preparing company disclosures. In this paper, I investigate the determinants and consequences of disclosure committee adoption. I find that companies with material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting and less readable 10-K filings are more likely to adopt disclosure committees. In consequences analyses, using a propensity score matched control sample and a difference-in-differences research design, I find that 10-K filings are longer and less readable after disclosure committee adoption. However, consistent with institutional theory, I …

The Effect Of Ceo It Expertise On The Information Environment: Evidence From Management Earnings Forecasts, Jacob Zachary Haislip

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Firms depend on information technology to provide high quality internal information, but prior research suggests that IT is underutilized (Venkatesh and Bala 2008). Therefore, using a sample of firms with equivalent levels of technology in their information systems, I investigate whether firms that employ CEOs with IT expertise make forecasts that are more accurate. I argue that CEOs with IT expertise are more likely to encourage the utilization of IT in making earnings forecasts, thus increasing the accuracy of the forecasts. This argument is supported by prior research that suggests that people are more likely to utilize technology if they …

Donor And Grantor Reactions To Ceo Compensation In Nonprofit Organizations, Stacey Renee Kaden

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nonprofit organizations often rely on donations and grants to accomplish their mission. This study examines whether nonprofit organizations with high CEO compensation receive less in donor and grantor support compared to nonprofit organizations with lower CEO compensation. I find strong evidence that both donors and grantors give less to organizations that spend a larger percentage of total expenses on total CEO compensation. I also find that the reactions of donors and grantors differ based on the type of CEO compensation. While donors and grantors react to CEO base compensation, grantors also react to other CEO compensation and nontaxable benefits.

In …

Self-Regulatory Processes In The Accounting Profession As They Relate To The Professional Competence Of The Individual, Kyle Henn Klein

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accounting profession has traditionally enjoyed a relationship of trust with the community, receiving certain advantages in return for the benefits it offered to society. However, in recent years the increasing litigation, regulation, and investigations involving accountants and the accounting profession indicate that the relationship between the profession and society is deteriorating. Indications are that society feels the profession has violated the trust placed in it by failing to effectively regulate itself and protect the public interest. The purpose of this study was to provide a situational analysis of the current status of self-regulation in the accounting profession as it …