Business Commons^™

Unusual Changes In The U.S. Treasury Security Market During The Fourth Round Of Quantitative Easing, Kyle D. Allen, Scott E. Hein

Finance Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Covid-19 Pandemic and policy response rattled the US Treasury markets. Conventional US Treasuries, inflation adjusted US Treasuries, and the relationship between the two developed in ways such that ignoring changes in real interest rates yielded distorted inflation expectations estimates. Since the beginning of the pandemic, monetary policy kept nominal rates low and close to zero, but positive. Real rates, on the other hand, became increasingly negative. The relationship between the two market rates became negatively correlated, and distorted because of the fourth round of quantitative easing, along with the Fed preventing nominal yields from turning negative. Federal Reserve actions …

Money Market Reforms: The Effect On The Commercial Paper Market, Kyle Allen, Pritam Saha, Matthew Whitledge, Drew Winters

Finance Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examines the effects of the 2016 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reforms of Money Market Funds (MMFs) on the commercial paper market. By exploiting the differential time effect, we document a rise in the commercial paper (CP) rates. The rise in CP rates is more pronounced when the shadow floating NAV period starts and is similar across different types of commercial paper. Our cross-sectional analysis finds support for relationship-based lending in both commercial paper holdings and rates. We find that big issuers experienced a decrease and small issuers observed an increase in commercial paper outstanding from MMFs in …

An Extension Of The Theory Of Technology Dominance: Capturing The Underlying Causal Complexity, Steve G. Sutton, Vicky Arnold, Matthew Holt

Accounting Faculty Publications

The Theory of Technology Dominance (TTD) provides a theoretical foundation for understanding how intelligent systems impact human decision-making. The theory has three phases with propositions related to (1) the foundations of reliance, (2) short-term effects on novice versus expert decision-making, and (3) long-term epistemological effects related to individual deskilling and profession-wide stagnation. In this theory paper, we propose an extension of TTD, that we refer to as TTD2, primarily to increase our theoretical understanding of how, why, and when the short-term and long-term effects on decision-making occur and why advances in technology design have exacerbated some weaknesses and eroded some …

Exploring The Impact Of Technology Dominance On Audit Professionalism Through Data Analytic-Driven Healthcare Audits, Jared Koreff, Lisa Baudot, Steve G. Sutton

School of Business Faculty Research

Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tools and analytics hold the potential to radically alter audit processes by disseminating centralized audit expertise. We examine this potential in the context of data analytic-driven audits mandated to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in a government-sponsored healthcare program. To do so, we draw on semistructured interviews with healthcare providers (i.e., auditees) subject to healthcare audits. Our work shows how use of paraprofessional auditors guided by AI-enabled tools and analytics reflects a very different audit environment. Specifically, auditees’ experiences suggest paraprofessional auditors lack specific expertise and credentials to conduct data-driven audits, apply judgment in deference to technology, …

J Mich Dent Assoc September 2023

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Reports from the deans of Michigan’s two dental schools covering the past year’s activities serve as the dual cover stories for this issue. Other feature articles include a discussion of professionalism, a diagnostic challenge describing adenomatoid odontogenic tumor, and a memorial tribute to recently deceased MDA Executive Director Karen Burgess. Monthly departments include Dentistry and the Law, Staff Matters^® human resource guidance, MDA Services (endorsed programs), MDA Foundation, news updates in News You Need, and more.

Staff Matters: Supporting Employees After A Maternity Leave, Jodi Schafer Sphr, Shrm-Scp

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article reviews federal law regarding employer obligations to new mothers, including the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act. The article contains suggestions for ways to support new mothers returning to work in a practice. This article is an installment of the MDA Journal’s monthly Staff Matters^® department.

Low-Cost Pm2.5 Sensors Can Help Identify Driving Factors Of Poor Air Quality And Benefit Communities, Tim Keyes, Rea Domingo, Samantha Dynowski, Royal Graves, Martha Klein, Melissa Leonard, John Pilgrim, Alison Sanchirico, Kate Trinkaus

WCBT Faculty Publications

Air quality is critical for public health. Residents rely chiefly on government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States to establish standards for the measurement of harmful contaminants including ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), and fine particulate matter at or below 2.5 μm. According to the California Air Resources Board [1], “short-term PM2.5 exposure (up to 24-h duration) has been associated with premature mortality, increased hospital admissions for heart or lung causes, acute and chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, emergency room visits, respiratory symptoms, and restricted activity days”. While public agency resources …

2023-September-01-Etsu Trustees Approve New Women's Athletics Program, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

During its regular quarterly meeting held earlier today, the East Tennessee State University Board of Trustees set a new direction for the university's future in athletics and commemorated significant milestones in student enrollment.

New athletics program

To provide additional athletics opportunities for women, the board approved the establishment of a new women's Acrobatics and Tumbling athletics program. It is currently recognized as an emerging sport by the NCAA and is expected to achieve NCAA Championship Sport status by 2024.

Fifty-three other colleges currently offer the sport. The university has marked out a strategic roadmap for the program, with plans to …

Auditor Materiality Threshold And Audit Quality: Evidence From The Revised Isa 700 In The United Kingdom, Beng Wee Goh, Kiat Bee Jimmy Lee, Dan Li, Na Li, Muzhi Wang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using a broad sample of U.K. firms that are required to disclose auditor materiality thresholds under the International Standards on Auditing (U.K. and Ireland) 700, we examine whether the auditor materiality threshold is associated with audit quality. We document that a lower materiality threshold is associated with higher audit quality, as measured by lower absolute discretionary accruals, higher accruals quality, and a lower propensity to just meet or beat analysts’ earnings expectations. We also find some evidence that the negative association between the materiality threshold and audit quality is attenuated when the audit committee is more effective and when the …

2023-September-01-A Conversation With Etsu Faculty Patrick Brown, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

After more than a decade of teaching at East Tennessee State University, Dr. Patrick Brown does not "stand still” in his instructional design.

Brown, an associate professor in the ETSU College of Public Health’s Department of Health Sciences, chaired the committee that helped to lay the groundwork for ETSU’s Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), and he continues to champion teaching excellence at ETSU and nationally as an expert in the POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) method of instruction.

Throughout his 13 years of teaching at ETSU, Brown has seen tremendous changes in the classroom.

“The normalization of online learning …

2023-September-01-Etsu Board Of Trustees To Hold Quarterly Meeting September 15, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

East Tennessee State University’s Board of Trustees will hold its quarterly meeting and several committee meetings on Friday, September 15.

All meetings will be conducted in person at the D.P. Culp Student Center, East Tennessee Room.

Meetings are scheduled as follows:

• Academic, Research, and Student Success Committee – 8 a.m.
• Finance and Administration Committee – 9:45 a.m.
• Audit Committee – 11:30 a.m.
• Board of Trustees Meeting – 1:30 p.m.

Committee meeting times are approximate and will begin following the conclusion of the previous meeting. When they become available, the agenda and accompanying materials for the meeting will be posted at …

2023-September-01-Etsu Launches $3.4 Million Project Through Biomade, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

In recent years, government, business and education leaders across the United States have started working collaboratively to make clear to high school students and others that bioindustrial manufacturing is a reliable and growing career path.

East Tennessee State University is playing a leading role.

BioMADE, a national institute with a mission of helping secure America’s future through bioindustrial manufacturing innovation, education and collaboration, has awarded the university $1.3 million in project funding. The grant total exceeds $3.3 million when including costs shared by ETSU and partners.

“East Tennessee State University is proud to take a proactive role in advancing educational …

2023-September-01-Bucs Go Beyond Slam Dunk Season, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

This seven months has been probably the most remarkable of my professional career.

It was one of the joys of my life - really the greatest joys of my life; I've never been part of something like this as a coach.

I just haven’t.

A moment, when you realized, “This is it. This is something really, really special.”

Vandy! [laughter] [cheering]

We held them to 31 points, first of all, which is pretty impressive. That just showed that we can play defense for sure.

Yeah, I think it was just like a big statement.

Even when Coach Mock with this …

2023-September-01-Go Beyond The Classroom Mini-Grants, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Creating simulations that train nurses to perform medical procedures, teaching gardening and nutrition to local elementary school students and preparing tax returns for community members are just a few examples of opportunities that are available for East Tennessee State University students to get hands-on experience while making a positive impact on the region.

These experiences are among five initiatives that will receive ETSU’s inaugural “Go Beyond the Classroom” mini-grants, designed to enhance and expand community-engaged learning in courses, programs and co-curricular experiences.

“Community-engaged learning provides the opportunity for our students to make connections between their academic course content and …

2023-September-01-Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Fall is a magical time on campus. The start of the academic year brings with it a plethora of opportunities, experiences, and possibilities. However, amidst the buzz of our vibrant campus life, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, juggling academic pursuits with personal responsibilities and the many extracurricular experiences ETSU has to offer.

Nationally, campuses are witnessing a mental health crisis. Recognizing the gravity of this situation, earlier this month, I signed a proclamation designating September as "Suicide Prevention Awareness Month" at ETSU. The recognition is not just an acknowledgment of the seriousness of the issue but a call to …

2023-September-01-Etsu Names New Director Of Institute For Appalachian Music And Culture, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

East Tennessee State University’s Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services has appointed Dr. Lee Bidgood as director of the Institute for Appalachian Music and Culture. 

“We are excited by the prospect of this new Institute, which will greatly enhance our ability to serve our communities and celebrate the cultural traditions of our region. Dr. Bidgood’s proven track record as a musician and scholar makes him the ideal person to lead this effort,” said Dr. Ron Roach, chair of the Department of Appalachian Studies and Center director.

An accomplished musician, Bidgood performed with the Steep Canyon Rangers and …

The Information In Asset Fire Sales, Sheng Huang, Matthew C. Ringgenberg, Zhe Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Asset prices remain depressed for years following mutual fund fire sales, but little is known about the causes of these price drops. We show that asymmetric information generates price pressure during fire sales. We separate trades into expected trades, which assume fund managers scale down their portfolio, and discretionary trades. We find that discretionary trades contain fundamental information, whereas expected trades do not. Moreover, other traders cannot distinguish between discretionary and expected trades. Our findings help explain the magnitude and persistence of fire sale discounts: fund managers choose which assets to sell, and information asymmetries make it difficult for arbitrageurs …

Flu Fallout: Information Production Constraints And Corporate Disclosure, Chen Chen, Leonard Leye Li, Louise Yi Lu, Rencheng Wang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using influenza epidemic data, we examine how constraints on corporate information production affect disclosure policies. We find that firms in areas with higher flu activity are less likely to issue short-run earnings forecasts and more likely to issue long-run earnings forecasts. These results are more pronounced when the information production process is more complex, when managers face a greater reputational loss for issuing low-quality short-run forecasts, and when firms’ costs of switching the forecast horizon are lower. Further analysis implies that the effect of flu activity on these forecast issuance decisions is not driven by firm performance or information uncertainty. …

Navigating The Unprecedented: A Behavioral Theory Of The Firm's Perspective On Covid-19'S Impact On Workplace Practices, Jeffrey Augugliaro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigates the influence of COVID-19 induced uncertainty on the implementation and effectiveness of workplace practices, using the behavioral theory of the firm as the theoretical lens. Employing the Cube One framework as the set of practices to test, it hypothesizes that pandemic-induced uncertainty would reduce the frequency of management practices enacted, decrease variability across organizations, and diminish the relationship between enacted practices and organizational performance. Furthermore, the study posits that these relationships will be moderated by industry, given their variable levels of exposure to pandemic disruptions.

Contrary to expectations, the initial results revealed no overarching reduction or convergence …

Structural Identification Of Pair Trades, Yi Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the structural identification of pair trades based on company fundamentals, stock price paths, and company’s capacity to transform fundamentals into value. The dissertation consists of four chapters. Chapter 1 lays the foundation for the study of pair identification. It designs the pair trading procedure and defines the trading performance measure. It also reviews and compares the performance of commonly used pair identification metrics in the literature, including normalized price squared distance, return correlation, and co-integration tests. Among the three metrics, the squared price distance represents the most effective metric and generates the best pair trading performance. The …

How Does Advertising Salience Impact Conversion Rates? The Mediating Role Of Consumer Engagement, Yu Cheng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Previous studies have mainly analyzed the relationship between advertising salience and conversion rates using subjective data from questionnaires or experiments. However, existing researches have not provided a clear explanation of how advertising salience affects conversion rates. In contrast to the existing literature, this study utilizes objective data from advertising agencies and establishes a mediation model to investigate how advertising salience influences conversion rates in news feed advertising. Empirical research shows that consumer engagement serves as a mediating variable between advertising salience and conversion rates, while market share, regional marketization level, and regional income level play moderating roles in the relationship …

The Cost Of Cheap Talk: How Campaign Promises And Default Contributions Affect Donation-Based Crowd Funding Success, Tianci Leon Qiu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Non-profit organisations (NPOs) find it increasingly harder to engage donors and raise funds from the public. Post-pandemic: the emphasis on tactics to raise funds online through donation-based crowdfunding (DCF) platforms has surged in importance for both NPO survival and continued beneficiary aid. However, unlike equity-based crowdfunding platforms where campaign organisers are obligated to provide investors with tangible returns based on funding milestones, NPOs on DCF platforms do not have to adhere to any funding milestones or are beholden to any tangible obligations towards donors. Consequently, NPOs are greatly incentivised to deploy cheap talk – non-binding, unverifiable messages and claims to …

Do Hacker Groups Pose A Risk To Organizations? Study On Financial Institutions Targeted By Hacktivists, Mikko Samuli Niemelae

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Publication date: 5 September 2023

In the digital era, technological progress has been shadowed by an escalation in cybersecurity threats, notably impacting the financial sector. This research critically examines the influence of hacktivist campaigns—particularly those led by groups like Anonymous—on the cyber exposure of financial services firms listed on the NYSE. Employing Synthetic Controls and analyzing 22 treated firms, the study found that such campaigns significantly enhance the target institutions' deep and dark web exposure, with an average increase of 65% per annum in the subsequent two years from the campaign initiation. Crucially, smaller firms display a heightened susceptibility to …

Esg Reporting Divergence, Qiang Cheng, Yun Lou, Mengjie Yang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

In this paper, we provide the first large-sample empirical analysis of the consequences of ESG reporting divergence among U.S. firms. We construct and validate an ESG reporting divergence measure based on the dissimilarities in ESG reporting across firms. Validation tests confirm that it is lower for firm-pairs using the same ESG reporting framework, with similar size, and with similar ESG performance than for other firm-pairs. We find that ESG reporting divergence is positively associated with ESG rating disagreement and weakens the positive association between ESG ratings and ESG fund allocation. These results indicate that ESG reporting divergence reduces the usefulness …

Toxic Vs. Visionary Leaders, Michelle C. Dziurgot Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This reviews characteristics of toxic and visionary leadership styles. This article is an installment of the MDA Journal’s monthly Editorial department.

Detroit Mercy Dental: Empowering Leaders And Igniting Change, Mert N. Aksu Dds, Jd, Mhsa, Cert. Dph

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article is a review/recap of activities at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry over the past year, including information on community service programs, diversity and inclusion, research, faculty and staff accomplishments, student life, and demographic information.

Mda Foundation: How Foundation Grants Assist Dei Efforts At Detroit Mercy, U-M, Anne Berquist

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article provides information on the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at Michigan’s two dental schools and details how the MDA Foundation is supporting these programs. This article is an installment of the MDA Journal’s monthly MDA Foundation department.

What Does Professionalism Mean To You? Part Ii, Michael G. Maihofer Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article is a continuation of a similar article in the August 2023 (Vol. 105, No. 8) Journal of the Michigan Dental Association in which a grouping of new dentists across the state of Michigan was asked to define what “professionalism” meant to them. An introduction to the article is provided by Michael Maihofer, DDS, who compiled the comments.

Karen Burgess Remembered: Thoughts And Memories From Mda Leaders

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article is a collection of memories and remembrances of Karen Burgess, who served as Michigan Dental Association CEO/executive director from 2014 until her death on July 18, 2023.

Mda Services: Why Dental Cpas Are Warning About Potential Employee Dishonesty, Reva Darling

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article details scenarios in which embezzlement and employee dishonesty can occur in a dental office and the need to employ a dental CPA. The article also describes two vendors endorsed by the Michigan Dental Association for accounting and protection against embezzlement. This article is an installment of the MDA Journal’s bi-monthly MDA Services department.