Accounting Commons^™

Audit Evidence, Technology, And Judgement: A Review Of The Literature In Response To Ed‐500, Dereck Barr‐Pulliam, Christopher G. Calvin, Marc Eulerich, Arpine Maghakyan

Accounting Faculty Publications

In October 2022, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) issued Exposure Draft 500 (ED-500). This is focused on revising and integrating the standard auditors use when evaluating audit evidence during an external audit. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse as the IAASB evaluates feedback to ED-500 and executes its standard-setting agenda. We review academic literature published in the past 10 years to synthesize extant knowledge specifically on the use of technology and the application of professional skepticism during audit evidence evaluation. Our review offers factors the IAASB should consider when seeking to modernize and future-proof its standards, …

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 …

Tax Planning Under The Inflation Reduction Act Of 2022, Martin A. Goldberg, James N. Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

The Inflation Reduction Act of2022 (the "Act"), signed by President Biden on 8/16/2022, contained an array of tax provisions that should be considered in tax planning for clients.

The Act is a budget reconciliation bill whose origins can be traced back to the American Rescue Plan Act of2021, as well as the American Jobs Plan (AJP) and the American Families Plan (AFP). Each plan contained aspects of tax incentives for green energy construction, conservation, and infrastructure improvements, as well as for healthcare benefits. What we see in the Act is the last iteration of these developing tax incentives.

The Act …

Planning Strategies Under Recent Tax Law Changes, Martin A. Goldberg, James N. Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

In the days when it was more common to see major stand-alone tax reform legislation, practitioners would devote large amounts of time to understanding tax law changes and formulating how these changes affected tax planning strategies. Now that we often see tax law changes peppered piecemeal into larger pieces of legislation, they often go under the radar. This means that tax planning opportunities may be missed.

Tax law changes that have appeared in just the past year provide numerous instances of tax planning strategies that warrant attention.

Expanded Tax Incentives For Energy-Efficient Construction And Improvements, Martin A. Goldberg, James N. Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the Act), included an array of tax-law changes that may not have gotten the attention they deserve.

There are several reasons why for many these changes may have been under the radar. First, as part of a much larger legislative package, much of the attention has been given to the ongoing political debates rather than individual provisions. In fact, the Act is part of a larger political saga. It's a scaled-down version, and immediate successor, to the Build Back Better Act which passed in the House of Representatives in 2021 but failed to pass …

Current Trends In Corporate Tax Inversions, James N. Mohs, Martin A. Goldberg, Rajendra Shrestha

Accounting Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to describe how changes in corporate tax rates affect the relocation of Corporations to lower tax jurisdictions. Historically, there was a direct correlation between high tax rates and the relocation of Corporations to lower tax jurisdictions. By further examining the relationships that tax rate cuts may have on future onshoring relocations and how changes in government tax policies will affect the relocation of multinational corporations to avoid or minimize tax liabilities. This paper extends the work of Mohs, Goldberg, Butler, and Heath (2016), which noted that there is a correlation between divergent tax rates. …

Accounting Reporting Complexity, Audit Engagement Partner Mandatory Rotation, And Audit Quality, Clement Chen, Zhenfeng Liu, Wenye Tang, Ling Tuo

Accounting Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the influence of a firm's accounting reporting complexity (ARC) on financial statement audit quality. We predict and find that there is a non‐linear relationship between a firm's ARC and audit quality. Specifically, a more complex accounting environment—measured by ARC—leads to higher quality audits, but this effect diminishes when ARC continues to increase. Further analyses reveal that the effect is more salient among client firms that do not purchase non‐audit services (NAS). We also examine whether ARC affects audit quality in the circumstance of mandatory audit partner rotation. Empirical results show a moderating effect of ARC on the …

Capital Market Penalties And Corporate Violations Of The Three Pillars (Operations, Reporting, And Compliance) After Coso 2013 Internal Controls: Integrated Framework, Jesus R. Jimenez-Andrade

Accounting Faculty Publications

Current literature is somewhat unclear on how corporate violations under the new set of governance environments versed in the Internal Controls Integrated Framework issued by COSO (acronym of Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission) influence shareholders’ activism. Initially published in 1992, these guidelines faced a significant revision with proactive improvements in 2013. Since the first emission, this guidance has focused on providing safe-keeping basic standards for organizations to follow regarding the integrity of corporate governance and enterprise risk management by designing and implementing stable internal controls. The handbooks’ primary approach builds upon an environment of permanent improvement of …

Information Search In Times Of Market Uncertainty: An Examination Of Aggregate And Disaggregate Uncertainty, Marshall A. Geiger, Rajib Hasan, Abdullah Kumas, Joyce Van Der Van Der Laan Smith

Accounting Faculty Publications

Purpose – This study explores the association between individual investor information demand and two measures of market uncertainty – aggregate market uncertainty and disaggregate industry-specific market uncertainty. It extends the literature by being the first to empirically examine investor information demand and disaggregate market uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper constructs a measure of information search by using the Google Search Volume Index and computes measures of aggregate and disaggregate market uncertainty using institutional investors’ trading data from Ancerno Ltd. The relation between market uncertainty, as measured by trading disagreements among institutional investors, and information search is analyzed using an OLS …

Counselors, Judges, Or Executioners: The Role Of Financial Analysts In Capital Markets’ Responses To Alleged Fcpa Violations, Jesus R. Jimenez-Andrade, Timothy J. Fogarty, Gregory A. Jonas

Accounting Faculty Publications

Academic models grounded in market efficiency and reputational principles argue that market firms value suffer investors punishment as consequence of international bribery allegations. However, there are indicators of potential mispricing when authorities reveal the details of the allegations. To reconcile this phenomenon, this research theorizes the influence of analysts revised expectations as moderators and/or mediators of the relationship between the reputational and economic penalties, and investors’ response. Findings from 124 documented cases (2007 to 2018) suggest that analysts positively moderate (not mediate) the relationship concerning reputational (not economic) penalties and stock returns in the short-term after the press release (three-day …

Living Up To Your Codes? Corporate Codes Of Ethics And The Cost Of Equity Capital, Hong Kim Duong, Marco Fasan, Giorgio Gotti

Accounting Faculty Publications

Purpose-

Previous literature provides mixed evidence about the effectiveness of a code of ethics in limiting managerial opportunism. While some studies find that code of ethics is merely window-dressing, others find that they do influence managers' behavior. The present study investigates whether the quality of a code of ethics decreases the cost of equity by limiting managerial opportunism.

Design/methodology/approach-

In order to test the hypothesis, the authors perform an empirical analysis on a sample of US companies in the 2004–2012 period. The results are robust to a battery of robustness analyses that the authors performed in order to take care …

The Effect Of Professional Identity Salience And Leadership Climate On Accountants' Ethical Decisions, Yin Xu, Karl J. Wang, Doug Ziegenfuss

Accounting Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of contextual factors in organizations on accountants’ ethical decisions. Specifically, the study investigated whether professional identity salience and ethical leadership climate affected accountants’ ethical judgments and intentions to act more ethically. A study is conducted, in a 2 x 2 between-factorial design, by using certified public accountants (N=375) as participants. The findings show that accountants made more ethical judgments when professional identity salience was increased by highlighting the professional code of ethics. Accountants intended to act more ethically only when the leadership climate was positive. The results suggest that a …

Exploring The Impact Of Tariffs On Foreign Direct Investment And Economic Prosperity, Vanessa Fong, James Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

The global economic environment has become more interconnected, a significant portion of which can be attributed to countries welcoming foreign businesses through foreign direct investments (FDI). FDI is powerful in its ability to grow and develop home companies while shaping host economies, which lays out a critical role in the generating opportunities, strengthening economies, and the circulation or velocity of capital. This paper extends the initial work of Ranish, Mentz and Mohs (2015) relating to global value chain decision making. The purpose of this research is to review and outline the sensitivity to Tariff’s on FDI and economic growth. The …

Asymmetric Cost Behavior: Exploring Ethical Issues Facing Management, Kelly Flannery, James Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

Asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness is a relatively new phenomenon in accounting. Cost accounting initially assumed that traditional cost behaviors follow a symmetrical pattern, whereas sales and costs rise and fall equivalently with each other. Extending the research of Anderson, Banker and Janakiraman (2003) which introduced a theory that contradicted the normal symmetrical cost behavior by suggesting that internal factors, such as management decisions impact spending resulting in asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness. The objective of this paper is to explore whether asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness impacts corporate earnings of enterprises and if so, does this …

Debt Covenant Condition And The Relative Use Of Operating Lease And Long-Term Debt, Daniel Gyung Paik, Brandon Byunghwan Lee, Joyce Van Der Laan Smith, Sung Wook Yoon

Accounting Faculty Publications

Purpose: We investigate the relationship between off-balance-sheet (OBS) operating leases and long-term debt by analyzing firms’ debt risk profiles measured by the constraints on firms in the financial ratios in their debt covenants.

Design/methodology/approach: We determine debt risk profiles using three measures: the ex- ante probability of covenant violation (Demerjian and Owens, 2016), firms in violation of debt covenants, and firms close to covenant violations.

Findings: High-risk firms according to all three measures, on average, have a significantly lower level of operating leases, indicating that these firms use OBS leases as a substitute for long-term debt. More interesting, for firms …

Evaluating Flat Tax Theory: A Conceptual Framework, James N. Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

Tax receipts form one of the key tools of current macroeconomic fiscal policy. As governments are forced to increase spending levels satisfy their respective social, political or economic goals, they are consequently are forced to review new or additional sources of tax review. Government officials and political candidates theorize that new expensive programs can be paid for by increased taxes. A flat tax system has also been theorized to be an equitable solution to satisfy the increased tax revenue requirements. This paper reviews in general terms the current progressive tax system as well as a regressive flat tax system. This …

Using Cultural Mindsets To Reduce Cross‐National Auditor Judgment Differences, Aaron Saiewitz, Elaine Ying Wang

Accounting Faculty Publications

In a globalized audit environment, regulators and researchers have expressed concerns about inconsistent audit quality across nations, with a particular emphasis on Chinese audit quality. Prior research suggests Chinese audit quality may be lower than U.S. audit quality due to a weaker institutional environment (e.g., lower litigation and inspection risk) or cultural value differences (e.g., greater deference to authority). In this study, we propose that lower Chinese audit quality could also be due to Chinese auditors' different cognitive processing styles (i.e., cultural mindsets). We find U.S. auditors are more likely to engage in an analytic mindset approach, focusing on a …

Evaluating The Effect Of Corporate Tax Reductions On Value Chain Sourcing Decisions, James Mohs, Arthur Galloway

Accounting Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the changes in the elements of the value change sensitivity model and identify if there has been a significant shift in the profitability of one country to another. Validating the work on the adjusted present value (APV) formula provided by Rainish, Mensz, and Mohs (2015), this paper analyzes how the new U.S. corporate tax rates will impact a company’s sourcing decision. Also, the value-added tax (VAT) is used in all other OECD countries, except the U.S, and therefore this will be part of the evaluation. The third variable that has a crucial …

Skin In The Game? Experimental Reactions To Prospective Reputational Damage By Corporate Personnel, Jesus R. Jimenez-Andrade, Timothy J. Fogarty

Accounting Faculty Publications

All organizations confront the possibility of scandal; however, the reputational threat caused by scandal is exacerbated when these events are not properly addressed. Since scandals also have the potential to adversely affect organizational personnel, dilemmas arise regarding traditional ideas of employee agency. In this study, we conduct an experiment manipulating the severity of the reputational threat and its financial consequences for decision-makers, using actual corporate officers and internal auditors. One key question is this: “Are corporate decision-makers’ responses to potential scandals affected by whether they, as incentivized individuals (via stock options), have “skin in the game?” Findings indicate that corporate …

Loan Purpose And Accounting Based Debt Covenants, Daniel Gyung Paik, Timothy L. Hamilton, Brandon Byunghwan Lee, Sung Wook Yoon

Accounting Faculty Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between the purpose of a loan and the type of debt covenants, separated into balance sheet-based and income statement-based covenants.

Design/methodology/approach

Using private loan deal observations obtained from the DealScan database over the period between 1996 and 2013, the authors classify the sample loan deals into three categories based on the purpose of borrowing, namely, borrowings for corporate daily operating purposes, financing purposes and acquisition and investing purposes. The authors conduct multinomial logistic regression analysis to test the relationship between the choice of financial ratios in a debt covenant …

The Velocity Of Risk, Sridhar Ramamoorti, James H. Wanserski, Richard Stover

Accounting Faculty Publications

Only a few decades ago, the onset of problematic risk events often was slow, and organizations handled the corresponding aftermath over a manageable time frame. Organizations armed with extensive public relations resources responded to most postevent crises after planning and analyzing thoughtful responses. Additionally, organizations carefully calculated their transparency with stakeholders regarding the event to manage its impact on the organization. Fast forward to today, and the pace of information is almost instantaneous. For example, when a popular U.S. fast food restaurant chain experienced an outbreak of E. coli-infected lettuce, its stock price decreased 44 percent within 90 days amid …

Business Education Of Ceo-Cfo And Annual Report Readability, Ling Tuo, Yu (Tony) Zhang, Zhenfeng Liu, Ruixue Du

Accounting Faculty Publications

Financial report readability captures the transparency and effectiveness of information communicated by firms’ executives. It’s interesting to investigate whether business knowledge, cognitive preferences, and professional ethics taught by a business education will shape the CEO/ CFO’s thinking in determining words, languages, paragraphs, and contents presented in financial reports when the self-interested CEO/CFO tends to influence the interpretation of financial information users. Using a sample of S&P 1500 CEOs and CFOs, we find that the CEO (CFO) with a business degree is associated with better (worse) readability of annual reports and the positive (negative) relation is strengthened (moderated) by internal corporate …

Risk Consumption, Sridhar Ramamoorti, Rick Stover

Accounting Faculty Publications

Understanding the difference between risk appetite and risk tolerance can deter organizations from digesting too much risk.

The concepts of risk appetite and risk tolerance were introduced in 2004 in The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission’s (COSO’s) Enterprise Risk Management–Integrated Framework. Specifically, COSO defines risk appetite as “the amount of risk — on a broad level — that an entity is willing to accept in pursuit of value.” Naturally, organizations will have different risk appetites depending on their industry, management philosophy, operating style, culture, and objectives. Therefore, a range of appetites potentially exist for distinct risks, which …

Anticipation And Reaction To Going Concern Modified Audit Opinions By Sophisticated Investors, Marshall A. Geiger, Abdullah Kumas

Accounting Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether institutional investors (i) anticipate a distressed firm's receipt of a first‐time going‐concern modified audit opinion, and (ii) react to a first‐time going‐concern modified opinion by engaging in abnormal net selling of firm shares. Using a proprietary database of US institutional investor trades, we find that institutional investors are net sellers of first‐time going‐concern opinion firms beginning 6 months before the release of the report and remain net sellers through the subsequent 3 months. We also find that the severity of the reasons auditors modify their opinions is associated with increased trading …

Instructional Case: Can Management Accounting Help Aid Associations Make Tough Choices In Haiti?, Daniel Gyung Paik, W. Darrell Walden, Kip R. Krumwiede

Accounting Faculty Publications

Based on an actual situation, this case explores the use of management accounting analysis in a difficult make-or-buy decision in the real world of humanitarian aid. An aid organization produces a specially designed, highly nutritious peanut butter medicine to save the lives of Haiti’s malnourished children. The challenge is deciding whether to source the peanuts from Haitian farmers and pay more or from foreign suppliers and pay less. Students perform both quantitative and qualitative cost-benefit, break-even, operating leverage, and product costing analysis. Performance measurement, incentive issues, short-term versus long-term thinking, micro and macroeconomics, and ethical issues are also considered. The …

Market Ambiguity And Individual Investor Information Demand, Rajib Hasan, Abdullah Kumas, Joyce Van Der Laan Smith

Accounting Faculty Publications

We examine whether ambiguity in the market leads to an increase in information demand by individual investors. Drawing on the asset-pricing model proposed by Mele and Sangiorgi (2015), which incorporates market ambiguity, we measure individual information demand using daily Google searches and measure market ambiguity using a metric based on the market trades of institutional investors. We find that individual investors increase their information demand during periods of greater market ambiguity. We also provide evidence that information demand from individual investors spikes around earnings announcement days primarily when market uncertainty is driven by net-selling activity. Overall, these results suggest that …

A Study Of Long-Lived Asset Impairment Under U.S. Gaap And Ifrs Within The U.S. Institutional Environment, Philip K. Hong, Daniel Gyung Paik, Joyce Van Der Laan Smith

Accounting Faculty Publications

This paper explores whether differences in accounting standards influence reporting behavior within the U.S. institutional environment where both IFRS and U.S. GAAP are used for reporting purposes. We focus on the accounting for impairment of long-lived assets, an area where significant differences exist between U.S. GAAP and IFRS. We identify all U.S.-listed firms who have recognized long-lived asset impairment losses during the 2004–2012 period. From these firms, we identify firms following IFRS, then develop a matched sample of U.S. GAAP firms, using a propensity score matching procedure. We examine the relation between impairment loss and unexpectedly high or low earnings …

Acquired In-Process Research Development And Earnings Management, Daniel Gyung Paik, Junyoup Lee, Eun Suh Lee, Kevin H. Kim

Accounting Faculty Publications

New accounting standards, namely SFAS 141 and 142, were adopted in 2001. The release of these two regulations offers a unique opportunity to explore how managers have changed their earnings manipulation behavior by using IPR&D costs. In this study, we examine whether and how the amount of IPR&D at the acquisition deals is associated with discretionary accruals, which serve as a proxy for earnings management. We use a sample of firms reporting acquired IPR&D over the period of 1993 to 2007 with a matched group based on size and industry. Our results provide evidence that managers strategically use the IPR&D …

The Association Between Audit Fees And Accounting Restatement Resulting From Accounting Fraud And Clerical Errors, Daniel Gyung Paik, Taewoo Kim, Kip Krumwiede, Brandon B. Lee

Accounting Faculty Publications

Restatements of financial reporting arise from many sources including changes in accounting rules, changes in reporting entity, accounting errors, and fraud (or “irregularities”). Theory predicts that audit effort (measured by audit fees) and financial report restatements should be negatively associated because more audit effort means that auditors should be more likely to find errors or other issues that could lead to later restatement (Shibano 1990; Matsumura and Tucker, 1992; Lobo and Zhao, 2013). However, other studies have found either a positive association or no association between audit fees and subsequent restatements (Kinney et al., 2004; Stanley and DeZoort, 2007; Cao …

A Study Of Long-Lived Asset Impairment Under U.S. Gaap And Ifrs Within The U.S. Institutional Environment, Daniel Gyung Paik, Keejae Hong, Joyce Van Der Laan Smith

Accounting Faculty Publications

This paper explores whether differences in accounting standards influence reporting behavior within the U.S. institutional environment where both IFRS and U.S. GAAP are used for reporting purposes. We focus on the accounting for impairment of long-lived assets, an area where significant differences exist between U.S. GAAP and IFRS. We identify all U.S.-listed firms who have recognized long-lived asset impairment losses during the 2004 to 2012 period. From these firms, we identify firms following IFRS, then develop a matched sample of U.S. GAAP firms, using a propensity score matching procedure. We examine the relation between impairment loss and unexpectedly high or …