Accounting Commons^™

Accounting For The Government Funding Of Non-Profits And The Planned Parenthood Federation Of America, Rachel E. Brown

Senior Honors Theses

Accounting creates a framework for providing transparency in an organization. This foundation is especially important in not-for-profit entities because government grants and contributions often compose significant portions of overall revenues and receipts. An overview of non-profit standards and the government system of distributing funds provides insight into non-profits as a whole and enables the study of specific organizations. As the nation’s largest provider of abortion and family planning services, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America is an especially important organization to study and understand. It receives significant funds from federal and state governments and should receive equally significant evaluation by …

America's Tax System And How To Fix It, Brendan O. Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Abraham Lincoln signed into law the first national income tax on August 5, 1861. Since 1913, the content of the Internal Revenue Code has increased from the 27-page tax law of that year to over 5000 pages today. As time has passed and the length of this document has increased, so has the expense and complexity of abiding by its statutes. The inefficiencies of the current system indicate that something must be done about the United States tax system, but no one has agreed on what to do. Many proposals to correct the problem have been brought forward over the …

Accounting For The Future: Reducing The Differences Between International And Domestic Accounting Standards And Becoming A Better Global Citizen While Maintaining Autonomy, Andrew R. Hassler

Senior Honors Theses

In recent times, the FASB and the IASB have heavily discussed bringing the United States on board to utilize the same IFRS accounting standards that much of the rest of the world uses. At this present time, IFRS adoption in the United States is no longer actively being considered, and alternative means of convergence have become the preferred method for supporting globalization. This paper posits that in order to serve a worldwide business community, the principles-based approach is more conducive to the flexible modern environment. The practices currently utilized to jointly-research and co-develop accounting standards by both the FASB and …

User Experiences: Shared Services In Government Financial Management, Nauri D. Ahmed

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

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

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 …

Cultural Influences On Accounting And Its Practices, Meredith Young

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis discusses various cultural aspects that have influenced accounting. Hofestede (1984) and Gray (1988) conducted studies and observations of the cultural dimensions and values that have contributed to culture and accounting research. National culture is broad in its influences, but affects the smallest aspects of society-even accounting. Accounting is also influenced by organizational culture, the overall environment in which a company functions. Next is ethics, an integral aspect of accounting, persuaded by the culture in which it is derived. Religion is more than a belief; it constitutes a way of life, involving unique practices and perspectives in accounting. Last, …

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 …

The Impact Of Switching To International Financial Reporting Standards On United States Businesses, Ashley Harper, Linda Leatherbury, Ana Machuca, Jodee Phillips

Faculty Publications and Presentations

There has been controversy brewing among accounting professionals regarding the impact of switching to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on United States corporations as deemed to converge in the near future (Deming, 2005). The viewpoint presented in this paper is that the United States should conform to the international standards primarily because a single set of standards creates uniformity and comparability for stakeholders regardless of their geographic location. This paper addresses the potential advantages and disadvantages of moving to a global set of standards as well as how the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) will need to work with the …

The Convergence Of Multinational Standards And Practices In International Financial Reporting, Ashley Harper, Linda Leatherbury, Ana Machuca, Jodee Phillips

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is pending a move to incorporate a single set of accounting standards across International borders. The definitive decision for uniting the standards appears to be stalemated. The pending move by the United States to adopt financial reporting practices set forth by the IFRS to encompass a single set of reporting standards bears both advantages and disadvantages for multinational corporations. This paper examines some of the difficulties that can arise by using a single set of standards and addresses two significant studies regarding converging reporting standards. The paper concludes by discussing issues that could potentially …

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

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

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

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 …

The Shift Toward A Global Economy: Changes In Accounting Regulations To Repair A Broken Past And Lay A Solid Foundation For The Future, Drew Lewis

Senior Honors Theses

With the growth and development of a much more dynamic business market, many companies have seen opportunities to expand and profit. However, this has also led to much confusion over which specific regulations and entities should dictate how businesses should report and act. The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have been working concurrently to provide a consistent standard that can be applied universally. Though there are many differences between the frameworks of the two organizations, compromises are being made to suit the general business realm.

The recent recession has also caused problems for the business …

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

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

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 …

An Analysis Of The Obstacles Of Culture, Government, And Lack Of Support For International Accounting Standards, Bethany Theodore

Senior Honors Theses

With the prevalence of international markets comes the need for universal accounting standards. The International Accounting Standards Board has created a set of these standards, but unfortunately some skeptics have found that the obstacles of culture, government, and lack of support would make these standards impossible to implement. Since the globalization of international standards is inevitable, there must be a way to get past the present obstacles. Through an analysis of the countries of China, India, and Australia, it has been found that it is possible to have the same accounting standards among diverse countries. International accounting standards will become …