Accounting Commons^™

Influence Of The Cpa Credential On The Life Satisfaction Of University Of Northern Iowa Accounting Alumni, Derek Richard Koppes

Honors Program Theses

This paper aims to explore the relationship between obtaining a CPA as a University of Northern Iowa accounting graduate and measures of life satisfaction. In this study, survey data were collected from a random sample of University of Northern Iowa accounting graduates. The research suggests that graduates who obtained the CPA credential have higher levels of life satisfaction. Accounting students at the University of Northern Iowa for years to come stand to benefit greatly from this research because the results of this study provide more insight into the favorable outcomes that are enjoyed by accounting alumni who elected to pursue …

Editor's Note, Marites Tiongco

DLSU Business & Economics Review

No abstract provided.

特殊目的收购公司特别亮眼?, T. Mandy Tham

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Engaging First Year Students In Assessment Rubrics: Three Personal Experiences, Katherine Ashman, Kristina Turner, Dona Martin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In a direct effort to build a greater understanding of higher education teaching and learning opportunities, this study shares the journey of three university lecturers working to ensure best practice outcomes from criterion-referenced assessment [CRA]. The work was built on a belief that our respective higher education undergraduate students did not fully value the design structure or feedback outcomes inherent in CRA. Using a collaborative autoethnographic lens we pooled experiences, outcomes, challenges, assumptions, and accounts of unconscious biases from across our different tertiary education schools and subjects. Our examination enriched our understanding, our teaching, and our student outcomes. In sharing …

Eagle Accountant - 2022, Georgia Southern University

Eagle Accountant

• Letter from the Director
• Advisory Council
• Accreditation & Rankings
• Cover Story: General Accounting
• Student Spotlight: The Tools for Success
• Accounting Day 2022
• Commencement 2022
• Eagles on Pennsylvania Avenue
• Student Organizations & Activities
• Faculty News & Awards
• Flying High or Crashing Under Pressure? 
• Faculty Research, Publications, & Service    
• Alumna Spotlight: Finding Balance
• Alumni Notes, Awards, & Recognition 
• Inaugural Parker Gala 
• Notorious RBG 
• In Memorium 
• Call for Submissions 

A Framework For Using Robotic Process Automation For Audit Tasks, Marc Eulerich, Justin Pawlowski, Nathan J. Waddoups, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The ability to automate tasks and processes using robotic process automation (RPA)—or the development of bots—is receiving significant attention in accounting. Auditors often struggle to know what tasks to automate and how to prioritize bot development. Drawing upon sociotechnical systems theory and using a design science methodology, we develop and validate a three-step evaluation framework to assist auditors as they decide what activities to automate. We validate this framework using interviews, surveys of experienced internal and external auditors, and two case studies. By developing and validating our framework through the lens of sociotechnical systems theory, we also provide several insights …

Relevance Of Accounting Research (Roar): Ratings Of Abstracts By Accounting Professionals, F. Greg Burton, Scott L. Summers, T. Jeffrey Wilks, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The relevance of academic accounting research to practice has been frequently discussed in the accounting academy, yet very little data has been put forth in these discussions. We create relevance of accounting research (ROAR) scores by asking accounting professionals to read and evaluate the titles and abstracts of every article published in 12 leading accounting journals for the years 2016 to 2018, inclusive. These scores allow for an evidence-based evaluation and discussion of how academic accounting research is perceived by accounting professionals. The scores also allow us to identify the articles, authors, journals, and accounting topic areas that are perceived …

Discussion Of ‘The Effect Of Changes In Income Shifting On Affiliate Managers’ Internal Reporting Decisions, Zackery D. Fox, Ryan J. Wilson

Faculty Publications

Klassen and Valle Ruiz (hereafter KVR) investigate an interesting question that has not been explored in existing research. Specifically, they look at the effect of a change in income shifting strategy on affiliate managers’ internal reporting choices. The paper adds to a growing category of the tax accounting literature examining the consequences of multinational enterprises (MNEs) tax-motivated income shifting for various stakeholders. KVR turn their focus within the firm by testing whether distortions caused by tax-motivated income shifting alter affiliate managers’ internal reporting behavior.

The Relationship Between Perceived Fairness In Executive Compensation And Managerial Behavior, Kainan Xiong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines the relationship between the perceived fairness in executive compensation and the level of earnings management on the one hand and the propensity for voluntary turnover on the other. Executive compensation has attracted significant academic attention for more than two decades. The ratcheting-up of executive pay raises questions about its determinants and whether the pay-setting process effectively promotes managerial behavior that aligns with the interests of shareholders. Alternatively, executives may simply extract rents at the expense of shareholders because of the informational advantage that they have and their influence over the board of directors, particularly the compensation committee …

Three Essays On The Impacts Of Tax Planning And Earnings Management On The Informativeness Of Taxable Income, Book Income, And Cash Flows From Operations, Yong Qiang Chen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation comprises three independent but highly related essays that investigate the effects of tax planning and/or earnings management. The first essay investigates how high tax planning and/or aggressive earnings management affect the relative and incremental value-relevant information of taxable income, book income, and cash flows from operations (CFO). Regarding the effects of tax planning, first, I postulate and show that high tax planning reduces the relative and incremental information of taxable income to CFO. Second, high tax planning increases the relative and incremental information of CFO to the combined information set of taxable income and book income. Third, high …

Do Auditors’ Incentives Affect Materiality Assessments Of Prior-Period Misstatements?*, Brant E. Christensen, Roy Schmardebeck, Timothy Seidel

Faculty Publications

We examine whether auditors' incentives affect materiality assessments of prior-period misstatements. Interviews with global network firm partners reveal consistency across firms in the process used to assess prior-period misstatements and highlight points in the process where judgments are most susceptible to auditors’ conscious or subconscious biases. In related empirical tests, we find that auditors assess misstatements as less material (i.e., misstatements are disclosed less prominently) when auditors face greater engagement risk (comprised of the risk of litigation and reputation loss) or have greater incentives to please important clients. These effects only occur when auditor incentives to avoid further litigation or …

The Impact Of Managerial Discretion In Revenue Recognition: A Reexamination*, Linda A. Myers, Roy Schmardebeck, Timothy Seidel, Michael D. Stuart

Faculty Publications

Although the FASB and IASB conceptual frameworks identify relevance and faithful representation as the fundamental qualitative characteristics of useful information, prior research suggests that revenue recognition accounting standards that restrict managerial discretion resulted in improved faithful representation but reduced relevance. We use the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2009-13 and ASU 2009-14 to examine the effects of increased managerial discretion to accelerate revenue recognition in multiple-deliverable arrangements; that is, transactions where vendors sell multiple products or services that are delivered at different points in time. We find that increased discretion results in an increase in the relevance of reported …

Tax Boycotts, H. Scott Asay, Jacob Thornock, Jeffrey L. Hoopes, Jaron H. Wilde

Faculty Publications

To what extent do consumers boycott in response to corporate tax activities? Anecdotes suggest potential consumer backlash is a meaningful deterrent to corporate tax planning, and the tax literature has developed expectations that these boycotts happen. But empirical evidence on their existence and impact is limited. We undertake a comprehensive study to examine how consumers’ purchase behavior relates to corporate tax activities, triangulating across several designs, samples, and measures. First, we survey a representative sample of U.S. consumers to examine the reported relationship between corporate tax planning and consumer behavior; we find that consumers report that precisely zero have ever …

The Innovation And Reporting Consequences Of Financial Regulation For Young Life-Cycle Firms, Abigail Allen, Melissa F. Lewis-Western, Kristen Valentine

Faculty Publications

Firm life-cycle stage reflects a firm’s current strategic direction toward exploration independent of age or size. We provide evidence that young life-cycle firms are particularly vulnerable to negative innovation consequences from financial regulation but do not appear to experience any compensating financial reporting quality (FRQ) benefits. Using a generalized difference-indifferences design around Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), we document a significant reduction in both research and development (R&D) spending and innovation outputs for young life-cycle stage firms after regulation. Declines in innovation manifest both from the diversion of scarce resources and from the imposition of an organizational culture mismatched …

Preparer Opposition And Strategic Implementation Of Governmental Accounting Standards: Evidence From Public Pension Accounting Reform, Abigail Allen, Reining C. Petacchi

Faculty Publications

Widely acknowledged as one of the most controversial standards in governmental accounting, GASB 67/68 radically altered both the recognition and measurement for defined benefit public pensions. The standards require the recognition of previously only disclosed unfunded pension liabilities and increase the magnitude of reported pension liabilities by requiring the partial incorporation of a market-based discount rate. While the recognition proposal was unaltered from its initial conception to the final standards, the discount rate proposal was significantly attenuated after the initial proposal met with unanimous preparer opposition. Accordingly, we examine what incentives drive preparer lobbying positions, whether such lobbying is aligned …

The Effects Of A Second-Chance Exam Policy In A Large-Enrollment Introductory Accounting Course, Melissa Larson, William B. Tayler, Jared R. Stark

Faculty Publications

Using a quasi-experimental design, we compare two semesters of an introductory accounting course to evaluate the impact of a second-chance exam policy (SCEP) on student performance and anxiety, analyzing data from 1,986 students. The SCEP, allowing two additional attempts at exams capped at 80 percent credit, significantly improved academic outcomes and decreased perceived test anxiety. Specifically, students during the SCEP semester experienced an average increase of 4.46 percent in exam scores (p < 0.01), a 3.37 percent increase in course percentage points (p < 0.01), and a GPA increase of 0.21 (p < 0.01). Notably, women experienced greater improvements than men in measured academic outcomes. Our findings suggest that SCEPs can be an effective intervention to increase academic performance and reduce anxiety. We also examine an SCEP’s effect on preparation for exam first attempts and find that students perform better on a first attempt with an SCEP.

Updated Perceptions Of Accounting Academics On The Review And Publication Process, F. Greg Burton, William G. Heninger, Scott L. Summers, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

We update the Wood (2016) survey that gathered perceptions of academics regarding the review and publication process at the top academic journals to measure changes in perceptions over the last five years. We find that accounting academics generally perceive the overall process has not improved at top journals or has become worse since 2015. More specifically, we find that respondents think acceptance rates in top journals should nearly double. Respondents believe that reviewers and editors underweight practice relevance. They also believe reviewers overweight the criteria of incremental contribution, method, and rigor. Respondents believe that their institutions focus too much on …

Accounting Academics Perceptions Of 12 Research Journals, F. Greg Burton, William G. Heninger, Scott L. Summers, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

This paper reports perceptions of over 1,000 accounting faculty regarding 12 accounting journals (including the traditional Top 3/6), specifically in: (1) how open they are to diverse topic areas, (2) how open they are to diverse research methodologies, (3) how effectively they produce new and useful knowledge for academics, and (4) how effectively they produce new and useful knowledge for non-academic stakeholders. We find that the traditional Top 3/6 journals do not lead the academy along these four dimensions; in fact, some are viewed as the worst performers in these areas. Furthermore, we find that academics have a relatively poor …

Perceptions Of Robotic Process Automation In Big 4 Public Accounting Firms: Do Firm Leaders And Lower-Level Employees Agree?, Lauren A. Cooper, D. Kip Holderness, Trevor L. Sorensen, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a recent innovation in the public accounting industry, and the Big 4 firms are at the forefront of its implementation. This paper examines how the adoption and use of RPA is affecting the perceived work experience of firm leaders and lower-level employees at Big 4 accounting firms. We interview 14 RPA leaders, survey 139 lower-level employees, and compare and contrast their responses. We find that the two groups generally agree that RPA is having a positive influence on the profession. Both groups believe that RPA is positively changing the work employees perform …

The Influence Of Management’S Internal Audit Experience On Earnings Management, Matthew Ege, Timothy Seidel, Mikhail Sterin, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

We examine whether firms with managers that have prior internal audit experience are less likely to manage earnings. This examination is important because the internal audit function is uniquely positioned to provide experiences that could influence future managerial behavior, including limiting the potential negative repercussions of earnings management. We find that firms with managers that have internal audit experience are associated with lower real earnings management but not accruals-based earnings management. Effects are strongest when managers with internal audit experience have greater power or currently hold financial roles, or when there are a greater number of managers with internal audit …

Evidence On Internal Audit Quality From Transitioning To Remote Audits Because Of Covid-19, Marc Eulerich, Martin Wagener, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

As in-person audits were banned by governments and by company policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, internal auditors had to transition to remote audits to perform their work. Based on survey responses of internal auditors who have conducted both remote and in-person audits, we find that internal auditors perceive no difference in the efficiency and effectiveness of and stakeholders’ reliance on results from remote and in-person audits when considering all responses. However, we also find that perceived efficiency and effectiveness increase the more experience internal auditors have with remote audits. Supplemental analyses show that support from the auditee, but not …

Publication Benchmarking Data Based On Faculty Promoted At The Top 200 Worldwide Accounting Research Institutions, Jared S. Moon, Scott L. Summers, Nathan J. Waddoups, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The primary purpose of this paper is to update and extend past promotion benchmarking studies. We update prior benchmarking studies by providing publication benchmarking data for faculty promoted between 2013 and 2019, inclusive. We extend prior benchmarking studies by evaluating a larger number of institutions (the top 200 worldwide accounting institutions), using a more global journal list, and providing sensitivity analyses between journal lists. We group institutions based on rankings and report a possible minimum publication hurdle for each group in each journal category. In addition, we provide data on the mix, or percentage, of publications in each journal category …

The Status Of Robotic Process Automation, Steven A. Harrast, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

Modern information technology (IT) has greatly expanded the capability of companies to coordinate activities and process large numbers of transactions. Unfortunately, large companies often support thousands of individual applications, and the data necessary for financial reporting is scattered across these applications. As applications and data proliferate, companies must link together the applications and systems, often using spreadsheets and expending significant amounts of time in manual data entry and manipulation. This manual work is slow, expensive, and error prone and lacks useful business insights. Also, the employees who must perform these tasks are often overwhelmed and unsatisfied with the mundane work. …

Internal Auditors’ Role In Organizational Innovation: A Social Network Perspective, Margaret H. Christ, Anna Eulerich, Marc Eulerich, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

Organizations use innovations to adapt, grow their business, and differentiate themselves from their competitors. However, innovations can introduce new risks to the organization that the internal audit function (IAF) should address. We interview and survey internal auditors about how they respond to innovations, such as the use of emerging technologies, adopted by their organizations. We find that social network theory provides a useful lens through which to interpret our interview results and to guide our survey development and analysis. In particular, we find that the embeddedness of the internal auditors with management, but not with the audit committee, is a …

Earnings Virality*, Brett Campbell, Michael S. Drake, Jacob Thornock, Brady Twedt

Faculty Publications

We examine the determinants and market consequences associated with earnings announcements going viral on social media, a phenomenon we label “earnings virality.” Using a comprehensive panel of historical Twitter data, we find that the typical earnings announcement receives relatively little social media coverage, but others go viral on social media, quickly reaching the feeds of millions of people. We find that viral earnings announcements generally have Twitter content that is more extreme in tone and contains less unique content. Further, earnings virality is positively associated with revenue surprises, investor recognition, retail investor ownership, and retail investor trading around the announcement. …

Social Media Analysts And Sell‑Side Analyst Research, Michael S. Drake, James R. Moon Jr., Brady J. Twedt, James D. Warren

Faculty Publications

We examine how research posted by “social media analysts” (SMAs)—individuals posting equity research online via social media investment platforms—is related to research subsequently produced by professional sell-side equity analysts. Using data from Seeking Alpha, we find that the market reaction to sell-side analyst research is substantially reduced when the analyst research is preceded by the report of an SMA, and that this is particularly true of sell-side analysts’ earnings forecasts. We further find that this effect is more pronounced when SMA reports contain more decision-useful language, are produced by SMAs with greater expertise, and relate to firms with greater retail …

Brokerage House Ipos And Analyst Forecast Quality, Mark Bradshaw, Michael S. Drake, Joseph Pacelli, Brady Twedt

Faculty Publications

We examine how brokerage firm IPOs influence the research quality of sell-side analysts employed by the brokerage. Our main results focus on earnings forecast bias and absolute forecast errors as proxies for research quality. Using a staggered difference-in-differences analysis, we document significant decreases in forecast bias and absolute forecast error during the two-year period centered on the analysts’ brokerage house IPO. In additional analyses, we explore several potential explanations for the short-term benefits of brokerage house IPOs. We find some evidence that IPOs delay the departure of more talented analysts and that the effects are more concentrated among analysts and …

The Relevance Of Non-Income Tax Relief*, Michael S. Drake, Ryan V. Hess, Jaron H. Wilde, Braden M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Governments regularly offer non-income tax relief to attract business investment. However, it is unclear whether or how markets impound information about the relief into security prices. We use novel data from retrospective public records to examine the information content of non-income tax relief. We predict and find that the receipt and magnitude of this relief are both strongly associated with recipients’ future accounting performance and future abnormal returns. We further find that abnormal returns associated with the relief cluster around future earnings information events. In combination, this evidence suggests that non-income tax relief is value-relevant but is incorporated into prices …

Brokerage Relationships And Analyst Forecasts: Evidence From The Protocol For Broker Recruiting, Braiden Coleman, Michael S. Drake, Joseph Pacelli, Brady Twedt

Faculty Publications

We offer novel evidence on how the nature of brokerage-client relationships can influence the quality of equity research. We exploit a unique setting provided by the Protocol for Broker Recruiting to examine whether relaxed broker noncompete agreement enforcement generates spillover effects on sell-side analysts. Entry into this agreement reassigns ownership of the client relationship from the brokerage to individual brokers, potentially generating a greater standard of care. Using a generalized difference-in-differences research design, we provide evidence consistent with brokers reducing pressure on analysts to produce optimistic research following protocol entry. This effect is concentrated among less experienced and non-All Star …

A Tale Of Two Index Funds: Full Replication Vs. Representative Sampling*, Travis Dyer, Nicholas Guest

Faculty Publications

We examine the two approaches used by equity index funds to track their benchmark index. The first, full replication, mimics the index with exactness. The second, representative sampling, holds a subset of the index. We find that samplers trade 3-4 times more, have 30-50% higher expenses and fees, and earn 50-70 basis points lower annual returns, which is substantial given index funds’ mandate to limit tracking error to a few basis points. Besides higher expenses and transaction costs, poor stock picking also seems to contribute to samplers’ return underperformance. Overall, our analyses suggest representative sampling is associated with underperformance.