<p> The inadequate number of accountants graduating to fill the demand of accounting professionals and academia has been documented as a problem within the field of accounting. Attrition among students in programs is prevalent and little has been done to understand the challenges confronting the accounting academic community as well as the accounting profession as a whole. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to better understand the perceptions and reasons accounting professionals and educators made the career path choice they did and what they perceived would encourage students to enter the field of accounting. The data source for this qualitative case study was interviews. A convenience sample size of 10 accounting professionals (certified public accountants) and 10 accounting professors with doctorate degrees were recruited. A force field analysis was used as the overarching theoretical framework to understand the driving and restraining factors that led accounting professionals and professors to select their career path. Content analysis was used to determine the emergent themes of the study. The findings in this study were organized into the following 10 themes: (a) job stability, (b) opportunity to impact the lives of others, (c) love of challenges, (d) the lucrative nature of the field of accounting, (e) respectability of the profession, (f) better understanding, (g) change in perceptions, (h) higher quality professors, (i) stronger community outreach, and (j) more application and less theory. The first five themes aligned with research question one regarding the participants&rsquo; career path choice and the later five themes with research question two with respect to what the participants believed would encourage others to choose a career in accounting. Considering both sub groups, professional accountants and accounting professors, view the solutions to the dilemma of the shortage in the field of accounting differently, in the future it would be of value to conduct a similar study on the national level, followed by the international level, based on this epidemic being of global magnitude.</p>

<p> The purpose of financial statement note disclosures is to provide additional, relevant information useful for decision-making. There has been a significant increase in financial statement note disclosure over time, which has resulted in concerns there is now information overload in these note disclosures and there are questions about the relevance of some financial statement note disclosures. The purpose of this qualitative, embedded, single-case study was to determine financial statement note disclosure users&rsquo; perceptions about notes (i.e., relevance and use in decision-making; readability and comprehension; and differences across user classes) in order to inform standard setters and extend the theory of information overload to financial statement note disclosure. Participants in this study were 15 users of financial statements in Eastern Canada and included 4 creditors, 3 financial analysts, 5 investors, and 3 accountants. Interviews were conducted to gather data on users&rsquo; perceptions of financial statement note disclosures. Data was analyzed with MAXQDA 12 software to identify themes and answer the study research questions. Current findings were users perceive financial statement note disclosures are an integral part of financial statements; however, many notes are not read by users, indicating these notes are not relevant and useful for users&rsquo; decision making. Further users perceive the readability and comprehension of financial statement note disclosures is low. As a result there are few financial statement note disclosures that are read in detail by users. However, some users prefer transparency and perceive more disclosure means more transparency. Based on current findings it was recommended standard setters and preparers place more emphasis on succinct writing, continue education on the application of materiality, and emphasize more disclosure does not mean more transparency. Recommendations for future research included performing the current study with a larger sample.</p>

<p> The overriding presence of informal sector businesses has exacerbated the problem of tax revenue generation in the economies of most developing countries. Business owners in the informal sector have negative opinions and attitudes against taxation and they are unwilling to pay taxes. This has created a gap in knowledge as researchers explore the activities of the informal sector in the economies of developing countries. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore and analyze the reasons informal sector business owners have negative opinions and attitudes against taxation. Research participants were drawn from informal sector businesses in the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study explored the behavior modification and behavior economic theories to determine why informal sector business owners are ambivalent in their taxpaying obligations. The research questions were answered by interviewing 6 business owners from the informal sector with the aim of drawing up inferences about their perceptions on taxation. Some of the key findings from the study were that taxpayers have negative remarks about their interactions with tax officials because tax agents do not respect and provide the best customer service, agents misuse tax money, taxpayers do not see any benefit for paying taxes, and they are not even sure about how their tax money is used. The findings from the study present stark implications for tax officials to pursue their tax collection activities with utmost care and honor, to gain respect and confidence from the informal sector taxpayers by eliciting positive behaviors of tax obligations from that sector, as well as influencing tax policy for informal sector businesses in developing countries. The recommendations from the study will spiral future research agenda to expand current knowledge about informal sector business owner&rsquo;s perceptions and attitudes towards taxation, and to develop an informal sector taxation model to assist tax administrators in developing nations about a more congenial way to handle informal sector business owners.</p><p>

<p> Poor decisions and conflicts of interest by members of company boards of directors have been a factor in the dramatic rise in chief executive officer (CEO) compensation, resulting in a lower return on equity (ROE) for shareholders. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between CEO compensation, CEO duality, and ROE after controlling for CEO age, CEO tenure, and firm size, as measured by total assets. Agency theory was the theoretical framework for this study. The study examined whether a statistically significant relationship existed between CEO compensation, CEO duality, and ROE, after controlling for CEO age, CEO tenure, and firm size. Archival data were collected and analyzed from a sample of publicly traded firms in the United States listed on the 2016 Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s 500 Index. Hierarchical multiple regression techniques were used to test the relationship between variables. The results indicated that there was not a statistically significant relationship between CEO compensation, CEO duality, and ROE after controlling for CEO age, CEO tenure, and firm size. The study may contribute to positive social change by increasing the potential for board of directors&rsquo; members to implement best practices, contributing to reduced shareholder conflicts, less litigation, higher ROE, and enhanced investor confidence benefiting emerging economies and local communities.</p><p>

<p> Companies experience a problem implementing corporate social responsibility reporting standards due to geographical differences, an over-abundance of guidelines, regulatory disparities, and varying levels of stakeholder requirements. These diverse conditions result in inadequate reporting of sustainability efforts and a lack of consistency of what actually gets reported. This exploratory, qualitative case study was based on a theoretical framework consisting of Freeman&rsquo;s stakeholder theory, Suchman&rsquo;s legitimacy theory, and Spence&rsquo;s signaling theory. The sample consisted of six respondents from a research population of 100 multinational corporations (MNCs) with successful reporting practices. The instrument used was a researcher-developed questionnaire. The study addresses three research questions: How did leadership identify sustainability reporting standards, guidelines, or frameworks that would be appropriate for their company; how did the needs of the company&rsquo;s stakeholders for reporting differ from the standards selected; and what CSR activities, indicators, or disclosures are not being included in the guideline that the company might want to report based on the needs of the stakeholders? Based on the results, nine themes emerged: (a) External motivational factors and stakeholders are critical to deciding which reporting guideline to use; (b) the CSR reporting method chosen is selected in order to meet the needs of the most influential actors; (c) companies augment reports with self-created KPIs based on influential actors and situational requirements; (d) the CSR reporting process requires greater internal collaboration within an organization; (e) changes to business strategy and resource allocation may be necessary; (f) both external and internal stakeholders are a source of valuable input and feedback regarding the produced reports; (g) collecting material and nonmaterial data is useful in producing reports and improving transparency; (h) companies want to see the impacts of their use competitors&rsquo; CSR activities and to use their reports to improve their own CSR activities and reports; and (i) standardization of reporting guidelines would benefit all stakeholders by allowing companies to become more transparent, improve comparisons between companies, and provide incentive to improve CSR processes. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on CSR reporting and allows companies to better understand CSR reporting process in their own environments.</p><p>

<p> The excessive cost of the transitioning from the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a vital business challenge. Based on the transaction cost economics (TCE) theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies that some of the organizational financial professionals use to minimize excessive transition costs from GAAP to IFRS accounting systems. Data were collected from 3 financial professionals of a corporation located in the west coast region of Northern California using semistructured interviews, besides reviewed public records, and studies of developed countries that adopted IFRS. Using the thematic analysis approach, 4 themes emerged, (a) strategic planning and strategy, (b) strategies formulation, implementation, and evaluation, (c) contract negotiation and enforcement, and (d) information system and project cost. The findings of this study could add practical knowledge of focused and consistent actions to IFRS adoption strategies, which could give priority to reducing the costs of the transaction from implementing GAAP to IFRS in local firms&rsquo; financial reporting. The implications for positive social changes could include the potential to enhance knowledge of financial reporting, motivate investments, increase economic resources, and improve local employment growth.</p><p>

This dissertation examines the implications of technological advances on the net working capital balance of U.S. firms over the past five decades. I find that the annual mean value of the net working capital balance of U.S. firms has sharply declined, from 28.9% of average total assets in the 1970s to 6.5% in the 2010s. I also show that an increase in IT spending is associated with a reduction in net working capital balance, after controlling for alternative explanations. This real (vis-à-vis accounting) change in net working capital balance has significant implications for practical financial management and accounting research. On one hand, companies have become more efficient in managing their working capital and thus in conserving cash, leading to an increased cash savings at U.S. firms. On the other, the declining working capital balance has reduced accounting current accruals from 18.8% to 5.4% of earnings, which, in turn, has reduced the explanatory power of the Jones (1991) model from 23.7% to 3.7% and increased the correlation between earnings and cash flows from 0.689 to 0.947 over time. Such a structural change is worth noting for accounting research addressing the relationship between accruals, cash flows, and earnings.

<p> Internal controls play critical roles in all organizations. Internal control weaknesses that have resulted in accounting fraud have global and local ramifications including job and investment losses. The ramifications have been felt globally in the United States, Britain, China, and locally, in Northern Virginia. Weak internal controls or the lack thereof was the most preeminent factor contributing to accounting fraud. Many studies have discretely and narrowly examined either internal control weaknesses or fraud. Consequently, there was a dearth of research on internal control failures that have resulted in accounting fraud. The problem addressed in this study was the need to understand accountants&rsquo; perspectives on how they detected and handled internal control weaknesses within their organizations and their perceptions of their preparedness to detect and prevent fraud based on the academic and on-the-job training they have received. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to describe how accountants in the Northern Virginia area detected and handled internal control weaknesses within their organizations and their perceptions of their preparedness to detect and prevent fraud based on the academic and on-the-job training they received. In this study, informal face-to-face, open-ended semi-structured interviews and document review were conducted. Purposive snowball and criterion sampling were used to recruit 15 professional accountants. Lists maintained by professional accounting organizations were used to identify members who met the study criteria. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analyses to identify themes related to the research questions. Results indicated that lack of monitoring preeminently contributed to fraud. However, accountants shared strategies they used to detect and prevent internal control weaknesses and accounting fraud within their organizations. Additionally, accountants received inadequate internal control and fraud training both in college and from their employers. Recommendations for practical application include providing accountants with adequate internal control and fraud training in college and by employers. Future research should explore organizational managements&rsquo; perspectives on internal control weaknesses that resulted in accounting fraud to shed more light on the pervasiveness of the deficiencies identified. This study was limited to accountants in Northern Virginia, future research may replicate this study, but in different geographic locations.</p>

<p> Why do some firms survive and grow and others do not? Is Gibrat&rsquo;s Law still valid? This is an ongoing debate in industrial organization and management since Gibrat published in 1931. Gibrat (1931) suggested firm growth is independent of firm size and is by chance. However, recent studies call for chance to be supplemented by deterministic models. We considered determinants of firm growth. Specifically, we examined whether firm growth is explained by firm size, firm profitability, firm leverage, firm agency costs, and firm R&amp;D intensity. Also, persistence of firm growth was considered. Evidence was based on a balanced panel data set obtained from Compustat annually for 1991-2015. Data consisted of 82 surviving U.S. public companies in the industrial economic sector. Empirical analysis involved panel econometric techniques like pooled ordinary least squares, random effects models, fixed effects models, and system Generalized Method of Moments methodology. We find that firm growth is not independent of firm size; therefore, Gibrat&rsquo;s Law does not hold. We find that a significant, positive relationship exists between firm research and development intensity and firm growth. We find that a significant, negative relationship exists between profitability measured by ROA, firm leverage, firm agency costs and firm growth. Finally, we conclude that firm growth persists.</p><p>

<p> There is a near-universal assumption in both practice and literature that greater accuracy and management to the budget improves profitability (Libby &amp; Lindsay, 2010; Umapathy, 1987). Prior to this study, this assumption has gone untested and we know little about the wisdom of such an assumption. </p><p> The results of this study indicate greater accuracy in forecasting and/or tighter management to the budget, or favorably exceeding it, leads to improved profitability. More specifically, smaller unfavorable budget variances are associated with greater operating margins while greater favorable budget variances are associated with greater operating margins. A single standard deviation reduction in unfavorable revenue and expense increases operating margin by 5.2% and 6.3%, respectively. An equivalent favorable deviation in revenue and expense increases operating margin by 3.2% and 2.7%, respectively. Managers can improve hospitals&rsquo; operating margins by first prioritizing the reduction and/or eliminating unfavorable variances, and second increasing favorable variances.</p>