Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: David Peterson, Florida State University, College of Business, Dept. of Finance. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 24, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 131 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Author's thesis (doctoral)--Universität Frankfurt am Main, 2009. / Includes bibliographic references (p. 175-217).

I investigate whether investors have statistically significant negative reactions to the local clients of sanctioned auditors at the time of the PCAOB’s announcement of an enforcement action against that auditor. I also investigate whether or not the significance of the reactions has uniformly varied over time to account for the possibility of changing comprehensiveness in PCAOB enforcement actions. I measure abnormal returns using CAPM over three different measurement periods. I also disaggregate the data by year of enforcement action. 6 of the 27 data sets produced a statistically significant negative abnormal return suggesting that clients of sanctioned auditors do experience statistically significant abnormal negative returns at the time of the PCAOB’s announcement of the enforcement action. The significance of the abnormal returns did not vary overtime.

M.Comm.

The author extended the synthesis of the so-called accounting spread sheet into a more compact and mathematically rigorous formulation. This formulation was applied to an example in the form of a computerized accounting information system. The systematic approach used bridges the communication gap between the accounting profession and the quantitative oriented computer specialists who design computer based accounting systems. The use of tensor analysis and coordinate transformations in accounting theory was also explored. The author believes this to be an important area for further research. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

This thesis presents a three step analysis of voluntary income increasing accounting changes. We first propose a theory as to why managers would elect to modify their reporting strategy. This theory builds on research on the economic factors motivating accounting choices, since it is assumed that accounting choices are a function of political costs, manager's compensation plans and debt constraints. Specifically, we claim that adversity motivates the manager to effect an income increasing accounting change. Secondly, the thesis proposes a theoretical analysis of the potential market responses to a change announcement. The stock price effect of a change announcement is examined as a function of investors' rational anticipations of the manager's reporting actions and as a function of the level of information about adversity that investors may have prior to a change announcement. An empirical analysis is presented in the third step of this thesis. Our empirical findings are that: 1- Change announcements, on average, have no significant impact on the market. 2- Relative to the Compustat population as a whole, firms that voluntarily adopt income increasing accounting changes exhibit symptoms of financial distress, suggesting that such change announcements are associated with financial adversity. 3- Firms which voluntarily adopt income increasing accounting changes tend to exhibit symptoms of financial distress one or more years prior to the change year, suggesting that change announcements tend not to be a timely source of information conveying distress to the market. 4- There is a significant negative association between investors' proxies for prior information about adversity and the market impact of the change, especially for the subset of firms with above average leverage, suggesting that the information content of the accounting change signal is inversely related to investors prior information about adversity. The empirical results thus support the view that investors, at the time a change occurs, have information about the prevailing state of the world, and that they have rational anticipations with respect to the manager's reporting behavior. In this respect, the accounting change is, on average, an inconsequential signal that adds little to what investors already knew before the change announcement. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

The objective of this thesis paper is to answer the question: is robotic process automation efficient/beneficial and should accountants consider its implementation? For accountants, robotic process automation is a software that “perform[s] tasks such as processing sales and financial transactions, managing data, communicating between different systems, and access management, as well as monitoring and reporting” (Seasongood, 2016). In order to determine whether or not RPA should be implemented, a survey was found that had over 500 responses from varying companies currently using RPA. A statistical analysis will be performed in order to determine if any statistical significances exist between questions (both the benefits and challenges of RPA), by countries, by employee sizes, and by business functions. Based on the results, a conclusion will be provided on RPA’s implementation into the accounting field.

The problem of this study is to develop a series of "situation-type" problems to be used in the teaching of the first course in elementary accounting at North Texas State College. The solutions for the problems were prepared contemporaneously with the problems to save the instructor's time when the problems are used. These problems are to include the phases of accounting of theory and principles in addition to the recording and classifying.

Automation recently implemented for some and awaiting to be implemented for others is set to revolutionize the field of accounting, as well as the roles and responsibilities of those who work in it. This study will present and analyze the impacts of current emerging technologies on the accounting profession through first-hand interviews with current accounting professionals. Secondary data obtained will provide the reader with the proper context and background of these technologies, while the primary data acquired from the interviews will explain the implications such technologies will have or are currently having in their respective companies/firms. The results of this study are meant to further inform, educate, and provide clarity as to what current or aspiring accounting professionals can expect as they venture into a transformed accounting landscape.

The focus of the study is on financial reporting for non-U.S. firms registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) but using International Accounting Standards (IAS). This study addresses two issues, (1) whether the comparability of financial reporting among firms using IAS in credit and equity financing jurisdictions increases over time and (2) the associated capital market implications. The motivation for the study is the SEC's ongoing assessment of IAS for possible use by non-U.S. registrants for listing and capital raising in the U.S. Previous research on variations in financial reporting practices has revealed distinctly different types of financial reporting depending on country of origin. Moreover, some research suggests that such differences in financial reporting tend to persist in spite of harmonization efforts of accounting standards. This study suggests that there may be a systematic difference between credit and equity firms' financial reporting that is manifested by the fact that credit firms' adjustments to U.S. GAAP are greater than the adjustments made by equity firms. This systematic difference has had the following capital market consequences for credit firms, (1) a decreasing strength of association between accounting earnings and share prices post-1994, (2) an increased bid-ask spread post-1994, and (3) a decreased trading volume post-1994. This may be an indication that on the average firms reporting under IAS fail to meet an important part of the SEC's second assessment criterion with respect to high quality and full disclosure, namely comparability. In addition, it seems that the revisions made by International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have not resulted in more congruent financial reporting among firms reporting under IAS over time.