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open access

The Effect of Restructuring of Peer Firms on Investment

Description: Firms' operational restructuring involves information relevant to strategic choices as well as future demand and cost conditions. This study examines the relationship between peer firms' restructuring and a company's responsiveness to its growth opportunities. Peer firm restructuring can increase uncertainty with respect to a company's payoffs regarding its investment projects, leading to decreased responsiveness to growth opportunities. Using a large sample of public companies during 2006–2020… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Kim, Hojoong
Partner: UNT Libraries

Unveiling Hidden Problems: A Two-Stage Machine Learning Approach to Predict Financial Misstatement Using the Existence of Internal Control Material Weaknesses

Description: Prior research has provided evidence that the disclosure of internal controls material weaknesses (ICMWs) is a powerful input attribute in misstatement prediction. However, the disclosure of ICMWs is imperfect in capturing internal control quality because many firms with control problems fail to disclose ICMWs on a timely basis. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the existence of ICMWs, including both the disclosed and the undisclosed ICMWs, improves misstatement prediction. I deve… more
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Date: July 2023
Creator: Sun, Jing
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effect of Social Norms on Client Responses to Audit Inquiries

Description: Audit inquiry can be a valuable source of information for auditors, particularly when the client provides useful information about important issues that could affect the audit. Recent studies indicate that the way an audit inquiry is conducted can affect the level of cooperation in the client's response. In this study, I investigate the use of social norms as an intervention auditors could include in their inquiries to increase the likelihood of client cooperation. To test my hypotheses, I cond… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Jordan, Jason
Partner: UNT Libraries

ESG Misreporting: Role of Assurance, Assurance Provider, ESG Issue Characteristics and Personal Environmentalism in Employee Reporting Decisions

Description: Corporate environmental social and governance (ESG) reporting is becoming subject to increased scrutiny by regulators, investors and public. This dissertation will contribute to several research streams in the extant literature. This dissertation is the first to show the impact of employee environmental values and attitudes on reporting and whistleblowing decisions, making contributions to accounting, management, whistleblowing and environmental psychology literatures. Next, it is among the fir… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Sapounova, Gloria N.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of Generational Stereotypes and Attribute Affirmation on the Collection of Audit Evidence

Description: As the workplace has evolved over the past few years, several studies have documented perceived differences in personalities, values, and preferences between generations in the workplace, including in public accounting. In this study, I examine whether exposure to a negative preconceived belief about a staff auditor's generation (generational stereotype) influences the affective state of staff auditors and ultimately causes them to reduce the extent to which they communicate with a client manag… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Kabutey, Monica
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Impact of Counter-Rumor Strategy and Source on Non-Professional Investors' Judgments over Social Media

Description: Non-professional investors often rely on information obtained from social media to make investment decisions. Extant literature has not examined the most effective strategy for the target company to counter the rumors so that investors will be more willing to continue investing in the target firm. Drawing on source credibility theory and the moral intensity model, I propose that the most effective strategy would vary given different agents who are selected to counter the rumor. After conducting… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Li, Ziyin
Partner: UNT Libraries

The Effects of the Use of Natural Language Processing and Task Complexity on Jurors' Assessments of Auditor Negligence

Description: The purpose of my dissertation is to examine jurors' evaluation of auditor negligence in response to auditors' use of natural language processing (NLP). To test my research objective, I conducted a 2x2 between-subjects experiment with 175 jury-eligible individuals. In the online experiment, I manipulated whether the audit team analyzes contracts with NLP software or by having human auditors read the contracts. I also manipulated task complexity as complex or simple. The dependent variables incl… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Cui, Junnan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Client Narcissism and the Decision to Switch Tax Professionals

Description: Contentious interactions may arise between a tax professional and client upon a disagreement over a tax position. In an increasingly competitive tax return preparation market, these contentious interactions represent a significant threat to tax practitioners' client satisfaction and retention objectives. I conduct an experiment in which I examine the effect of three factors on tax clients' (1) likelihood to accept the advice of the tax accountant and (2) likelihood to switch tax accountants up… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Kaszak, Steven E
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Who Makes the Decision? Managerial Influence on Corporate Boards and Auditor Selection, Change, and Compensation

Description: This dissertation examines whether managers influence corporate boards of directors in their auditor selection, change, and compensation decisions. This topic is important because it addresses concerns that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is not effective in eliminating managerial influence over auditor engagement decisions and that it may provide a false sense of security to investors. These concerns are based on the implicit assumption that managers prefer weaker governance oversight and… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Hightower, Sonja
Partner: UNT Libraries

Three Essays on the Effects of Executives' Informal Networks on Shareholder Value, Financial and Tax Reporting Outcomes

Description: Prior literature suggests that CEOs capitalize on their position within the hierarchy of all business executives, resulting in various – both positive and negative – firm outcomes. Using a novel data set on golf outings to measure the quality of a CEO's informal (vs. formal) network, as measured by the CEO's network centrality, this study examines whether well-connected CEOs generate private gains through insider trades. Results suggest that, among golfing CEOs, CEOs with higher quality informa… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Klaus, Jan Philipp
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Determinants and Consequences of Having a Chief Operating Officer

Description: This study examines the determinant and consequences of having a chief operating officer (COO). Specifically, we investigate chief executive officer (CEO) related factors that affect the choice to employ a COO and look into the impact of having a COO on firm operational efficiency using a data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based measure. Although prior literature has extensively investigated the role of CEOs and chief finance officers (CFOs) on firm outcomes, few studies focus on the impact of CO… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Le, Linh
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Use of Data Analytics in Internal Audit to Improve Decision-Making: An Investigation of Data Visualizations and Data Source

Description: The purpose of this dissertation was to examine how managers' judgments from an internal auditor's recommendation are influenced by some aspects of newer data sources and the related visualizations. This study specifically examined how managers' judgments from an internal auditor's recommendation are influenced by the (1) supportiveness of non-financial data with the internal auditor's recommendation and (2) evaluability of visual representations for non-financial data used to communicate the r… more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Seymore, Megan
Partner: UNT Libraries

Two Essays on Non-GAAP Reporting

Description: This dissertation investigates the interrelationships between a client's non-GAAP earnings disclosures, financial health (profit and loss status), and the external auditor's assessment of the client's going concern status. This dissertation comprises two essays. Essay 1 examines the informativeness and the quality of non-GAAP earnings disclosures in profit and loss firms separately. Using a large sample of non-GAAP earnings voluntarily disclosed by managers, I find that the informativeness and … more
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Date: May 2019
Creator: Nie, Dongfang
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Small world, not small competition: does spatial distance among audit partners matter?

Description: The purpose of my dissertation is to examine whether competition among audit partners affects audit quality. While prior research on audit market competition focuses on audit firm-level or office-level analyses, I argue that audit partners, as the primary decision makers in providing audit services, are likely to engage in competitive actions in the audit market. Further, I use spatial distance among audit partners to measure partner-level competition. I conjecture that spatial distance could b… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Wu, Da
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Information Content of Non-GAAP Earnings of Cross-Listed Companies

Description: To supplement earnings reported under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), public companies often voluntarily report alternative measures of earnings called non-GAAP earnings (NGE). These companies assert that NGE exclude the effect of non-recurring transactions, thereby helping users of financial information to better assess the company's past performance and prospects. Because NGE measures are not well defined, managers can exploit the inherent discretion in calculating NGE to mis… more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Adhikari, Subash
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Firm Performance and Analyst Forecast Accuracy Following Discontinued Operations: Evidence from the Pre-SFAS 144 and SFAS 144 Eras

Description: Because of the non-recurring and transitory nature of discontinued operations, accounting standards require that the results of discontinued operations be separately reported on the income statement. Prior accounting literature supports the view that discontinued operations are non-recurring or transitory in nature, and also suggests that income classified as transitory has minimal relevance in firm valuation. Finance and management literature, however, suggest that firms discontinue operations… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Guragai, Binod
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Determinants of Corporate Governance Choices: Evidence from Listed Foreign Firms on U.S. Stock Exchanges

Description: This study analyzes corporate governance practices of foreign (non-U.S.) issuers listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq. Specifically, I examine the extent to which these foreign issuers voluntarily comply with U.S. stock exchange corporate governance requirements applicable to domestic issuers. My sample consists of 201 foreign companies primarily domiciled in Brazil, China, Israel, and the United Kingdom. I find that 151 (75 per cent) of the sample firms do not elect to compl… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Attachot, Weerapat
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Loyalty and Fairness: A Study of the Influence of Moral Foundations on Auditors' Propensity to Subordinate their Judgment

Description: Subordination of judgment is a fundamental threat to auditor objectivity. Subordination of judgment occurs when auditors agree with their superiors either in spite of or without forming their own independent judgments. Many audit procedures rely on independent, critical thinking at every level of the audit team; however, a number of studies suggest that auditors tend to agree with superiors even when a superior's views clearly run contrary to generally accepted accounting principles. While ther… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Neri, Marc P.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Auditor's Reporting Practices for an Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern: The Impact of SAS no. 59

Description: This study examines whether the probability of a firm receiving a going concern modified report or a standard audit report with note disclosure of a going concern uncertainty has increased after the issuance of SAS No. 59. This study also examines whether the probability of a firm having no reference to a going concern uncertainty in its audit report or the financial statement notes has decreased after the issuance of SAS No. 59. The findings provide support for the hypotheses that a firm has a… more
Date: August 1998
Creator: Vermeer, Thomas E. (Thomas Edward)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Taxpayer compliance from three research perspectives: a study of economic, environmental, and personal determinants.

Description: Tax evasion is a serious issue that influences governmental revenues, IRS enforcement strategies, and tax policy decisions. While audits are the most effective method of enforcing compliance, they are expensive to conduct and the IRS is only able to audit a fraction of the returns filed each year. This suggests that audits alone are not sufficient to curb the billions of dollars of tax evaded by taxpayers each year and that a better understanding of factors influencing compliance decisions is n… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Hunt, Nicholas
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Reexamination of the Dilution of Auditor Misstatement Risk Assessments: An Experimental Study of the Impact of Client Information Type, Workload, and PCAOB Guidance on Dilution

Description: Many external parties such as investors, creditors, and regulatory agencies, use a company’s financial statements in their decision-making. In doing so, they rely on audit opinions on whether financial statements are fairly stated. However, evidence suggests that there are factors in the audit environment that influence auditor judgments. For example, nondiagnostic client information dilutes auditor judgments when compared to judgments based on diagnostic information alone, especially for less … more
Date: December 2015
Creator: Perry, Suzanne M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

What Did the Client Say? Auditor Memory of a Client Inquiry: a Study of Encoding Style and Note Taking

Description: Client inquiry is a fundamental procedure for gathering audit evidence. Since inquiries are not audio- or video-recorded in practice, auditor memory is vital to the accuracy of evidence gathered in this manner. Due to the potential for error during memory encoding and retrieval, the effect of memory on judgment, and the cognitive complexity of conducting a face-to-face inquiry, examining factors affecting auditor memory of client inquiries is important. In this dissertation, I examine two facto… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Vinson, Jeremy M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effects of Auditor-provided Tax Services on Book-tax Differences and Investors’ Mispricing of Book-tax Differences

Description: In this study, I investigate the effect of auditor-provided tax services (ATS) on firms’ levels of book-tax differences and investors’ mispricing of book-tax differences. The joint provision of audit and tax services has been a controversial issue among regulators and academic researchers. Evidence on whether ATS improve or impair the overall accounting quality is inconclusive as a result of the specific testing circumstances involved in different studies. Book-tax differences capture managers’… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Luo, Bing
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Study of Firm Location to Examine Disclosures and Governance Using a Dual Approach: Quantitative Analysis Based Upon the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Qualitative Analysis of the Annual Report’s Management Discussion and Analysis

Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the effect of U.S. firms’ geographic location, whether urban or rural, on their corporate disclosure and governance practices. An “urban” firm is one that is headquartered in a large metropolitan area; whereas, a “rural” firm is one that is headquartered some distance from any metropolitan area. Specifically, the study examines whether there are different stock market reactions to urban and rural firms around key event dates relative to the ena… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Garner, Steve A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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