Justyna Skomra, R. Drew Sellers and Piotr Antoni Skomra
This study aims to investigate the busy season contagion effects on other clients of the Big 4 auditor’s local office associated with the non-timely (NT) filing(s) by large…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the busy season contagion effects on other clients of the Big 4 auditor’s local office associated with the non-timely (NT) filing(s) by large accelerated filer (LAF) client(s) of the office. Specifically, the authors examine the influence such events have on the audit quality and timeliness of other clients of that office.
Design/methodology/approach
Using panel data of annual NT filings of LAF clients between 2006 and 2019, the authors apply the ordinary least squares regression technique to model audit reporting lag (ARL) and the logistic regression technique to model the probability of restatements.
Findings
Controlling for audit firm, industry and year-fixed effects, the authors find that a LAF NT filing reduces audit quality and audit timeliness of other clients of the office, as measured by restatement risk and ARL. The impact on ARL is most pronounced on the medium and small clients within the office. The deteriorated audit quality is observed for medium clients.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this study have practical implications for auditors and regulators. They reveal the contagion effect in the auditor’s local office with the NT LAF client. The main limitation of the study is the lack of staffing utilization data to allow for drawing conclusions on causality.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to document the contagion effect of NT filings of LAF clients conducted at the auditor’s local office level.
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R. Drew Sellers, Wendy Tietz and Yan Zhou
This study investigates a perceived student performance disparity between traditional synchronous and web-based asynchronous course delivery. Synchronous classes meet face-to-face…
Abstract
This study investigates a perceived student performance disparity between traditional synchronous and web-based asynchronous course delivery. Synchronous classes meet face-to-face or online with scheduled meeting times and the ability to directly monitor class attendance and participation. Asynchronous classes are 100% online, requiring no face-to-face or online live sessions. This study identifies student attributes associated with performance differences in the two delivery modes. The authors examine data from over 15,000 students who took introductory financial and managerial accounting classes at a large state university. The authors analyze student demographic and class performance data. Controlling for instructor and year effects, the authors find a statistically significant lower DFW rate (better performance) in the synchronous introductory accounting classes compared to the asynchronous ones. Using these findings, the authors revised scheduling and advising protocols to improve student success likelihood in the asynchronous sections. This study provides two insights applicable to many accounting departments. First, the results suggest that empirically exploring student performance implications may be warranted as the number of web-based asynchronous class offerings grow. Additionally, the study provides an example of working within the limitations of existing registration policies and systems to translate the result of the analysis into improved advising and scheduling approaches.
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R. Drew Sellers, Timothy J. Fogerty and Larry M. Parker
This paper aims to, using evidence from a former office of the public accounting firm Arthur Andersen, to study the importance of the relational content and structure of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to, using evidence from a former office of the public accounting firm Arthur Andersen, to study the importance of the relational content and structure of individuals’ social connections as they transitioned to subsequent employment. The paper also examines the maintenance of their social networks through time. Implications for careers in the accounting field are offered. Practicing accountants’ connections with other individuals have often been recognized as an important resource that influences career success. However, these social networks have escaped systematic academic study in accounting.
Design/methodology/approach
Social network analysis, built on survey data.
Findings
The results show that who one was connected to in a previous employment was more important than one’s overall network position when deciding whether to stay or exit public accounting. However those who exited public accounting did not demonstrate a handicap in maintaining network structures after the disbanding of the firm.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to firm members, and to a single office of a firm. Social network analysis was used as a research tool for the sociology of public accounting.
Practical implications
Implications are for careers in public accounting, and the management of human resources in public accounting is offered.
Social implications
The paper has implications for the successfulness of professional service provision in a general sense.
Originality/value
Almost a decade of social connection is studied with a method that has not appeared in the discipline but is well regarded in management studies.
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R. Drew Sellers and Timothy J. Fogarty
The purpose of this paper is to explore the residual influence that the early career experiences of accountants might have on careers in the field.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the residual influence that the early career experiences of accountants might have on careers in the field.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews semi‐structural interviews with former Arthur Andersen personnel.
Findings
The paper finds that several years after departure from employment, accountants attribute much consequence to the training, value‐formation and interpersonal relationships of their work history.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of the research are the small sample size and restricted geographic area used in the paper.
Originality/value
The paper: turns its attention to the relationship between organizational and professional socialization; suggests limits to career re‐training by subsequent employers; and identifies mid‐career personal resources of accountants.
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Caesar Marga Putri, Josep Maria Argilés-Bosch and Diego Ravenda
This study aims to investigate how the village government implements internal control, accountability, transparency and participation in the good governance practice for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how the village government implements internal control, accountability, transparency and participation in the good governance practice for corruption prevention and detection in Indonesia.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is qualitative research by conducting a semi-structured interview with village staff, village consultative council members and auditors.
Findings
The findings highlight three major issues contributing to poor governance and the failure to prevent and detect corruption.
Practical implications
The regulator should urgently provide accounting standards, audit standards and internal control regulations for the village to create good governance for eradicating corruption.
Originality/value
This paper is a ground-breaking study that investigates the governance practice in the village as an anchor to solve the chronic corruption problem and offers a new direction of research in the village government.
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Andrei Panibratov and Liana Rysakova
The aim of this study is to identify the distinctive features of the diaspora phenomenon through the aggregation and systematization of the business and management literature and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to identify the distinctive features of the diaspora phenomenon through the aggregation and systematization of the business and management literature and propose a framework to apply in the future studies.
Design/methodology/approach
The two-step research was based on a combination of bibliometric analysis and a manual in-depth study of academic articles. Overall, 421 academic papers in management and business journals until 2019 year were analyzed.
Findings
The authors provide a new holistic insight on the role of national diasporas for business outcomes via the analysis and systematization of the extant diaspora research. They revealed four definition approaches and five main clusters in the diaspora literature that have three main directions of research as international marketing with the tourism management focus, the IB research and diaspora entrepreneurship studies. The authors cover these main research streams and their contribution to the development of a topic.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed framework including definition approaches and suggestions on the further research can serve as a foundation for future studies to investigate the diaspora phenomenon. The findings also are of practical value for firms whose attention is paid to the effective management.
Originality/value
To bring more clarity to the existing and future development of diaspora research, this paper improves the structuring of the overall diaspora literature through clarification of the existing definitions of diaspora, provision of the criteria qualifying someone to be identified as a member of a diaspora, as well as an analysis and systematization of existing diaspora research streams and suggestions for future research directions.
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Mark DeSantis, Matthew McCarter and Abel Winn
The authors use laboratory experiments to test two self-assessment tax mechanisms for facilitating land assembly. One mechanism is incentive compatible with a complex tax…
Abstract
The authors use laboratory experiments to test two self-assessment tax mechanisms for facilitating land assembly. One mechanism is incentive compatible with a complex tax function, while the other uses a flat tax rate to mitigate implementation concerns. Sellers publicly declare a price for their land. Overstating its true value is penalized by using the declared price to assess a property tax; understating its value is penalized by allowing developers to buy the property at the declared price. The authors find that both mechanisms increase the rate of land assembly and gains from trade relative to a control in which sellers’ price declarations have no effect on their taxes. However, these effects are statistically insignificant or transitory. The assembly rates in our self-assessment treatments are markedly higher than those of prior experimental studies in which the buyer faces bargaining frictions, such as costly delay or capital constraints.
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Many jurisdictions fine illegal cartels using penalty guidelines that presume an arbitrary 10% overcharge. This article surveys more than 700 published economic studies and…
Abstract
Many jurisdictions fine illegal cartels using penalty guidelines that presume an arbitrary 10% overcharge. This article surveys more than 700 published economic studies and judicial decisions that contain 2,041 quantitative estimates of overcharges of hard-core cartels. The primary findings are: (1) the median average long-run overcharge for all types of cartels over all time periods is 23.0%; (2) the mean average is at least 49%; (3) overcharges reached their zenith in 1891–1945 and have trended downward ever since; (4) 6% of the cartel episodes are zero; (5) median overcharges of international-membership cartels are 38% higher than those of domestic cartels; (6) convicted cartels are on average 19% more effective at raising prices as unpunished cartels; (7) bid-rigging conduct displays 25% lower markups than price-fixing cartels; (8) contemporary cartels targeted by class actions have higher overcharges; and (9) when cartels operate at peak effectiveness, price changes are 60–80% higher than the whole episode. Historical penalty guidelines aimed at optimally deterring cartels are likely to be too low.
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The Howard Shuttering Contractors case throws considerable light on the importance which the tribunals attach to warnings before dismissing an employee. In this case the tribunal…
Abstract
The Howard Shuttering Contractors case throws considerable light on the importance which the tribunals attach to warnings before dismissing an employee. In this case the tribunal took great pains to interpret the intention of the parties to the different site agreements, and it came to the conclusion that the agreed procedure was not followed. One other matter, which must be particularly noted by employers, is that where a final warning is required, this final warning must be “a warning”, and not the actual dismissal. So that where, for example, three warnings are to be given, the third must be a “warning”. It is after the employee has misconducted himself thereafter that the employer may dismiss.