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Article
Publication date: 22 May 2017

Lei Gao and Alisa G. Brink

We review and summarize accounting literature that examines whistleblowing in the accounting context. We organize our review around the five determinants of whistleblowing…

Abstract

We review and summarize accounting literature that examines whistleblowing in the accounting context. We organize our review around the five determinants of whistleblowing identified by Near and Miceli (1995). The first determinant is characteristics of the whistleblower. Studies related to this determinant examine whistleblowers’ personality characteristics, moral judgment, and demographic characteristics. Studies related to the second determinant, characteristics of the report recipient, examine characteristics of the individual or individuals who receive the report and characteristics of the reporting channel. The third determinant is characteristics of the wrongdoer. Studies in this area focus on the wrongdoer’s power and credibility. Fourth, accounting studies related to characteristics of the wrongdoing examine factors that affect the dependence of the organization on the wrongdoing and evidence credibility. Studies related to the final determinant, characteristics of the organization, examine organizational perceptions of the appropriateness of whistleblowing, organizational climate, and organizational structure. For each determinant, we first summarize and analyze the findings of prior research, and then we present suggestions for future accounting research in whistleblowing.

Details

Journal of Accounting Literature, vol. 38 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-4607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2018

Alisa G. Brink, Jennifer C. Coats and Frederick W. Rankin

Participative budgeting can benefita firm by incorporating subordinates’ private information into financing and operating decisions. In the managerial accounting literature…

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Abstract

Participative budgeting can benefita firm by incorporating subordinates’ private information into financing and operating decisions. In the managerial accounting literature, studies of participative budgeting posit superiors that range from passively committed to highly active participants, some of whom are permitted to communicate, choose compensation schemes, negotiate with subordinates, and reject budgets. This paper synthesizes and analyzes experimental research in participative budgeting with a focus on the role of the superior defined in the research design, and on how that role affects budget outcomes, subordinate behavior, and in some cases superior behavior. We demonstrate how superior type influences economic and behavioral predictions, and likewise affects budgeting outcomes and the interpretation of the results. This paper is intended to further our understanding of how superior type affects behavior in participative budgeting studies, and to facilitate the choice of superior type in future research designs.

Details

Journal of Accounting Literature, vol. 41 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-4607

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 January 2016

Ira Abdullah, Alisa G. Brink, C. Kevin Eller and Andrea Gouldman

We examine and compare current practices in teaching preparation in U.S. accounting, finance, management, and economics doctoral programs.

Abstract

Purpose

We examine and compare current practices in teaching preparation in U.S. accounting, finance, management, and economics doctoral programs.

Methodology/approach

We conduct an anonymous online survey of the pedagogical training practices experienced by Ph.D. students in accounting, finance, management, and economics programs in the United States.

Findings

Results indicate that accounting, finance, and management perform similarly with respect to providing doctoral students with first-hand teaching experience and requiring for-credit courses in teacher training. Accounting and management appear to utilize doctoral students as teaching assistants less than the other disciplines. A lower proportion of accounting doctoral students indicate that their program requires proof of English proficiency prior to teaching, and pedagogical mentoring is rare across disciplines. Accounting and management doctoral students feel more prepared to teach undergraduate courses compared to finance and economics students. However, all disciplines indicate a relative lack of perceived preparation to teach graduate courses.

Practical implications

This study provides empirical evidence of the current practices in pedagogical training of accounting, finance, management, and economics doctoral students.

Social implications

The results highlight several areas where accounting could possibly improve with regard to pedagogical training in doctoral programs. In particular we suggest (1) changes in the teaching evaluation process, (2) development of teaching mentorships, (3) implementing a teaching portfolio requirement, and (4) incorporation of additional methods of assisting non-native English speakers for teaching duties.

Originality/value

The study fills a gap in the literature regarding the pedagogical training in accounting doctoral programs.

Details

Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-767-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 August 2014

Alisa G. Brink, Eric Gooden and Meha Kohli Mishra

There has been much discussion regarding the necessity of moving away from precise (rules-based) standards toward less precise (principles-based) standards. This study examines…

Abstract

There has been much discussion regarding the necessity of moving away from precise (rules-based) standards toward less precise (principles-based) standards. This study examines the impact of the proposed shift by using a controlled experiment to evaluate the influence of rule precision and information ambiguity on reporting decisions in the presence of monetary incentives to report aggressively. Using motivated reasoning theory as a framework, we predict that the malleability inherent in both rule precision and information ambiguity amplify biased reasoning in a manner that is consistent with individuals’ pecuniary incentives. In contrast, consistent with research exploring ambiguity aversion we predict that high levels of ambiguity will actually attenuate aggressive reporting. Our results support these predictions. Specifically, we find an interactive effect between rule precision and information ambiguity on self-interested reporting decisions at moderate levels of ambiguity. However, consistent with ambiguity aversion, we find decreased self-interested reporting decisions at high levels of ambiguity relative to moderate ambiguity. This study should be of interest to preparers, auditors, and regulators who are interested in identifying situations which amplify and diminish aggressive reporting.

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-445-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2016

Sean M Collins and Alisa G. Brink

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study concerning how fundamental-motivated investors, and their subsequent impact on the path of prices, affect the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study concerning how fundamental-motivated investors, and their subsequent impact on the path of prices, affect the severity of price bubbles in an experimental laboratory asset market.

Design/methodology/approach

In a laboratory experiment, asset markets are manipulated by systematically replacing inexperienced human traders with automated traders programmed to submit bids and asks at fundamental value.

Findings

When traders in a market are automated to invest on fundamentals, deviations from fundamental value are initially suppressed, but reappear when automated traders cease to influence prices. A significant reduction in the severity of the resulting bubble may be attributed to the interaction of automated traders and humans through the initial path of prices when controlling for changes in liquidity. This reduction corresponds to reduced autocorrelation in the time series of returns.

Originality/value

This paper represents the first attempt (to the authors’ knowledge) to extend the intervention approach of the seminal paper by Smith et al. (1988) to systematically study the extent to which manipulation of initial path of prices impacts the formation and magnitude of bubbles in the laboratory.

Details

Review of Behavioral Finance, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1940-5979

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 11 January 2016

Abstract

Details

Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-767-7

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 22 August 2014

Abstract

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-445-9

Book part
Publication date: 27 October 2016

Alexandra L. Ferrentino, Meghan L. Maliga, Richard A. Bernardi and Susan M. Bosco

This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in…

Abstract

This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in business-ethics and accounting’s top-40 journals this study considers research in eight accounting-ethics and public-interest journals, as well as, 34 business-ethics journals. We analyzed the contents of our 42 journals for the 25-year period between 1991 through 2015. This research documents the continued growth (Bernardi & Bean, 2007) of accounting-ethics research in both accounting-ethics and business-ethics journals. We provide data on the top-10 ethics authors in each doctoral year group, the top-50 ethics authors over the most recent 10, 20, and 25 years, and a distribution among ethics scholars for these periods. For the 25-year timeframe, our data indicate that only 665 (274) of the 5,125 accounting PhDs/DBAs (13.0% and 5.4% respectively) in Canada and the United States had authored or co-authored one (more than one) ethics article.

Details

Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-973-2

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 August 2014

Abstract

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-445-9

Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2015

Alisa Brink, C. Kevin Eller and Huiqi Gan

We conduct an experiment to examine the occurrence of the bystander effect on willingness to report a fraudulent act. Specifically, we investigate the impact of evidence strength…

Abstract

We conduct an experiment to examine the occurrence of the bystander effect on willingness to report a fraudulent act. Specifically, we investigate the impact of evidence strength on managers’ decisions to blow the whistle in the presence and absence of other employees who have knowledge of the wrongdoing. Results indicate that when there is strong evidence indicating a fraudulent act, individuals with sole knowledge are more likely to report than when others are aware of the fraudulent act (the bystander effect). However, the bystander effect is not found when evidence of fraud is weak. Further, a mediated moderation analysis indicates that perceived personal responsibility to report mediates the relation between others’ awareness of the questionable act and reporting likelihood, suggesting that the bystander effect is driven by diffusion of responsibility. Our results have implications for all types of organizations that wish to mitigate the detrimental effect of fraud. Specifically, training or incentives may be necessary to overcome the bystander effect in an organization.

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-635-5

Keywords

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