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The purpose of this study is to consider the effect of an internship experience on tax accountants’ professional performance.

It uses survival analysis, a dynamic methodology that allows for more precise modeling than static traditional methods used to study promotion and turnover rates in the past. The hypotheses were tested using a longitudinal database obtained from the human resource departments of regional Certified Public Accountant firms located in the southeastern and mid-south areas of the USA.

Results were mixed. As in previous studies on the effects of internships on subsequent professional performance, tax accounting professionals with a master’s degree and prior internship experience had significantly faster promotion rates than those professionals with a master’s degree and no internship experience. However, tax professionals with a master’s degree and prior internship experience did not demonstrate a significant difference in turnover rate when compared to the no-internship group.

This research provides evidence that students, employers and institutions of higher education can use to guide them in their decisions regarding the effects of structured internships on professional performance – in this case, the professional performance of tax accountants.

Previous research on tax professionals’ performance and internship experience made use of static research methodologies. This study uses the more dynamic methodology of survival analysis to see if different findings result.

Summarizes the literature on mentoring and its effects, pointing out that little research has been done on international mentoring despite globalization. Considers how mentoring could be used to help accountants make international assignments into successful learning experiences and to cope with the culture shock they often report. Discusses the possible role of the mentor before, during and after the assignment, highlighting the critical factors during the process; and compares horizontal and vertical approaches. Urges accounting firms to use mentoring to improve international performance and as a basis for organizational learning in a global environment.

This paper presents an alternative approach to the usual method of computing expected values of cash flows in capital budgeting situations. The approach is based on the more realistic notion that the cash flows, the probabilities assigned to the cash flows, or both are not always exactly known. Three cases representing different types of uncertainties relating to the cash flow prospects are presented and expected values are derived using the fuzzy set theory. The approach utilized in this paper provides an alternative to the prevalent methodology of estimating cash flows in capital budgeting. This approach offers greater flexibility in dealing with the complex issue of uncertainty than the prevalent probability‐based approach in cases where decisions are complex enough so that neither cash flows nor probability distributions are totally available.

To what extent does CIA certification enhance the stature and help the professional advancement of internal auditors? The professional significance of the CIA certification and the effect of a master′s degree and/or CPA certification on internal auditors is examined.

The purpose of this paper was to explore the motivation and rationale behind international investment to better explain the conflicting results reported in previous research and to provide some answers to the current debate on international diversification. Monthly return data and annual financial data of 424 NYSE‐listed companies over four 5‐year periods was examined, dividing the sample companies into three groups according to their degree of international diversification. Averages for monthly returns, market‐adjusted returns, total risk, and systematic risk were analyzed. An ongoing debate among students of multinational corporations (MNCs) focuses on whether the intent of corporate international diversification has been to increase stockholders' return or to reduce risk (Siegel et al. 1992; Shalchi and Hosseini 1990; Ndubiuzu 1990; and Theerathom et al. 1992). Based upon the observation of the pattern of holdings, Buckley (1988) argues that firms do not become MNCs to reduce risk. Risk reduction behavior would lead to a strategy of seeking investments in countries with uncorrected return patterns, as with some of the underdeveloped countries. Instead there has been a concentration of foreign direct investments in advanced market economies with high return correlations among each other. Buckley (1988) concludes, therefore, that MNCs are imperfect vehicles for risk diversification. Fatemi (1984) suggests that much of the international diversification made by corporations may have a defensive purpose. Their goal may be, for example, to maintain participation in some export markets or to match the previous move of a competitor, and not necessarily to increase the firm's revenue. The motivation for foreign corporate investments has been attributed to many specific factors, related both to the firm and the country. Included among these factors are: (a) economies of scale associated with large size and the ability to produce in several countries, (b) intangible assets, such as technological expertise or entrepreneurial skills, (c) market power due to the size of markets and previous experience with the domestic market, (d) industry grouping, (e) the availability of additional natural resources, as well as less costly labor and/or capital, (e) advantageous regulatory framework for the firm offered by the host country, and (f) the economic influence of the particular time period involved on firms and countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide additional evidence on whether international diversification has either increased stockholder's return or reduced their risk and to consider the possible influence of several factors. A sample of 424 companies was drawn from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and was divided into three categories, i.e., domestic, intermediate, and multinational. Two return and two risk measures were then calculated for four periods of time (1968–1972, 1973–1977, 1978–1982, and 1983–1987) to examine the relationships between the degrees of international diversification and the measures of risk and return. One of our concerns was to try to address some of the discrepancies among prior research findings.

The effects of institutionalization and structuring in the public accounting profession are considered in relation to the development of education and experience requirements for the profession. The goal is to explain the development of education and experience requirements for public accountants from a broader perspective and improve our understanding of the changes which have taken place in the profession and which are still taking place.

In order to allow flexibility in the enforcement of the tax law, the language used is often intentionally vague and ambiguous. This enables the government to implement the intent of the lawmakers in administering that law. However, interpreting these vague and ambiguous laws requires tax professionals to face planning situations that are complex and uncertain. Due to an increase in civil litigation, the importance of tax professionals making defensible decisions has been magnified in recent years. Carnes, et al. (1994) report that tax partners with Big‐Six accounting firms spend about 30 to 45 percent of their time resolving ambiguous tax questions. Therefore, tax professionals could benefit from models or systems (i.e., decision support systems, expert systems, artificial intelligence) that provide decision direction when facing ambiguous tax situations. One such area in which tax professionals must assist their clients is the determination of what levels of compensation are reasonable for owner‐employees of closely‐held corporations (Hagan, et al. 1995).

This paper seeks to examine the effects of mentoring and organizational justice on auditors' relationships with their non‐mentor supervisors. While having a mentor should cause higher quality protégé auditors and their non‐mentor supervisor relationships, organizational justice perceptions should mediate this mentoring association. Thus, having a mentor should see higher procedural justice perceptions, which, in turn, should result in higher quality relationships between protégés and their non‐mentor supervisors.

A survey of 95 audit professionals shows that protégés report higher quality auditor‐supervisor relationships than do non‐protégés; however, having a mentor does not appear to be the determining factor.

Building on a prior study of Siegel et al., the paper finds that auditor attitudes towards the job (job satisfaction) and the firm (job commitment) eliminate the association between mentoring and quality of auditor‐supervisor relationships. Procedural justice, but not distributive justice, perceptions also mediate the relationship between job satisfaction and quality of auditor‐supervisor relationships. Procedural justice perceptions produce higher quality auditor‐supervisor relationships with non‐mentor supervisors.

Using mediation regression techniques instead of the more stringent path analysis and using self‐reported survey data that derives a method variance could affect the generalizability of our results. Future research can correct these limitations.

The paper finds that while merely having a mentor need not improve relationships, mentoring programs can still greatly improve auditor‐supervisor relationships.

The paper includes implications for developing effective mentoring programs for CPA firms.

Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 53 requires that the audit be designed to provide a reasonable assurance of detecting management fraud. Traditionally auditors have utilized personal, business, and economic red flags in risk analysis and audit planning. Touche Ross (1974), Coopers and Lybrand (1977), Price Waterhouse (1985), and SAS Nos. 6, 16, 17, and 53 discuss various red flags associated with management fraud. However, the authoritative literature does not provide any guidance on how to measure and combine red flags. The extant literature primarily measures red flags as “yes” or “no” type binary variables. However, red flags are fuzzy in nature and fuzzy set approach can be used to measure and combine red flags. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for the application of the theory of fuzzy sets to the problem of assessing the risk of management fraud using red flags. This approach can be used to capture the beliefs of one or several auditors concerning red flags and combine these beliefs to estimate the risk of management fraud. This approach can be extended to build fuzzy reasoning systems that assess the risk of management fraud.

Analyzes mentoring as a learning forum for the accounting professional. Data collected from national CPA firms was utilized in the model development and hypotheses. This study examined how learning forums contribute to individual professional growth, performance and attitudes. Analysis of the model indicates that mentoring functions account for significant variance in job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intentions to leave, role ambiguity and job burnout. The analysis indicates that mentoring functions considerably influence socialization and personal learning. The research results highlighted the significance of the socialization process for accounting professionals within a CPA firm. Results of this study stressed the critical role of mentoring as a forum for individual learning. Accounting professionals who experience personal learning through mentoring relationships are less likely to leave the CPA firm since the socialization educates them to the firm’s goals, values and politics.