Accessing Cloud Data to Expand Research and Analytical Opportunities: An Example using IRS/AWS Data for Nonprofit Organizations

IF 1.6 Q3 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting Pub Date : 2020-09-30 DOI:10.2308/jeta-18-12-29-28

Chengzhang Wu, Richard B. Dull

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

The IRS Form 990 provides a rich set of financial and nonfinancial information about nonprofit organizations. Historically, these returns were available to researchers in PDF format, or partial data were available through information aggregators. Beginning in 2011, the forms were e-filed in an XML format, and those files are made available to the public at no monetary cost. To date over 2.6 million of these returns have been filed and are currently available online. This study uses the design science paradigm to describe the process of accessing the forms from AWS (Amazon Web Services), examining XML structures, transforming the data, and loading that data into an updatable database. The resulting database is then used to demonstrate the artifact's effectiveness through a variety of inquiries. The process extends researchers' capabilities to use newly available data to investigate accounting, governance, and other questions that were not previously feasible to consider. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M41; M48; M49.

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访问云数据以扩大研究和分析机会：非营利组织使用IRS/AWS数据的例子

IRS表格990提供了一套关于非营利组织的丰富的财务和非财务信息。从历史上看，研究人员可以通过PDF格式获得这些回报，或者通过信息聚合器获得部分数据。从2011年开始，这些表格以XML格式进行电子归档，这些文件免费向公众提供。迄今为止，已经提交了260多万份此类申报表，目前可在网上查询。本研究使用设计科学范式来描述从AWS（亚马逊网络服务）访问表单、检查XML结构、转换数据以及将数据加载到可更新数据库的过程。然后使用生成的数据库通过各种查询来证明工件的有效性。该过程扩展了研究人员的能力，可以使用新的可用数据来调查会计、治理和其他以前不可行的问题。数据可用性：数据可从文本中引用的公共来源获得。JEL分类： M41；M48；M49。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

4.30

自引率

27.80%

发文量