{"title":"Perceived Organizational Inclusion: Evidence from Neurodivergent Accountants in the U.S.","authors":"Loreal Jiles, Qi Duong, Roopa Venkatesh","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2022-082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2022-082","url":null,"abstract":"To address talent attraction and retention challenges with respect to diverse talent in the accounting profession, this study examines the intersection of neurodiversity and the accounting employment experience. Through interviews and online questionnaires of neurodivergent accountants in the U.S., we found a general lack of perceived organizational inclusion among neurodivergent accountants in our study, evidence supporting the existence of a positive impact of perceived organizational inclusion on individuals’ perceptions of their job performance, and key antecedents to perceived organizational inclusion. We report the lived experiences of neurodivergent accountants by amplifying their voices through presentation of oral histories and 37 actionable practices informing future strategies for organizations and leaders in practice. JEL Classifications: M14.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"127 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139302006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Rose, Jacob M. Rose, Kristian Rotaru, Ikseon Suh, Jay Thibodeau, Axel Schulz
{"title":"Can Thinking about Alternative Explanations Promote Professional Skepticism?","authors":"A. Rose, Jacob M. Rose, Kristian Rotaru, Ikseon Suh, Jay Thibodeau, Axel Schulz","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2021-092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2021-092","url":null,"abstract":"We conduct an experiment with practicing Big 4 audit seniors and demonstrate that generating counterexplanations for an event in an unrelated task prior to completing audit planning tasks activates a counterfactual mindset that enhances auditors’ professional skepticism. This approach to activating professional skepticism can be implemented without auditor training and can be deployed across many different audit tasks. Overall, the experiment indicates that activation of a counterfactual mindset has significant potential to enhance audit quality.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"192 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139306180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Anderson-Gough, C. Edgley, Keith Robson, Nina Sharma
{"title":"Diversity and the Evaluation of Talent in the Accounting Profession: The Enigma of Merit","authors":"F. Anderson-Gough, C. Edgley, Keith Robson, Nina Sharma","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2022-103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2022-103","url":null,"abstract":"While accounting firms are facing recruitment and retention problems, regulatory bodies are calling for efforts to improve diversity to be more effective, especially at senior levels. In this paper, we discuss “merit” and assumptions about “meritocracy” in processes of performance evaluation and career progression. Based on interviews in medium and large professional services firms in the United Kingdom, we explore how the language/practices of merit can inhibit moves to improving diversity. Merit has two aspects: “technical” notions of core competencies associated with merit and cultural notions of social fit, which have the effect of favoring the progression of the elite groups embedded within firms. The latter creates a loop in understanding merit, enacted within firm culture over time, that is difficult to disrupt. As such, efforts to improve diversity are unlikely to bring about change without considering how organizational beliefs about merit have unintended consequences.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139296469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Length of IPO Prospectus and Individual Investors’ Demand for IPO Shares","authors":"Meeok Cho, Sunhwa Choi, Sehee Kim, Woo-Jong Lee","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2021-024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2021-024","url":null,"abstract":"SYNOPSIS Prior studies on readability suggest that lengthy corporate reports are difficult to process and may discourage investors’ capital market participation. However, longer reports that contain additional information may actually benefit individual investors, who typically rely on public information. Using a regulatory change that requires firms to disclose additional items in the IPO prospectus, we find that the new regulation increased individual investors’ demand for IPO stocks with longer prospectuses. These results suggest that lengthy reports do not always reduce investor demand, highlighting a potential trade-off between the costs and benefits of longer corporate reports. Data Availability: All data are publicly available from the sources identified in the text. JEL Classification: G18; M41; M48.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"210 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136153042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Parent-Only Balance Sheet Information and Credit Risk Assessments","authors":"Jennifer W. Tucker, Ying Zhou, Jigao Zhu","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2021-102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2021-102","url":null,"abstract":"SYNOPSIS General-purpose financial statements prepared under GAAP are for a consolidated reporting entity—a collection of legal entities that includes the parent and any subsidiaries it controls. This reporting model results in a loss of information about the individual legal entities within the consolidated reporting entity. Our study examines the role of parent-only balance sheet information in assessing the credit risk of the parent when it is a bank holding company. We obtain evidence from three trading platforms: credit default swaps (CDS), outstanding bonds, and new bonds. We find that parent-only leverage is useful for debtholders to assess the parent’s credit risk even after considering consolidated leverage. Moreover, in CDS markets, parent-only leverage is more useful for firms without downstream guarantee than for firms with guarantee and is less useful for firms with a stronger internal capital market. Our study raises the awareness of parent-only financial information for credit risk assessments. Data Availability: All data are available from the identified public sources. JEL Classifications: M2; M4; G3.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"138 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135662302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Options Trading and Earnings Management","authors":"Xin Dai, Zheng Qiao, Chongwu Xia","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2020-062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2020-062","url":null,"abstract":"SYNOPSIS This study examines how options trading plays a unique role in curbing firms’ earnings management. We find that options trading volume deters managers’ earnings manipulations, and the effect can be explained by unique characteristics of the options markets. Our results remain unchanged when using both an instrumental variable approach and difference-in-differences analyses to mitigate endogeneity concerns, and after controlling for investors’ short-selling activities. This study adds to the literature by documenting a real impact of options trading on financial reporting. Our results suggest that the options markets promote price efficiency not only by incorporating private information from informed traders, but also by incentivizing managers to disseminate less manipulated information. Data Availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request. JEL Classifications: E44; G3; M41.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"52 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135815292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Men’s Experiences of Paternity Leaves in Accounting Firms","authors":"Claire Garnier, Claudine Mangen, Edwige Nortier","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2022-099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2022-099","url":null,"abstract":"SYNOPSIS Accounting researchers and practitioners have made strides in addressing persistent gender inequalities in the accounting profession. However, these efforts have largely sidestepped men and masculinities. Our study considers the role of men and masculinities in gender inequalities by exploring how men in accounting experience paternity leaves. We conduct interviews with 13 men in audit firms in France. We find that fathers are reluctant to take leaves, which they view as vacation periods incompatible with their professional work. They see audit firms as offering less support to fathers than mothers, with support for fathers growing but still marginal. Finally, they experience a variety of emotions, including positive emotions around fatherhood and negative emotions around difficulties in reconciling fatherhood with professional responsibilities and paternity leaves. Practically, our findings imply that to address gender inequalities further, accounting firms need to change the norms around care work, including paternity leaves.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135248884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Practitioner Perspectives on Going Concern Opinion Research and Suggestions for Further Study: Part 2—Reporting Environment and the Decision-Making Process","authors":"Marshall A. Geiger, Anna Gold, P. Wallage","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2023-014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2023-014","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Auditing researchers rarely engage practicing auditors regarding the phenomena examined, or conclusions reached, in academic research. In an attempt to bridge this gap, we report on the outcomes, insights, and observations from focused interactions with Dutch audit practitioners regarding their perspectives on recent research regarding auditor going concern opinion (GCO) decisions. We provided practitioners with a summary of some of the most salient recent GCO research findings. The goals of our subsequent discussions were to (1) obtain practitioners’ responses to the research findings, and (2) identify relevant issues for future study from the perspective of practitioners. Accordingly, in this second of a two-part sequence of articles, we discuss the outcomes of our interactions with practitioners related to the GCO reporting environment and the GCO decision-making process, as well as directions for future research.\u0000 JEL Classifications: M42.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45467446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Branch Networks, Client Networks, and Knowledge Sharing in Audit Firms","authors":"Lin Wang","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2021-115","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2021-115","url":null,"abstract":"SYNOPSIS In large audit firms, interoffice knowledge sharing is embedded in two networks: the branch network, comprising all branch offices, and the client network, formed by similar engagements. Proximity between branch offices may enhance knowledge accessibility, whereas similarity between engagements could impact the relevance of that knowledge. I investigate how the two networks jointly influence the effectiveness of knowledge sharing. I construct client networks based on the similarity of clients’ product offerings and find that clients with greater centrality in the neighboring client network benefit more from knowledge sharing in terms of improved audit quality. I further show that this effect only exists when similar clients in neighboring offices are larger in size and is more salient when there is a gap in expertise between the current auditing office and neighboring offices. By enriching our understanding of interoffice knowledge sharing, these results offer practical insights to auditors, regulators, and audit-report users. Data Availability: Data are available from the data sources indicated in the paper. JEL Classifications: M42.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135348380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Beau Grant Barnes, Marc Cussatt, Derek W. Dalton, Nancy L. Harp
{"title":"Partner-Track Aspirations in Public Accounting: Comparisons between Partners and Nonpartners","authors":"Beau Grant Barnes, Marc Cussatt, Derek W. Dalton, Nancy L. Harp","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2022-069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2022-069","url":null,"abstract":"SYNOPSIS Partner aspirations (i.e., an employee’s desire to make partner) benefit accounting firms by promoting succession planning and reducing unwanted employee turnover. Further, female partner aspirations are critical for firms striving to achieve gender equity at the partner level. Prior research has begun to examine partner aspirations (e.g., Jones and Iyer 2020); however, little is known about how partner and nonpartner attitudes and values differ regarding the benefits and sacrifices required of the partner track. We survey 224 public accounting professionals (101 partners and 123 nonpartners) to systematically compare partner and nonpartner attitudes and values. By identifying mismatches in perceptions between these two groups, our results direct firm leadership to specific issues most detrimental to partner aspirations. Our comparisons by gender provide further insight into specific issues that firms need to address to increase female partner aspirations.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136173173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}