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Regulation and the Auditing Profession
Title
Regulation and the Auditing Profession.
Creator
Lubimov, Alexei, Trompeter, Gregory, Roberts, Robin, Robb, Sean, Soo, Billy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The dissertation consists of three studies examining three different regulatory issues that affect the auditing profession. The first study has two main foci. First, the study investigates the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on the Big 4 fee premium. Second, the study investigates the relationship between the size of an audit client and annual fee change. The results show that in the post-SOX environment, clients of non-Big 4 firms have experienced greater increases in audit fees than the...
Show moreThe dissertation consists of three studies examining three different regulatory issues that affect the auditing profession. The first study has two main foci. First, the study investigates the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on the Big 4 fee premium. Second, the study investigates the relationship between the size of an audit client and annual fee change. The results show that in the post-SOX environment, clients of non-Big 4 firms have experienced greater increases in audit fees than the clients of the Big 4 firms, resulting in a diminishing Big 4 premium. This is consistent with the notion that non-Big 4 clients had to make significant adjustments to meet post-SOX quality requirements by increasing their effort (and consequently audit fees). The results also show audit firms' large clients experience the largest percentage increase in audit fees. This is consistent with the theoretical view of consumer surplus, where the large clients, with more resources, have greater levels of consumer surplus, which is being captured by the audit firms. The study contributes to our understanding of the impact of SOX on audit fee premium and the economics of audit market competition in different client segments. The second study is focused on three main areas: 1) the relationship between audit fees and audit market concentration on a country level; 2) the effect of a country's litigation regime on the relationship between audit fees and market concentration and 3) the inter-relations between competition, fees, and quality in the market for audit services. The study is motivated by the current debate in the United States and the European Union about the possible problems associated with the current oligopolistic structure of the audit market. The contribution of this study lies in the fact that it provides a multi-national empirical investigation of the audit competition-fee relationship, and examination of how country-level fees affect the competition-quality relationship, while controlling for country level factors. Results show a negative relationship between country-level market concentration and audit fees but only in highly litigious countries, suggesting that the firms are able to obtain economies of scale in more concentrated markets and are willing to pass savings down to their clients. However this relationship only holds for the clients of the Big N firms. Analysis of audit quality suggests that audit quality is higher in more concentrated markets but mediation analysis did not show that the fees mediate the relationship between audit quality and market concentration. The third study addresses current regulatory debate about the responsibility of the principal auditor in the group audit environment. Current United States standards allow the principal auditor to disavow responsibility for parts of the audit which were performed by a third party auditor by referencing them in the auditor's opinion and then indicating the part of the audit which was performed by them. This disclaimer of responsibility is prohibited under the international auditing standards, which require the principal auditor to be responsible for the entire group audit. Specifically, this study examines 1) audit quality implications related to such opinions, and 2) the relationship between having a shared opinion and audit fees. The results show that the audit quality is significantly lower for the firms whose audit opinion referenced a third party auditor. The results also provide some evidence that audit fees are lower in shared responsibility situations.
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Date Issued
2013
Identifier
CFE0004882, ucf:49650
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004882
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY ON THE AUDIT PROFESSION
Title
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY ON THE AUDIT PROFESSION.
Creator
Jackson, Brittany, Reinking, Jeff, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The purpose of this research is to identify the implications of blockchain technology on the auditing profession. By conducting interviews with current professionals in the auditing profession, as well as those in academic with a background in auditing, primary data was collected to aggregate what potential effects will be on the auditing profession in the next five years and the next decade. The data includes assumptions of how the accounting major itself, the auditing planning phase,...
Show moreThe purpose of this research is to identify the implications of blockchain technology on the auditing profession. By conducting interviews with current professionals in the auditing profession, as well as those in academic with a background in auditing, primary data was collected to aggregate what potential effects will be on the auditing profession in the next five years and the next decade. The data includes assumptions of how the accounting major itself, the auditing planning phase, assumptions of risk, and audit completions will change with the developing technology. The goal of this research is a better understanding of how auditing will be affected by blockchain technology for students, current audit professionals, and those in academia. With the results, it was concluded that training of new and current employees will need to evolve with more emphasis on IT skills and analytical reasoning, blockchain's development is on a precipice of adoption within the next decade, and that there is a current gap regarding regulation of blockchain technology.
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Date Issued
2018
Identifier
CFH2000421, ucf:45738
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000421
WORK ENVIRONMENT AND THE EFFECT ON OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT AND INTENT TO LEAVE: A STUDY OF BEDSIDE REGISTERED NURSES
Title
WORK ENVIRONMENT AND THE EFFECT ON OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT AND INTENT TO LEAVE: A STUDY OF BEDSIDE REGISTERED NURSES.
Creator
Cortelyou-Ward, Kendall, Fottler, Myron, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The purpose of this research was to determine the effect work environment has on occupational commitment and intent to leave the profession for bedside registered nurses. Subscales of autonomy, control over the practice setting, nurse-physician relationship, and organizational support were incorporated into the analysis to determine which aspect of work environment most directly effects occupational commitment and intent to leave the profession. The research was undertaken in order to help...
Show moreThe purpose of this research was to determine the effect work environment has on occupational commitment and intent to leave the profession for bedside registered nurses. Subscales of autonomy, control over the practice setting, nurse-physician relationship, and organizational support were incorporated into the analysis to determine which aspect of work environment most directly effects occupational commitment and intent to leave the profession. The research was undertaken in order to help administrators determine the ways in which work environment can be improved upon in order to retain bedside registered nurses in the profession. An explanatory cross sectional survey was distributed to 259 direct care bedside registered nurses employed at a rural, system affiliated hospital in Central Florida. Human subject protection was assured through the University of Central Florida Institutional Review Board. A 77 item questionnaire containing 9 demographic questions, 57 questions from the Nursing Work Index- Revised (NWI-R), 8 questions from Blau's occupational commitment scale, and 3 questions from Blau's intent to leave scale was distributed to all direct care nurses. Subjects were also given the opportunity to complete 3 short answer questions. A 32.8 percent response rate was achieved for a total of 85 complete and usable surveys. Data analysis showed that the work environment is positively related to occupational commitment and negatively related to intent to leave. In addition each of the four subscales (autonomy, control over the practice setting, relationship with physicians, and organizational support) were also positively related to occupational commitment and negatively related to intent to leave the profession. Implications for organizations, public policy and future research are discussed.
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Date Issued
2007
Identifier
CFE0001851, ucf:47343
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001851
The Profession of Modeling and Simulations: Unifying the Organization
Title
The Profession of Modeling and Simulations: Unifying the Organization.
Creator
Lord, John, Caulkins, Bruce, Truman, Barbara, Maraj, Crystal, Bockelman, Patricia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The organization of Modeling and Simulation (M(&)S) as a profession started in the early twenty-first century spurred by the advent of computers and the vast networking capabilities of contemporary computing. M(&)S is still in its infancy when compared to other disciplines, such as engineering, computer science and mathematics. However, the profession has experienced significant growth in part due to the varied use of M(&)S techniques and tools within almost every discipline.Professional...
Show moreThe organization of Modeling and Simulation (M(&)S) as a profession started in the early twenty-first century spurred by the advent of computers and the vast networking capabilities of contemporary computing. M(&)S is still in its infancy when compared to other disciplines, such as engineering, computer science and mathematics. However, the profession has experienced significant growth in part due to the varied use of M(&)S techniques and tools within almost every discipline.Professional organizations and academic programs supporting M(&)S across the country have started to materialize. In a short timeframe, the growth of these supporting organizations has outpaced their ability to stay unified as a discipline, aligned with standardized Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) and with growing stakeholder needs.Consequently, there appear to be gaps in the M(&)S professional organization. Such as a lack of synchronization between the three primary stakeholder groups of the M(&)S profession: academia, government, and industry. The discipline's professional organization fails to recognize a single body of knowledge as an authoritative reference for M(&)S KSAs. Academic institutions do not have unanimity regarding targeted KSAs. Industry lacks the confidence to hire M(&)S professionals who have a core understanding of KSAs directly associated with the version of M(&)S used by each separate industry.This research study attempts to take a coordinated step forward in unifying the M(&)S discipline by assessing and prioritizing the current competencies and standards required of M(&)S professionals and identifying the needs and competencies valued by primary stakeholders. A survey instrument was developed in conjunction with Rebecca Leis' doctorate research. The instrument was distributed to M(&)S stakeholders to ascertain the breadth of the needed, valued, and required KSAs within the domain. The survey was evaluated by cross-referencing questions and tabulating responses. Results from this research suggest ways in which stakeholders can coordinate efforts in advancing the M(&)S professional organization and support a uniformed set of KSAs needed in academia, government, and industry now and in the future.
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Date Issued
2019
Identifier
CFE0007489, ucf:52876
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007489
The Role of Occupational Branding in the Professionalization of Technical Communication
Title
The Role of Occupational Branding in the Professionalization of Technical Communication.
Creator
Thomas, Chelsea, Jones, Dan, Flammia, Madelyn, Bell, Kathleen, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This study investigates the relationship between professional identity and professional status by exploring the quest for professionalization within technical communication. An established professional identity is crucial to an occupation's professionalization process, as it enables members of a given field to create a common sense of being and facilitates a recognizable personal and collective identity. Such recognition is vital to an occupation's rise to professional status, as it creates a...
Show moreThis study investigates the relationship between professional identity and professional status by exploring the quest for professionalization within technical communication. An established professional identity is crucial to an occupation's professionalization process, as it enables members of a given field to create a common sense of being and facilitates a recognizable personal and collective identity. Such recognition is vital to an occupation's rise to professional status, as it creates a distilled image of the ideal practitioner for outsiders and forms the basis upon which claims of expertise may be made. By constructing the meaning surrounding their profession, members are able to portray an image which designates their knowledge as a scarce expertise and their profession as the appropriate source for the services they provide.A lack of professional identity constitutes the primary factor hindering technical communication from realizing the professionalization process, as it prevents the formation of practitioners' common sense of being, promotes the absence of identifiability and precludes the possibility of recognition by larger society. Without an established professional identity, the field cannot formulate a culturally-relevant perception of its role, claim professional expertise or jurisdiction over their work, or achieve the social and cultural legitimacy necessary in order to increase its professional status. By implementing processes of occupational branding within the professional project, efforts involving the construction of collective professional identity will increase professional status by enabling a group's management of professional meaning, facilitating the creation of an occupational brand and assisting in value production.
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Date Issued
2016
Identifier
CFE0006189, ucf:51137
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006189
YOU'VE GOT MAIL: THE STUDY OF THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE AND THE USE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL
Title
YOU'VE GOT MAIL: THE STUDY OF THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE AND THE USE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL.
Creator
McConnell, Justin, Cook, Kathy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The prolific use of the internet and electronic mail within the legal profession presents novel challenges to the application of the attorney-client privilege; especially, in regards to protecting intended confidential communications relayed through e-mail. This thesis addresses the question of whether an attorney in Florida, through electronic mail use, can waive his client's right to the protections of the attorney-client privilege. After a review of current case law, law review articles,...
Show moreThe prolific use of the internet and electronic mail within the legal profession presents novel challenges to the application of the attorney-client privilege; especially, in regards to protecting intended confidential communications relayed through e-mail. This thesis addresses the question of whether an attorney in Florida, through electronic mail use, can waive his client's right to the protections of the attorney-client privilege. After a review of current case law, law review articles, statutes, and texts, this thesis concluded that an attorney's communication through e-mail warrants a reasonable expectation of privacy, permitting the attorney to speak in reasonable confidence to clients through the web. However, attorneys, ethically, should consider the strong repercussions for using such a potentially transparent medium for communication. By examining the relationship between current law, the application of the attorney-client privilege, and a reasonable expectation of privacy, this study provides a comprehensive analysis for attorneys concerned with electronic mail usage. Lastly, this thesis provides attorneys with best practices for their electronic mail communications.
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Date Issued
2011
Identifier
CFH0003832, ucf:44756
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003832