Environmental remediation liabilities are generated primarily as a result of past actions by a firm. The most important of these liabilities for domestic U.S. firms are related to Superfund sites as designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These liabilities are important for...

This dissertation provides results of three studies, which examine the utilization of organizational performance measurement systems. Evidence gathered in the first study provides insight into the number of perspectives or components found in the evaluation of an organizationâs performance and...

The purpose of this research is to examine whether managers of troubled firms engage in income-increasing earnings management for capital market purposes to maintain a listing on the NASDAQ National Market. Troubled firms are defined as those firms whose share price has fallen below the...

This dissertation explores three current issues relevant to the accounting and business communities by empirically examining the effect these issues have on the bond credit market. The first study examines the effect earnings predictability has on both the initial bond rating and the initial...

The purpose of this research is to examine whether accounting methods for business combinations (purchase and pooling-of-interests accounting) have a different effect on firmsâ market value of equity in the combination year and thereafter. In particular, after the accounting method is no longer...

This dissertation investigates auditor independence by examining the effects of various factors on independence, both in fact and as perceived by several distinct groups. The first study examines the effects of auditing students cognitive moral development and client risk on students judgments...

Despite countless efforts to elucidate market participantsâ understanding of the implications of earnings quality, empirical accounting research has rendered two distinct perspectives. The first perspective considers market participants naïve users of accounting information who fail to grasp...

Public criticism ofexecutive pay has increased significantly inrecent years. Shareholders express concernthat the level of pay to many executives doesnot match the level of increase in shareholderwealth. The government has even gotteninvolved in the issue by changing tax lawsrelated to...