In extant literature, there are few tax return cases appearing in journals. We present a complex case using a realistic scenario that is designed to be an introductory tax return assignment used in ...an individual federal income taxation course. The case is designed to teach students how to manually prepare a federal income tax return using the actual forms and schedules prepared by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This case is timely for two reasons. 1) Often tax return assignments in textbooks involve concepts that a student has yet to learn. For example, a textbook assignment often includes itemized deductions and credits, even though these topics are typically taught towards the end of an individual tax course. 2) In addition, with the availability of information on the internet, students have greater access to solutions to textbook assignments. This case comprehensively examines concepts typically covered in the first three or four chapters of an individual tax text: various types of income, exclusions, personal and dependency exemptions, capital gains and losses, and the standard deduction.
Previous research documents variation among auditors in terms of their cognitive style. Auditors have been classified as possessing an intuitive, analytic, or hybrid cognitive style. However, the ...potential implications of cognitive style upon auditor task performance have received little attention. Building upon the work of Chan (1996), this paper examines the role of “cognitive misfit” on auditor task performance. Cognitive misfit is a lack of fit between a person's cognitive style and task characteristics. Participating auditors were required to perform two judgment tasks and complete a cognitive style questionnaire. Tests for an interactive task performance effect between task type and auditor cognitive characteristics were performed. As expected, auditor cognitive style significantly interacts with the task type. Analytic auditors performed better on the analytic task than the intuitive task. Likewise, intuitive auditors performed better on the intuitive task than on the analytic task. Limitations and implications of the research are discussed.
Abstract
Purpose
This exercise provides comprehensive coverage of audit materiality, assessing inherent risk, and allocating tolerable misstatement appropriate for an undergraduate auditing course. ...The Delphi method could be an appropriate tool in any accounting setting where the learning goals involve judgment, consensus, or learning through group interaction.
Design/methodology/approach
This chapter describes a classroom exercise that required students to establish planning materiality, assess inherent risk associated with balance sheet accounts, and allocate tolerable misstatement using a modified application of the Delphi method. Additionally, the exercise calls attention to group processing skills and the role played by professional judgment in planning an audit. We assigned students to five-person audit teams and through a series of Delphi rounds asked them to establish planning materiality and assess the inherent risk associated with each balance sheet account for a fictitious company. Students prepared a matrix, both individually and as a team, that compared each statement account to every other account to determine which account in each pairing they viewed as having higher inherent risk. As a final step, they allocated tolerable misstatement mathematically for each account based on pairing results.
Findings
The result was a consensus of opinion and an early attempt at forming professional judgment. The students’ responses to a debriefing questionnaire and the results of a pre-/post-test suggest that the learning objectives of the exercise were met.
Originality/value
The specific learning objectives of the exercise were to help students understand the concepts of tolerable misstatement and planning materiality, the elements of inherent risk, the Delphi method for reaching group consensus, the need to work as a team, and the importance professional judgment plays in the audit process. The result was a consensus of opinion and an early attempt at forming professional judgment. The students’ responses to a debriefing questionnaire and the results of a pre-/post-test suggest that the learning objectives of the exercise were met.
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This note presents descriptive evidence of self‐admitted tax evasion in New Zealand and identifies characteristics associated with this behaviour. A survey of voters from Christchurch is conducted. ...The frequency of self‐admitted under‐reporting of income (23%) is much more frequent than the frequency of self‐admitted overstating of deductions (12%). Using logistic regression analysis, under‐reporting behaviour is associated with age, income, the number of evaders personally known and the morality and consequences of evasion behaviour. Determining the existence or nonexistence of associations between key independent variables and evasion behaviour represents useful information for tax policy makers and others involved in revenue enforcement activities.
...less than 5% of the world's business programs maintain this accreditation, yet it is viewed by many as a benchmark of quality. Very few universities offer a doctoral degree in accounting; the ...AACSB website indicates that there are only four accounting PhD programs in New York. ...it is unlikely that many CPAs would seek an adjunct teaching position at one of these universities.
Additionally, they provide undergraduate students in accounting or finance degree programs and graduate students in MAcc or MBA programs with the information they need to prepare for the CMA ...examination. Because students can take the CMA exam prior to earning their bachelor's degree, we provide a guide for helping them plan their coursework, including electives, to improve and streamline their preparation for the CMA examination and increase their chances of success. ...of this approach, which included consideration of primary and secondary research on the competencies that global CFOs and controllers deemed critical for organizational success, as well as a job analysis, the two-part CMA exam was redesigned as follows: PART 1-Financial Reporting, Planning, Performance, and Control Format: four hours of exam time, 100 multiple-choice questions, and two essay questions Recommended preparation time: approximately 100-150 hours Content: A. External Financial Reporting Decisions (15%) new content area B. Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting (30%) C. Performance Management (20%) previously 25% D. Cost Management (20%) previously 25% E. Internal Controls (15%) PART 2-Financial Decision Making Format: four hours of exam time, 100 multiple-choice questions, and two essay questions Recommended preparation time: approximately 100-150 hours Content: A. Financial Statement Analysis (25%) B. Corporate Finance (20%) C. Decision Analysis (20%) D. Risk Management (10%) combined previously 25% E. Investment Decisions (15%) previously 20% F. Professional Ethics (10%) previously 5% in Part 1 and 5% in Part 2 The redesign of the CMA exam raises the question of how students can best design their educational programs to successfully prepare for and pass the exam.
BOTH THE ICMAR AND THE AICPA HAVE RECENTLY MADE CHANGES TO THE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE CMAR AND CPA EXAMINATIONS, RESPECTIVELY. WE PRESCRIBE A PROGRAM OF STUDY WHERE UNDERGRADUATE ACCOUNTING ...MAJORS CAN COMPLETE THE CMA EXAM BEFORE THEY EARN THEIR BACHELOR'S DEGREE AND COMPLETE THE CPA EXAM EITHER DURING THEIR PURSUIT OF AN MBA DEGREE OR AFTER THEY EARN IT, THUS MEETING THE 150-CREDIT-HOUR REQUIREMENT.
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