Winter 1998 Contents

• Message from the Chair, Dennis Bline
• Letter from the Editor, John T. Rigsby
• Editor's Note
• Call for Nominations of ABO Officers for 1998-99
• Nominations for Editor
• Contact Information
• Treasurer's Report
• Nominations: Most Outstanding Contribution to Management Accounting Literature
• 1997 Outstanding ABO Dissertation Award
• 1997 Outstanding ABO Dissertation
• Announcement of 1998 ABO Dissertation Award Competition
• 1997 Nordic Conference on Business Studies
• Research Note: Ethnographic Research: An Overlooked Research Approach
• 1998 ABO Research Conference
• Fourth Annual AAA/ABO Research Conference Report on Paper Submissions
• 1998 International Symposium on Audit Research
• 1997 ABO Working Paper Series
• Outstanding Behavioral Research Award Nominations NEW!

Calls for Papers:

• Attention Members!
• Call for Working Papers
• International Journal of Applied Quality Management, Vol. 2
• ABO Manuscript Competition
• Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
• 1998 AAA Annual Meeting

Tables of Contents:

• International Journal of Applied Quality Management, Vol. 1
• 1988 Behavioral Research in Accounting
• Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1
• Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2 

   

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  Message from the Chair
  By Dennis Bline

  For a number of years, ABO Section members have been hearing nothing but good news. Unfortunately, every so often a dose of reality is needed and it appears that I am the person required to deliver the message. The Section has provided many services to members for several years including a well-respected journal, a quality newsletter, an important behavioral monograph, behavioral dissertation awards and a series of behavioral research conferences. None of these activities happen without cost and the Section’s Board of Officers has approved the expenses related to these activities over the years. However, it has become apparent that some activities must be restructured because we cannot sustain current activities in the same manner we have in the past.

  Members were informed at the Annual Meeting that the Section’s cash balance was approximately $38,000 as of June 30, 1997. What we did not realize is that July and August net cash outflows were approximately $36,000. I was shocked to learn the state of the Section’s cash position in a September 15 e-mail from the AAA.

  The Section's Officers discussed the measures that should be taken to address the Section's cash flow positions. The most important consideration is to ensure as little disruption to Section activities as possible. Cost-saving actions include:

  • Changing the manner by which The ABO Reporter is delivered. Printing and mailing The ABO Reporter costs the Section approximately $6,000 per year. Moving the newsletter to the Web significantly reduces this cost while maintaining the same quality service to members.
  • Suspending the monetary award with the ABO Section dissertation award. This action will save the Section $1,000 per year.
  • Changing BRIA's footprint to a larger size and reducing the print size by one point will result in cost savings of approximately 20 percent.

  The Board of Officers is committed to continuing the services that members value. BRIA will continue to be published (it will just have a slightly different look). The newsletter will continue to be delivered to the members (in a different form) and the Section will continue to encourage behavioral research.

  Your patience during this time of fiscal austerity will be greatly appreciated. The Section’s Board of Officers has always strived to work in the members’ best interest and they have been aggressive in providing valuable services to members. The Section just needs to pause for a moment to reorganize some activities and plan for the best way to move in the future.

  You may be aware that the AAA has appointed three trustees to work with the Section. This was expected given the rate at which the cash flow deteriorated. I have been assured that the AAA has no intention of constraining the Section’s ability to continue providing services to the members. I hope to deliver better news in the summer newsletter. 

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  LETTER FROM THE EDITOR  

  I wish to thank everyone who has cooperated by sending in articles, working papers, announcements and news items to be shared with other ABO members. Members are encouraged to send news items, announcements and other items of interest by the newsletter deadlines, which are March 15, 1998, for the summer issue and November 15, 1998, for the winter issue. I do try to take an inclusive approach if it is of interest to the membership.

  Also please plan on attending and participating in the upcoming 1998 ABO Research Conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference provides an excellent opportunity to participate in behavioral research and grow as a researcher, as well as renew old friendships. Your family may want to come too, since it will be in Orlando!

  The new medium of The ABO Reporter is through the World Wide Web. This is a different approach for us, and we are experimenting on how best to do it. Please do call or email me if you have any suggestions or comments on improving the process.

  We are having cash flow problems this year, but it should only be a temporary situation. I look forward to working with our new chair, Dennis Bline, and wish him well for a very successful year.

   

  Sincerely,
  John T. Rigsby
  School of Accountancy
  Mississippi State University 

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  EDITOR'S NOTE  

  The deadlines for future issues of the ABO Reporter are:

• 1998 Summer Issue–March 15, 1998
• 1999 Winter Issue–October 15, 1998Send news items and other matters of interest to:
• 
  John T. Rigsby
  School of Accountancy
  Mississippi State University
  Drawer EF
  Mississippi State, MS 39762
  Phone: (601) 325-1635
  Fax: (601) 325-1646
  Email: jrigsby@cobilan.msstate.edu 

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  CALL FOR NOMINATION OF ABO OFFICERS FOR 1998-99

  The ABO Section is soliciting suggestions for nominations for the following offices: Chair-Elect, Vice Chair (Regions), and Secretary-Treasurer. Suggestions for nominations should be sent to AAA headquarters for transmittal to the ABO Nominations Committee. Suggestions may be sent to Nominations Committee Chair Paul Munter by fax (305) 284-5737, e-mail pmunter@sba01.msmail.miami.edu, or mail at the address below.
  In addition to nominees proposed by the ABO Nominations Committee, nominations may be submitted by petition signed by not less than five members of the Section, no more than two of whom may be currently affiliated with the same employer. These petitions should be mailed, postmarked no later than April 1, 1998, to:Paul Munter, Chair
  Nominations Committee
  Department of Accounting
  School of Business Administration
  University of Miami
  1120 Stanford Drive
  Coral Gables, FL 33146-6531

  Nominations will be published in the next issue of The ABO Reporter. The election will be conducted by mailed ballot. Ballots will have to be postmarked by July 25, 1998. If no candidate for an office receives a simple majority of the mailed ballots, a run-off election between the two candidates with the highest number of votes will be held at the ABO's Annual Business Meeting during the AAA Annual Meeting in August.  

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  NOMINATIONS FOR EDITOR Behavioral Research in Accounting

  Nominations are invited for editor of BRIA by February 15, 1998. Nominations will be reviewed to make a recommendation to the Executive Committee. Nominations should be sent to:

  
  Jacob Birnberg
  Accounting Faculty
  Katz Graduate School of Business
  University of Pittsburgh
  Pittsburgh, PA 15260
  Telephone: (412) 648-1719
  Fax: (412) 648-1693  

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  Contact Information Accounting, Behavior and Organizations Fiscal Year 1997–1998

  Phil Siegel, Past Chair  Long Island University—C. W. Post  Brookville, NY 11548-0570  Phone: (516) 299-2364  Fax: (516) 299-2297  Email: psiegel@eagle.liunet.edu	Dennis Bline, Chair  Bryant College  Smithfield, RI 02917-1284  Phone: (401) 232-6402  Fax: (401) 232-6319  Email: dbline@research1.bryant.edu
  Seleshi Sisaye, Chair-Elect  Duquesne University  Pittsburgh, PA 15282-0104  Phone: (412) 396-6274  Fax: (412) 396-4764  Email: sisaye@duq2.cc.duq.edu	Vicky Arnold, Secretary/Treasurer  University of Massachusetts Dartmouth  North Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300  Phone: (508) 999-8423  Fax: (508) 999-8776  Email: varnold@umassd.edu
  Gene Johnson, Vice-Chair (Region)  Louisiana Tech University  Ruston, LA 71272-0001  Phone: (318) 257-4528  Fax: (318) 257-4253  Email: johnson@cab.latech.edu	Gail Wright, FASB Liaison-Chair  Bryant College  Smithfield, RI 02917-1284  Phone: (401) 232-6068  Fax: (401) 232-6319  Email: gwright@research1.bryant.edu
  Larry Ponemon, 1998 ABO Research Contribution–Chair  Price Waterhouse	Jane Kennedy, 1998 Outstanding Dissertation-Chair  University of Washington  Seattle, WA 98195-3200  Phone: (206) 543-6405  Fax: (206) 685-9392  Email: skennedy@u.washington.edu
  Alan Lord, Coordinator of Membership  Bowling Green State University  Bowling Green, OH 43403-0262  Phone: (419) 372-8045  Fax: (418) 372-2875  Email: alord@cba.bgsu.edu	John T. Rigsby, Working Paper Series Coordinator, Newsletter Editor  Mississippi State University  Mississippi State, MS 39762  Phone: (601) 325-1635  Fax: (601) 325-1646  Email: jrigsby@cobilan.msstate.edu
  Susan Haka, Bylaws Committee-Chair  Michigan State University  East Lansing, MI 46624-1122  Phone: (517)432-2920  Fax: (517)432-1101  Email: 18118cap@pilot.msu.edu	Jacob Birnberg, Publications Committee-Chair  University of Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh, PA 15260  Phone: (412) 648-1719  Fax: (412) 648-1693  Email: birnberg@katz.business.pitt.edu
  Jean Bedard, 1998 ABO Research Conference  Northeastern University  Boston, MA 02115  Phone: (617) 373-8368  Fax: (617) 373-8814  Email: jbedard@lynx.neu.edu	Don Finn, Editor-BRIA  Texas Tech University  Lubbock, TX 79409-2101  Phone: (806) 742-3181  Fax: (806) 742-2099  Email: oddon@ttacs.ttu.edu
  Leslie Kren, 1998 Annual Meeting Program Coordinator  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee  Milwaukee, WI 53201  Phone: (414) 229-6075  Fax: (414) 229-6957  Email: lkren@csd.uwm.edu

  Regional Coordinators

  Allen Schick, Mid-Atlantic USA  Morgan State University  Baltimore, MD 21251  Phone: (410) 319-3252  Fax: (410) 319-3721	Sandra Vera-Munoz, Midwest USA  University of Notre Dame  Notre Dame, IN 46556-0399  Phone: (219) 631-9041  Fax: (219) 631-5255  Email: vera-munoz.1@nd.edu
  Laurie Pant, Northeast USA  Suffolk University  Boston, MA 02108-2770  Phone: (617) 573-8394  Fax: (617) 573-8345  Email: lpant@suffolk.edu	Peter Poznanski, Ohio USA  Cleveland State University  Cleveland, OH 44115  Phone: (216) 687-4764  Fax: (216) 687-9212  Email: p.poznanski@csuohio.edu
  Michael Shields, Southeast USA  Michigan State University  East Lansing, MI 48824-1122  Phone: (517) 432-2918  Fax: (517) 432-1101	Michael Chiasson, Southwest USA  Nicholls State University  Thibodaux, LA 70310  Phone: (504) 448-4218  Fax: (504) 448-4922
  Jane Cote, Western USA  Washington State University  Pullman, WA 99164-4729  Phone: (509) 546-9756  Fax: (509) 335-4275  Email: cotej@vancouver.wsu.edu	Alan Dunk, Australia  University of Western Sydney  Kingswood, NSW2747  AUSTRALIA  Phone: (61 2) 96859216  Fax: (61 2) 96859339  Email: adunk@nepean.uws.edu.au
  Steve Salterio, Canada  University of Alberta  Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R6  CANADA  Phone: (403)492-7972  Fax: (403)492-3325  Email: Ssalteri@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca	Jan Mouritsen, Denmark  Copenhagen Business School
  Sue Llewellyn, Scotland  University of Edinburgh	Sten Jonsson, Sweden  UID Goteborg University
  Joan Annat, Spain  EADA

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  ACCOUNTING, BEHAVIOR AND ORGANIZATION SECTION OF THE AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION Treasurer's Report-Revised For the period July 1, 1996 to July 31, 1997

  Cash balance July 1, 1996	$30,862.21
  Cash inflows:
  • Membership dues	$21,226.00
  • Journal subscriptions, submission fees and sales	5,962.34
  • Sale of publications	509.75
  • 1996 Research Conference Registration	805.00
  • 1997 Research Conference Registration and fees	21,225.00
  • Miscellaneous income	105.25
  Total cash inflows	$49,833.34

   

  Cash outflow:
  • Journal (1996 Supplemental and Regular Issues-BRIA: postage, printing, mailing, AAA staff)	$ 18,740.95
  • ABO Monograph (printing and mailing)	9,292.75
  • ABO Reporter (postage, printing, mailing, AAA staff)	5,252.10
  • 1996 Research Conference (printing, postage, hotel, travel and speakers)	3,781.87
  • 1997 Research Conference (printing, postage, travel, speakers and miscellaneous)	6,691.85
  • 1997 Research Conference (hotel, food, audio visual)	11,586.05
  • Miscellaneous postage, AAA staff and committee	5,191.45
  • Dissertation Award	1,259.13
  • 1996 Year End Adjustment	30.00
  Total cash outflow	$ 61,826.15
  Net decrease in cash position	$ 11,992.81
  Cash balance July 31, 1997	$ 18,869.40

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  NOMINATIONS

  The Management Accounting Section of the AAA is interested in receiving nominations for the Most Outstanding Contribution to the Management Accounting literature published during the last five years. The publication may be a journal article, monograph, etc. The author(s) of the publication selected will receive a plaque and a check for $1,000 at the MAS meeting in New Orleans in August 1998.

  Nominations should be sent to Jacob Birnberg, Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, by February 1, 1998. A copy of the publication need not be submitted along with the nomination, although in the case of journal articles, this would be useful.  

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  1997 ABO OUTSTANDING DISSERTATION AWARD

  The winner of the 1997 ABO Section Outstanding Dissertation Award is Jay Thibodeau, currently an assistant professor at Bentley College. His dissertation is entitled "The Development of Knowledge Structures That Transfer Across Audit Domains." The dissertation was completed at the University of Connecticut under the guidance of Stanley Biggs. The award brings with it plaques for both Jay and Stanley and a $1,000 cash award for Jay. Congratulations from the ABO Section's Outstanding Dissertation Committee, consisting of Jane Kennedy, chair, University of Washington; Sandra Vera-Munoz, University of Notre Dame; and Khondkar Karim, Monmouth University.
  

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  1997 OUTSTANDING ABO DISSERTATION THE DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURES THAT TRANSFER ACROSS AUDIT DOMAINS By Jay C. Thibodeau, Ph.D., CPA Bentley College Granting Institution: University of Connecticut
  Dissertation Chairman: Stanley Biggs ABSTRACT

  The results of an experimental task administered to 60 in-charge accountants indicate that financial service auditors with loan credit review experience were more accurate than manufacturing auditors without loan credit review experience in their evaluations of "substantial doubt" made for the two firms in the novel industry context. For the two firms in the manufacturing industry context, there was no statistical difference between the accuracy of financial service auditors and manufacturing auditors. Moreover, the four evaluations of "substantial doubt" were completed by financial service auditors in significantly less time. Overall, these results suggest that certain loan credit review knowledge transfers to aid going concern decision-making performance.

  The results have both theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical perspective, the results show that certain types of knowledge can be transferred across tasks within auditing. In so doing, this study is the first to identify such transfer within auditing (Davis and Solomon 1989; Bédard and Chi 1993). From a practical perspective, the results reveal one way that an audit firm can improve the utilization of its existing firm knowledge. There may be other situations where knowledge developed for one audit task will transfer and aid judgment performance in another audit task. Thus, these results may provide the impetus for future knowledge transfer investigations.  

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  ANNOUNCEMENT OF 1998 ABO DISSERTATION AWARD  

  The Accounting, Behavior and Organizations Section of the American Accounting Association annually presents an award for the "Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation" on a behavioral or organizational topic.

  Dissertations completed during calendar year 1997 are eligible for the 1998 competition. Authors wishing to enter their dissertations should submit all required materials by March 15, 1998 to

  
  Jane Kennedy
  University of Washington
  Box 353200
  Seattle, WA 98195

  Submissions should include four copies of a summary, not to exceed 20 pages, that addresses the importance of the research question, an overview of the methodology employed, the data analysis, the major findings and future research ideas. Submissions should be accompanied by a letter from the dissertation committee's chair indicating that the document was accepted by the committee during calendar 1997. Finalists may be required to submit supplementary information in support of the dissertation (e.g., experimental instruments). The dissertation should not be submitted for competition simultaneously to other American Accounting Association sections.

  The winner will be announced at the ABO Section Meeting at the American Accounting Association's Annual Meeting in August 1998.  

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  THE 1997 NORDIC CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS STUDIES By Norman B. Macintosh

  During August and September I had the privilege of acting as a faculty member on both the Ph.D. Conference at the Nordic Conference on Business Studies in Bodo, Norway, and the week long Nordic Doctoral Student Seminar in Hofn, Iceland. Faculty included Wai Fong Chua (Australia), Ruth Hines (Denmark), Jake Birnberg (USA), Jan Morritsen (Denmark), Pekka Pirinen (Finland), Sten Jonsson and Thomas Polasie (Sweden), Lars Hassel and Forste Gjesdal (Norway), and Stefan Svavarsson (Iceland). A well-known agency theory academic was also invited but declined saying that he would feel out of place. Some highlights that might be of interest to ABO members, particularly those in the U.S. are:

  1. Behavioral accounting has a long, strong, unique and growing tradition in the Nordic countries. The research tends to feature ethnographic-interpretive field studies.

  2. Such studies recently look to an amalgam of institutional theory and lateral network theory of the kind developed recently by theorists like Latour and Calon. Some excellent work along these lines has been emerging in Europe and seems to have been almost totally ignored in the U.S. I recommend most highly to all ABO members Barbara Czarniawska's 1997 book, Narrating the Organization: Dramas of Institutional Identity, University of Chicago Press (ISBN 0-226-13229-3), which combines Latourian theory with neo-institutional theory. The book is an intellectual delight and an educational journey for "traditional" behavioral accounting types like myself.

  3. Sten Jonsson's Scandinavian Journal of Management was rated first in originality and practical implications by the ANBAR management journal and article review Accreditation Review Board, which has a distinguished panel of board members.

  Other noteworthy items for ABO members include:

  4. There is a great deal of interest in behavioral accounting research in the Nordic countries. For American members information, these countries include Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. In the main, the researchers spend a lot of time with one organization. A lot of work is done in government and public sector organizations, and researchers are just as interested in helping these organizations and publishing books as they are in publishing in academic journals outside their own country. This type of work has been very much downplayed (even denigrated) in the U.S., where the journals have been taken over by the economic theory zealots—this in spite of some excellent work by the likes of Covaleski and Dirsmith, Fogerty, Ansari and Euske, Preston et al., and Boland among others.

  5. Academics in these countries, however, are coming under more and more pressure to publish in refereed English-language journals. Try to imagine yourself writing an article in Finish or Icelandic. For them the premier journal in the world is Accounting, Organizations and Society, which recently was ranked second in the world of accounting journals by the Social Science Citation Index impact scores, behind the Journal of Accounting and Economics and ahead of the Journal of Accounting Research, with The Accounting Review a distant fourth. This is all the more noteworthy as the other three journals generally do not publish behavioral accounting articles. AOS follows an editorial policy of providing space for a range of perspectives and recognizes the larger international community of research and scholarship. Are there lessons here for Behavioral Research in Accounting, whose editorial board is exclusively American plus two Canadians?

  6. Another trend in the Nordic countries is the attempt to inform the field studies with some kind of theory or to use the results to inform and tinker with existing theories. Along these lines many researchers are looking to Neo Institutional theory in this regard.

  Personally, I like the Nordic countries, where community, egalitarianism, cooperation and the welfare of all take precedence over corporate and private sector interests, free-market ideology and private wealth. This is manifest in the way Ph.D. conferences put students research plans and projects ahead of faculty vested interests.

  Typically, each student gives a presentation of her or his research plans and progress, which is followed by constructive criticism from faculty and fellow students on method, theory, research sites and material that might be helpful to that individual. Compare this to the American Accounting Association doctoral consortium, which is faculty and paradigm-centered, and which promulgates a celebration of so-called mainstream research with its extremely narrow slice of economics-based theory. Only a very small percentage of AAA members engage in this kind of research, let alone read the papers in informational perspective dominated journals.

  In contrast, in the Nordic countries behavioral accounting research is held in the highest regard and is thriving. For the aspiring Ph.D.s, the top journal in the world is AOS, and one or two hits there makes a huge career boost. Many of these students, however, were not aware of our BRIA journal, indicating that we have not done a very good job of keeping in touch with our counterparts in that part of the world, which is a veritable hotbed of behavioral accounting research.

  A quick scan of BRIA issues since its inception did not unearth one article by a Nordic author. Several reasons for this come to mind. First, English is not the first language for Scandinavians. Yet for most of these aspiring Ph.D.s, they will have to publish in English. Second, there are over 150 journals which publish accounting research, most of which will accept behavioral research. For example, The European Accounting Review has come into being to specifically publish European research. Third, and perhaps more importantly, Nordic behavioral accounting research in the main tends to be of the ethnographic and field research genre, which has by and large been marginalized in the U.S. In the Nordic countries researchers go to the field, get close to the ground so to speak, rather than simulating a very narrow slice of the world in the laboratory, such as in the case of experimental economics research (cf., Baysian-Nash equilibrium experiments dominated by economic beliefs and payoffs treatments) prescribed currently as the paradigm for behavioral accounting in the U.S. and which is merely another playground for economic theory based accounting research.

  Ethnographic, interpretive, field study research tends to dominate, as the Nordic countries are keen to develop their own unique style of research rather than follow the British critical tradition or the American techno-instrumental behavioral or economic theory based (such as agency theory or experimental economics). As mentioned earlier, Nordic researchers prefer to get close to the ground so to speak, and develop theories about specific organizations and then see if they apply across similar organizations and maybe even more universal. Also they research a lot in the public sector which is changing much more rapidly than the pure profit-seeking companies.

  Constructing narratives about real organizations makes a lot of sense as the Nordic countries have a strong tradition in sagas. Importantly sagas were stories handed down orally, may or may not be "true," and later were written down and interpreted widely not only for their historical and cultural value but also for the lessons for today. They are not as worried if their research actually helps the organizations studied, and in fact many see this as one of their important roles as an academic.  

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  RESEARCH NOTE: ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH: AN OVERLOOKED RESEARCH APPROACH By Dr. Philip Siegel

  The purpose of this research note is to explore an overlooked research approach in accounting called ethnography. Ethnographic methods have been around for centuries. Herodotus in ancient Greece used ethnography to record variations in cultures. Ethnography describes cultures, enabling the researcher to better understand the lives and behavior of individuals within those cultures. Essentially, ethnography is learning from people, thereby understanding the meaning and actions of groups and individuals.

  Ethnography has three central characteristics: (1) the researcher is an instrument; (2) the research takes place in the field; and (3) data collection is cyclical. The researcher as an instrument indicates the significant role that the researcher plays in identifying, interpreting and analyzing the role of culture in the study. The researcher observes and records cultural data, frequently becoming a participant in the cultural environment. The researcher, in effect, tries to find out what it is like to be a member of that culture.

  The researcher, nonetheless, can rarely fully understand an insider or native's view, called emic. The emic view reflects the culture's language, beliefs and experiences. The researcher can only begin to access the emic view through data collection of the group members' journals, records or cultural artifacts. The importance of participant observation is the opportunity to access information using an outsider or etic view. This view involves interpretation of observed behavior. The process involves both description and interpretation of cultural patterns.

  The second aspect of ethnographic research is the location of the conduct of research, called field. The researcher goes to the physical place where the culture is located.

  The final characteristic is the cyclical nature of the data collection. The focus of the research usually is to learn about differences in human experiences in a particular culture. An important problem in ethnographic research, though, is that there tends to be no clear boundaries between differences in human experience, as well as similarities. The data collection process describes those differences and similarities which are found, often leading to other questions about the culture.

  Answering the other questions frequently leads to additional questions. The study, however, usually has to end because time and resources will not allow continuation, even though many questions likely remain unanswered. This continuing process provides the foundation for future research.

  Ethnographic research tries to make explicit what is implicit within a culture. Applying the methodology requires an understanding of what people do, say and how they relate to one another. It also involves learning people's cultures, beliefs and how meaning is derived from their experiences.

  When selecting ethnography as an approach to studying a culture or subculture, the accounting researcher should consider whether they have the time, resources and insight to carry out the study. The advantages of the approach are that it can enable the researcher to discover theories that are indigenous to a culture. It also can lead to a clearer understanding of complex social phenomena and human behavior.  

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  1998 ABO RESEARCH CONFERENCE October 16–17, 1998 Advance Meeting Announcement

  The Accounting, Behavior and Organizations Section of the American Accounting Association invites you to attend and participate in the 1998 ABO Research Conference. The Conference will be held on Friday and Saturday, October 16 and 17, 1998, in Orlando, Florida. Final registration details will be available in future editions of The ABO Reporter and Accounting Education News.
  Call for Papers

  Academicians, practitioners and doctoral students are invited to submit research papers for possible presentation at the meeting. Papers in all areas of behavioral accounting will be considered. Theoretical papers and papers based upon empirical research are appropriate. Diverse methodologies are encouraged, including field, experimental and critical research. Replications and extensions of previously published studies will be considered. Special consideration will be given to papers that address the efficiency and effectiveness of performance in accounting and auditing contexts.
  Call for Participants

  Persons interested in serving as paper reviewers, paper discussants or session chairs should send a letter or email with name, position and affiliation, complete address, telephone number, email address and other areas of interest to Professor Jeff Cohen, Boston College, at the address below.
  Conference Facilities

  The Conference will be held at Disney's newest resort, the Disney Coronado Springs Resort. A very reasonable rate of $115 per night (plus applicable taxes) has been negotiated for Conference participants. The resort features a Southwestern motif and is highlighted by colorful plazas, palm-shaded courtyards and a rocky shoreline surrounding a shimmering lake. There is a full-service restaurant and lounge, as well as a themed food court on site. The resort is centrally located near Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and is a neighbor to Disney's Animal Kingdom Park (opening Spring 1998). Airport shuttle service is available and there is free transportation from the resort to all Disney venues.
  Guidelines for Submission of Papers

  1. Papers should not have been published prior to the Conference.
  2. An original and four copies must be submitted. The four copies should not contain any author identification.3. The cover page should indicate the following information:a. Full names of authors.
  b. Positions and affiliations.
  c. Complete address.
  d. Telephone and fax numbers.

  4. Papers should be prepared according to the reference and footnote guidelines of the American Accounting Association (see Behavioral Research in Accounting).

  5. Papers accepted for presentation may, at the option of the author, be considered for publication in Behavioral Research in Accounting (BRIA) or Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (AABR). Authors should indicate at the time of conference submission if the paper should also be considered for journal publication. Authors should indicate if they would like the paper to be considered for publication in BRIA, AABR or both journals. Papers considered for journal publication will be reviewed in accordance with the review procedures for the selected journal.

  6. Papers should be sent to Professor Jean Bedard, Northeastern University, at the address below.
  Important Dates

  May 1, 1998 - Final date for submission of papers and notice of participant's interest.
  Non-refundable submission fee for papers is $50, payable to AAA/ABO.
  June 30, 1998 - Notification of acceptance of papers.September 11, 1998 - Deadline for conference registration. Early registration fee is $195 ($145 for submitting authors, one per paper; $65 for doctoral students).October 16–17, 1998 - Conference dates.Conference Coordinators

  Professor Jean C. Bedard  Northeastern University  Dept. of Accounting  404 Hayden Hall  Boston, MA 02115  Phone: (617) 373-8368  Fax: (617) 373-8814M  Email:bedard@neu.edu	Professor Jeffrey Cohen  Boston College  Carroll School of Management  Fulton Hall  Chestnut Hill, MA 02167  Phone: (617) 552-3165  Fax: (617) 552-2097  Email:cohen@bc.edu	Professor Dennis Hanno  Univ. of Massachusetts  School of Management  Dept. of Accounting  Amherst, MA 01003  Phone: (413) 545-5658  Fax: (413) 545-3858  Email: dhanno@acctg.umass.edu

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  ACCOUNTING, BEHAVIOR AND ORGANIZATION SECTION OF THE AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION FOURTH ANNUAL AAA/ABO RESEARCH CONFERENCE REPORT ON PAPER SUBMISSIONS/PRESENTATIONS  

  Seleshi Sisaye Duquense University

Paper Submissions

• 41 paper submissions

• Each paper was blindly reviewed by two reviewers.

Papers Accepted for Presentation

• Twenty-nine papers were accepted for presentations (acceptance rate 70.7 percent).

• Of these, five papers accepted for table sessions (20.8 percent).

• Twenty-four papers were accepted for regular research paper sessions (49.9@50 percent).

• Three invited paper presentations.

Panels and Other Organized Paper Sessions

• Plenary panel session—invited presentation

• Panel on Emerging Information Technology Issues: Opportunities for Behavioral Research, organized by Bonnie W. Morris, West Virginia University

• Two Research Paper Sessions on Career and Gender Issues in CPA Firms; and Fuzzy Sets Methodology, organized by Philip H. Siegel, Monmouth University

1997 BRIA Supplement

• 
  Ten papers of those accepted for presentation have been revised and resubmitted for the Supplement. Papers are still under the review process.  

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ATTENTION BEHAVIORAL RESEARCHERS!   University of Southern California Maastricht University Nanyang Technological University and University of New South Wales Present: THE 1998 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON AUDIT RESEARCH June 25–26, 1998 Hosted by School of Accounting University of New South Wales Sydney 2052 Australia http://pacioli.ace.unsw.edu.au/isar Return to the Table of Contents

1997 ABO WORKING PAPER SERIES  
By JOHN T. RIGSBY, School of Accountancy Mississippi State University

Arizona State University

• Whitecotton, Stacey, and Stephen Butler. Influencing Decision Aid Reliance Through Involvement in the Information Selection Process.

Boston College

• Cohen, Jeffrey R., and G. Trompeter. Audit Practice Development in an Environment with Multiple Accountabilities.
• Cohen, Jeffrey R., L. Pant, and D. Sharp. The Effect of Gender and Academic Discipline Diversity on the Ethical Awareness of Potential Public Accounting Recruits.
• Cohen, Jeffrey R., G. Krishnamoorty, and A. Wright. The Integration of Financial and Nonfinancial Trends in Analytical Review.
• Cohen, Jeffrey R., and D. Hanno. Auditors Consideration of Corporate Governance and Management Control Philosophy in Audit Planning and Client Acceptance Decisions.
• Cohen, Jeffrey R., L. Pant, and D. Sharp. Are Women Held to a Higher Moral Standard Than Men? Gender Bias Among University Students.
• Cohen, Jeffrey R., G. Krishnamoorty, and A. Wright. Evidence on the Effect of Financial and Nonfinancial Trends on Hypothesis Generation.

Brigham Young University

• Swain, Monte, and Susan Haka. Capital Budgeting Decisions: Information Load, Experience, and Carry-Over Effects.

College of William and Mary

• Brazelton, Julia K. Decision-Makers Reveal Priorities for Tax Systems.

East Carolina University

• Mason, J. David, and Linda Levy. Development and Application of Tax Advocacy Scale.

Monmouth University

• Siegel, Philip H., and K. Karim. Towards a Theory of Governance of Contractual Relations.
• Siegel, Philip H., T. Scandura, and L. Howard. The Cognitive Structure of Equity Components.

Simon Fraser University

• Emby, Craig, Alec Gelardi, and D. Jordan Lowe. Outcome Knowledge and Hindsight Effects: Audit Partners' Going Concern Judgements and Peer Evaluations.

Suffolk University

• Bhattacherjee, Sudip, Thomas Kida, and Dennis Hanno. The Impact of Hypothesis Set Size on the Time Efficiency and Accuracy of Diagnostic Decision Makers.

University of Alberta

• Salterio, Steven, and Ross Denham. Organization Memory in Public Accounting Firms: The Role of Accounting Consultation Units.
• Scott, Thomas, and Peter Tiessen. Performance Measurement and Management Teams.
• Gibbins, Michael, and Steven Salterio. Negotiation as the Auditor's Response to the Client's Wishes About Financial Accounting and Disclosure Choices.

University of Baltimore

• Schiff, Andrew, and Regina Bento. The Use of Financial and Nonfinancial Measures for Evaluating Managerial Performance: An Attributional Interpretation.

University of Central Florida

• Bailey, Charles D. Attitudes Towards Business: A Questionnaire Instrument.

University of Colorado at Denver

• Levy, Linda. The Effect of Documentation and Client Preference on the Aggressiveness of Tax Practitioners' Judgments.

University of Essex

• Arnold, Tony. The Effects of Accounting Disclosure Practices on Corporate Profitability Measures in the U.K. in the First Quarter of the Twentieth Century.
• Arnold, Tony. Profitability and Capital Accumulation in British Industry During the Transwar Period, 1913–24.
• Baker, C. Richard, and Michael Sherer. A Comparison of British and American Approaches to Auditors' Liability Under Common Law.
• Broadbent, Jane, Kerry Jacobs, and Richard Laughlin. Organizational Responses to Unwanted Accounting and Finance Changes with Specific Reference to General Medical Practice in the U.K. and New Zealand: Institutional Isomorphism or Organizational Resistance or Both?
• King, Ian, and Andrew Rowe. Spaced Out: Re-Presenting the Potential of Team (Collective) Learning for Organizations.
• Laughlin, Richard. A Critical Analysis of Financial Accountability Systems with Specific Reference to Local Government Authorities in the U.K.
• Manson, Stuart, Sean McCartney, and Michel Sherer. The Use of Information Technology in the Audit Process: Illustrations from Two Big 6 Audit Firms.
• Puxty, Anthony, Prem Sikka, and Hugh Willmott. Mediating Interests: The Accountancy Bodies' Responses to the McFarlane Report.
• Sikka, Prem. Resisting the Auditing Industry: The Case of the Sound Diffusion Group.

University of Illinois at Chicago

• Riahi-Belkaoui. Ahmed. Elaborated vs. Restricted Communication Codes in Accounting.

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

• Brown, Clifton, Mark Peecher, and Ira Solomon. Confirmation Proneness in Auditors' Hypothesis Formation and Testing Processes.

University of New South Wales

• Baxter, Jane, and William P. Birkett. Be(com)ing the Manager of a Finance Function: Three Vignettes of Accounting in Action.

University of South Carolina

• DeZoort, Todd, and Steven Salterio. The Effects of Experience and Knowledge on Audit Committee Members' Performance of Financial Reporting Oversight Tasks.

University of South Florida

• Hunton, James, Dan N. Stone, and Benson Wier. Modeling the Determinants of Success in Managerial Accounting.

University of Texas at Austin

• Anderson, Urton, and Lisa Koonce. Evaluating the Sufficiency of Causes in Audit Analytical Procedures.
• Hirst, Eric, and Lisa Koonce. The Effect of Management Credibility and Earnings Forecast Precision on Investor Judgement.
• Hirst, Eric, and Lisa Koonce. The Impact of Analyst Type and Argument Type on Investor Reactions to Financial Analysts' Research Reports.
• Hirst, Eric, Lisa Koonce, and Fred Phillips. Analytical Procedures: A Need for Reasoning Skills and Business Knowledge.

University of Texas at El Paso

• Braun, Gary P., Mary A. Gowan, and John M. Strefeler. Content vs. Context of Finding a Better Occupational Fit: A Test of the Gravitational Hypothesis in Accounting Career Choice.
• Braun, Gary P. Auditors' Assertion-Level Inherent Risk Assessments: A Descriptive Analysis.

University of Washington

• Kennedy, Jane, and Mark E. Peecher. Judging Auditors' Technical Knowledge.
• Kennedy, Jane, Don N. Kleinmuntz, and Mark E. Peecher. Determinants of the Justifiability of Performance in Ill-Structured Audit Tasks.

University of Wisconsin

• Sprinkle, Geoffrey B., and Richard M. Tubbs. The Effects of Audit Risk and Information Importance on Auditor Memory During Working Paper Review.
   

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OUTSTANDING BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AWARD NOMINATIONS

Nominations are being accepted for the Outstanding Behavioral Research Award until March 31, 1998.

Please forward nominations to Professor Don Finn, member of the Outstanding Behavioral Research Award Committee, at the address below or email the nomination to oddon@coba2.ttu.edu.

Award criteria include:

1. Relevance to behavioral accounting research (includes the results of systematic scholarly inquiries into the broad field of accounting);
2. Notable contributions to behavioral accounting research and knowledge; and
3. Impact or potential impact on other research in the field of accounting.

Professor Don Finn
Area of Accounting
College of Business Administration
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX 79409-2101

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ATTENTION MEMBERS! REMEMBER TO CHECK THE "RIGHT" BOX By Gene Johnson Vice-Chair, Regions

Many times some of the best behavioral papers seem to find their way into other sections of our programs, such as auditing, managerial or gender issues. I'm not sure why this happens. Perhaps it is attributable to the rather vague notion a lot of our colleagues have about "behavioral" accounting research, perhaps there is a perception about the likelihood of acceptance, or perhaps the issue is more procedural in nature. Regardless, it seems appropriate to remind the Regional Coordinators and our membership in general of one important thing—make sure to check the ABO section box on the paper submission form. If a co-author is submitting the paper, please remind them to check the ABO box. If you know of someone who is submitting a manuscript of a behavioral "flavor," suggest that they check that box as well. Finally, if you know the person coordinating the manuscript review process for your region, suggest that they do two things: (1) list the sections alphabetically on the submission form (that puts us first); and (2) be looking for papers that could be routed to our section. This is particularly important this year because of the manuscript competition the ABO Section is sponsoring.  

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CALL FOR WORKING PAPERS

If you have working papers in the behavioral area that you would like to share with fellow ABO Section members, then email (or mail!) information regarding (1) the authors, (2) their schools and (3) the title of the working paper to me. You do not have to send a copy of the paper to me. Interested parties will contact the authors to get a copy of the paper.

To illustrate:
Cohen, Jeffrey R. and G. Trompeter, Boston College.
Audit Practice Development in an Environment with Multiple Accountabilities.

I really do appreciate the response of researchers around the world to requests for their working papers, and would like to express my appreciation for your cooperation! Please send your working papers to:

John T. Rigsby
Drawer EF
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Email: jrigsby@cobilan.msstate.edu

THANKS!  

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CALL FOR PAPERS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED QUALITY MANAGEMENT, VOLUME 2

The IJAQM is a refereed journal intended to bridge the gap between academic researchers and practitioners by publishing relevant and readable articles to both audiences. The journal is a forum for debate, position papers and interpretations of new developments. Timely reviews will be provided, normally within eight weeks. The author must state in the submission letter that the work is not submitted or published elsewhere. Four copies of the manuscript and four abstracts along with a $45.00 nonrefundable submission fee payable to International Journal of Applied Quality Management (IJAQM) should be sent to:

Dr. Philip H. Siegel
School of Professional Accountancy
College of Management
Long Island University—C.W. Post
Brookville, NY 11548-0570  

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Please remember the ABO manuscript competition for papers submitted to Regional Conferences. ABO regional coordinators will name the best behavioral papers presented at each regional meeting. The author(s) of these papers will receive an award and recognition in the newsletter. Each of these papers will then be considered for the most outstanding ABO regional research award. The winner of this award will be announced and recognized at the AAA Annual Meeting, as well in the newsletter.

For more information, contact your regional ABO coordinator or Gene Johnson at (318) 257-3984 or johnson@cab.latech.edu. Remember, you must submit the paper as a behavioral paper to be eligible!!!  

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (AABR) publishes articles encompassing all areas of accounting that incorporate theory from and contribute new knowledge and understanding to the fields of applied psychology, sociology, management science and economics. The journal is primarily devoted to original empirical investigations; however, critical review papers, theoretical analyses, and methodological contributions are welcome. The journal especially welcomes manuscripts that integrate accounting issues with organizational behavior, human judgement/decision making and cognitive psychology.

Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that the same work has not been previously published, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that its submission for publication has been approved by all of the authors. Articles published in AABR represent the opinions of the author(s) and should not be construed to reflect the opinions of the editor, associate editors or publisher.

Manuscripts should be double-spaced, formatted with one inch margins all around, typeset using a 12-point proportional font (such as Times Roman), and printed on one side of high quality white paper. Authors are requested to follow the instructions provided by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 4^th ed., 1994 (see the Journal of Applied Psychology for formatting examples).

Four copies of the manuscript should be submitted, along with four copies of any experimental materials or survey instruments. The first page of the manuscript should contain the article title, names and affiliations of all authors, and complete mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the corresponding author. The second page should contain the article title and an abstract. Pages should be consecutively numbered, beginning with the abstract page. Manuscripts will be reviewed by an associate editor and two blind reviewers.

Please send submissions and a $25.00 processing fee (make checks payable to AABR/USF) to the following address:
James E. Hunton, Editor
Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
School of Accountancy
College of Business Administration
University of South Florida
4202 East Fowler Avenue, BSN 3403Tampa, FL 33620-5500

AABR intends to provide the accounting research community with a high quality publication outlet for the growing body of accounting behavioral research. The editor and associate editors of Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research look forward to receiving your manuscripts.  

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NEW ORLEANS, LA. 1998 AAA ANNUAL MEETING August 16-19, 1998 Advance Meeting Announcement

Call for ABO Paper Submissions and Reviewers

The ABO Section solicits both paper submissions and volunteers to be reviewers for the 1998 AAA Annual Meeting. All areas of behavioral accounting research are of interest to the section and we strongly urge you to submit your quality behavioral papers to the ABO segment of the program. The number of paper sessions the section will be allocated at the New Orleans meeting is entirely dependent on the number of submissions we receive. The more papers submitted to the ABO Section, the more ABO paper sessions that will appear in the 1998 program.

The submission form and guidelines will appear in the next Accounting Education News. Please follow the guidelines carefully—not forgetting to include the cover form, submission fee and sufficient copies of the manuscript. All papers should be sent in time to be received by the submission deadline. Papers should be submitted to the ABO Section liaison to the 1998 AAA Annual Meeting:

Professor Les Kren
School of Business
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI 53201
Phone: (414) 229-6075
Email: lkren@csd.uwm.edu

If you are interested in being a reviewer, please call, write or e-mail your name, address and area of research specialization.  

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED QUALITY MANAGEMENT Volume I (1998) TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is This Thing Called Quality?
    Surendra P. Agrawal
A Neutral Network Approach to Mentoring the Quality of Production Processes
    James H. Hamburg, David E. Booth, and G. Jay WeinrothMaking New Wine: Management Accounting Systems
    Monte R. Swain and Eric L. DerraCreating Value for the Consumer at Barrett Bank! A Qualitative Study
    David PaperSimulation Analysis of Vision Inspection Using the Fault Tolerance Principle
    Ling Ling Par and Rick Niswarger
A Critical Analyses of Total Quality Management
    Satish Menra, Joyce M. Hoffman, and Danilo Serias  

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BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH IN ACCOUNTING Volume 10 (1998) TABLE OF CONTENTS

Invited Review
Comparing and Contrasting Two New Resources for the Behavioral Accounting Researcher
    Jacob G. Birnberg, Vicky B. Hoffman and Donald V. Moser

Main Articles
Critical Analysis and Recommendations Regarding the Role of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty (PEU) in Behavioral Accounting Research
    Walter G. Tymon, Jr., David E. Stout and Karyll N. Shaw

An Examination of Potential Gender-Based Differences in Audit Managers’ Performance Evaluation Judgments
    Eric N. Johnson, Steven E. Kaplan and Philip M. J. Reckers

The Use of Outcome Feedback and Task Property Information By Subjects With Accounting Domain Knowledge to Predict Financial Distress
    Brad Tuttle and Morris Stocks

The Existence of Multiple Measures of Organizational Commitment and Experience-Related Differences in a Public Accounting Setting
    Alice A. Ketchand and Jerry R. Strawser

An Examination of the Validity of a New Measure of Moral Judgment
    John T. Sweeney and Dann G. Fisher

An Examination of Factors influencing Financial Reporting Decisions of Small Business Owner-Managers
    Peggy A. Hite

Going Concern Judgments: An Economic Perspective
    Robert R. Tucker and Ella Mae Matsumura

Instructions to Authors  

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ACCOUNTING AUDITING & ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNAL Volume 10; Number 1 CONTENTS

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ACCOUNTING AUDITING & ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNAL Volume 10; Number 2 CONTENTS

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