Master of Technology Management (MTM), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Technology Management/Quality Systems

In the contemporary landscape of digital information, safeguarding data integrity has become imperative for organizations across various industries alike. This thesis addresses the escalating challenges associated with potential compromises to data integrity and introduces a framework tailored for effective risk mitigation. Through an in-depth examination of current available data, this research identifies vulnerabilities that expose systems to integrity threats, drawing insights from existing literature and pertinent case studies. The proposed framework synthesizes industry best practices, integrating key elements such as encryption, authentication, and continuous monitoring. Emphasizing a proactive stance, the framework aligns with established industry standards and regulatory guidelines to establish a robust defense against threats, both internal and external. Real-world applications of failure stories are examined to validate the framework's effectiveness, or lack thereof, in diverse organizational settings. This research aims to make a meaningful contribution to the field of data integrity security by offering practical solutions to the complex challenge of data integrity risks in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. There are numerous similarities between these two industries, one of which being that each have the same rigorous data integrity requirements which must be met, therefore the framework constructed within this document is applicable to both industries alike. The insights derived from this study are intended to empower organizations, enabling them to fortify their digital and personnel infrastructure and maintain the resilience and trustworthiness of their data in the face of an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Committee: Christopher Kluse Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Mohammed Abouheaf Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Management; Technology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Business: Business Administration

Business connections, including firms connected through the same investors and audit committee chairs connected via professional social network, play vital roles in the quality of firms' financial statements and tax related decision-making. Business connections can facilitate the flow of information and the sharing of knowledge, enabling firms to make accounting and tax decisions more efficiently and to better serve their stakeholders. This dissertation comprises two essays that investigate how business connections affect firms' financial accounting quality and tax avoidance decisions. In Essay I, I examine the effect of common ownership on tax avoidance. Common ownership can lead to reductions in agency costs, implementation costs, and outcome costs. These reductions, in turn, facilitate tax avoidance strategies within commonly owned firms, ultimately benefiting their investors. Additionally, due to the presence of a stronger corporate governance system, commonly owned firms are better equipped to enhance their internal information environment, enabling more accurate and efficient processing tax-related information. The empirical findings are consistent with these hypotheses, revealing a positive correlation between common ownership and tax avoidance, as well as a positive association between common ownership and the internal information quality. These results suggest that common ownership fosters tax avoidance practices and benefits shareholders, and the improved internal information environment serves as a conduit for managers to implement their tax avoidance strategies. A falsification test and a difference-in-differences analysis are conducted to address potential self-selection biases and path analysis is employed to reinforce the mediating role of internal information environment. In Essay II, we examine how audit committee professional networks impact firm audit quality and audit committee social networks. Specifically, we exam an audi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Nan Zhou Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Alexander Borisov (Committee Member); Adam Olson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Linna Shi Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Accounting

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Accounting

The subprime crisis and subsequent credit crunch that began in late 2007 and early 2008 had crippling effects on the world's largest economy which led to significant deterioration in the financing ability of all but the most highly rated corporate, municipal, and consumer credit institutions. The credit rating agencies play a vital role in the financing of firms in our economy. The difference of a single rating category can often mean a 100 basis point differential. Thus, even the smallest drop in rating category could cost firms very significant amounts in financing. This illustrates the importance of understanding what information is used as well as what information is not used by credit rating agencies in the credit rating process. This dissertation provides evidence on the association between credit ratings and important firm characteristics documented in the extant literature including real activities manipulation, audit quality, and corporate governance. I also examine whether credit default swaps are associated with these firm characteristics. Main sample results indicate there is a strong, negative association between real activities manipulation and firm credit ratings. Further, results show a positive and significant association of audit quality with ratings. Moreover, main sample testing provides weak evidence of a positive association between corporate governance and firm credit ratings; however, this relationship is limited to governance committee existence. Additionally, main sample results provide evidence of a causal link between real activities manipulation, audit quality, and ratings. Managing real activities through deep price discounts to accelerate timing of sales and overproducing inventory to reduce cost of goods sold are linked to future rating downgrades. Beyond this, higher levels of manipulation in general, are linked to future rating downgrades. Some evidence suggests that, under certain conditions, higher audit quality may l (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Pervaiz Alam (Committee Chair); Timothy Miller (Committee Member); Alfred Guiffrida (Committee Member); Xiaoling Pu (Committee Member) Subjects: Accounting

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2016, Management

The rich store of audit quality research and steady improvements to auditing standards over the decades have not yielded the desired impact on audit quality. While most litigations following corporate failure naming auditors as defendants tend to accuse auditors of lack of independence, objectivity and willful participation in fraud, the impact of these character dimensions on audit quality has not been fully explored. Professional accounting bodies impress upon their members to be independent in fact and in appearance, be objective and exhibit integrity in their decisions about their clients' financials statement, yet, not much is known about how independence, objectivity, and integrity impact audit quality. Secondly, not much is known about how auditors enact independence, objectivity, and integrity on an audit engagement. Also, inputs from auditors have been quite underutilized in audit quality research in recent years, yet auditors are the people who implement changes in auditing standards and regulations. This dissertation focuses on the very character dimensions that auditors tend to be accused of lacking to examine the impact of independence, objectivity, integrity, and environmental constraints on audit quality. Guided by institutional theory and the theory of negotiated order, a multi-staged, three-part sequential mixed methods study consisting of one quantitative and two qualitative studies were conducted using responses from audit managers. Survey responses from auditors in the United Kingdom and the United States were used to perform an exploratory theoretical study of the impact of Independence, Objectivity, Integrity, and Constraints on Audit Quality. The second study was conducted to identify a highly constrained business environment where the impact of Independence, Objectivity, and Integrity on Audit Quality could be validated. Following the second study, a third study was conducted to understand the effects of the institutional environment on au (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Richard Boland Jr (Committee Chair); Timothy Fogarty (Committee Member); Kalle Lyytinen (Committee Member); Nicholas Berente (Committee Member) Subjects: Accounting

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Ohio University, 2012, Business Administration

As the Big 8 public accounting firms condensed into the Big 4, the government and large public companies have expressed growing concern over the high levels of concentration. However, there are realistic scenarios that could lead to an even more concentrated Big firm audit market. This research studies the effects that a more concentrated audit market would have on the financial markets. In particular, it examines how the financial markets would perceive audit quality from the Big firms and the next-tier of public accounting firms.

Committee: E. Ann Gabriel CPA, CGMA, PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Accounting

PHD, Kent State University, 2007, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Accounting

The accounting profession has recently been affected by major financial reporting scandals and regulatory changes. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 made changes to several engagement-specific characteristics with the ultimate aim of improving auditor independence. Accounting research is currently investigating these recent regulatory changes and how they affect the accounting profession. Although the entire accounting profession has been affected by these regulations, most accounting research focuses only on Big-audit firms. This study examines the effect of recent regulatory changes on Second-Tier audit firms. Agency theory focuses on the relationship between the principal and the agent. The agent has certain obligations, which he fulfills for the principal by virtue of the economic contract. The important concept in the agency relationship is the selection of the appropriate governance mechanism between the principal and the agent that will ensure an efficient alignment of the principal's and the agent's interests. Therefore, agency theory is an appropriate framework to demonstrate and explain the effect of recent regulations on audit firms. Audit firms are expected to assist the principal (stockholders) in monitoring the agent (management) of the firm. I address four research questions that are motivated by agency theory. First, I examine whether clients of Second-Tier audit firms incur higher audit fees subsequent to the recent accounting regulation. My second research question is whether quality of audits provided by Second-Tier audit firms is expected to improve due to recent regulations and rulings, especially in the post-SOX period. Third, I investigate whether clients of Second-Tier audit firms experience a higher cost of capital compared to clients of Big-audit firms. Finally, I address the question of whether there is a relationship between clients of Second-Tier audit firms and the backdating of executive stock options (ESOs). I expect a positive relations (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Pervaiz Alam (Advisor) Subjects: Business Administration, Accounting