Disciplines: Accounting 1 Title Experimental Research in Accounting 2 Faculty Prof. R. Lynn Hannan, PhD (Georgia State University) http://robinson.gsu.edu/fac_db/displayuser.aspx?ref=name&firstname=r.%20lynn&last name=hannan rhannan@gsu.edu 3 Outline 3.1 Issues The course covers recent experimental studies from the Financial and Managerial Accounting Areas that apply behavioral decision theory, psychology, and economics to address a variety of accounting research questions. The course focuses on recent work by the leading experimental researchers in Financial and Managerial Accounting. The goals of this course are to familiarize students with recent experimental research in accounting, to help students develop the skills necessary to critically evaluate such research to help students develop rigorous experimental designs for conducting their own research. 3.2 Course format The course will start with an introductory lecture and exercise session on critiquing studies and developing rigorous experimental designs. The remaining sessions will allow the students to hone their skills via in-depth discussions critiquing extant research papers. Discussion papers cover a variety of topics and research designs in order to expose the students to a wide array of acceptable approaches to experimental research. Discussions will focus on critiquing theory development and experimental design, and on assessing the incremental contribution of the study; data analysis will be discussed when warranted. Students will be expected to have read the assigned papers intensively before class and to fully participate in the critique of the papers. I will begin each discussion session with a short background lecture and provide guidance throughout the discussion to ensure that key concepts are covered. There will be a final exam at the end of the course. The language of the course is English. 3.3 Selected literature The assigned literature consists of the accounting research articles listed in Section 4.0. 1/5
4 Administration 4.1 Schedule (tentative) Day I (June 20, 2011) 10:00 10:30 Arrival of participants, reception, check-in and introduction 10:30 12:00 Designing and critiquing experimental research in accounting Kinny, W. 1986. Empirical accounting research design for Ph.D. students. The Accounting Review: 338-350. Libby, R. 1981. Accounting and Human Information Processing: Theory and Applications: Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall. pages 10-15 only. Judgments in financial accounting- expectations and complexity Clor-Proell, S. M., 2009. The effects of expected and actual accounting choices on judgments and decisions. The Accounting Review 84(5): 1465-1494. Hodder, L., P.E. Hopkins, and D.A. Wood. 2008. The effects of financial statement and informational complexity on analysts cash flow forecasts. The Accounting Review 83(4): 915-956. Day II (June 21, 2011) Contracting in multi-agent environments Hannan, R. L., K. L. Towry and Y. Zhang. 2011. Mutual monitoring in tournaments: The moderating effect of goal orientation. Working paper, Georgia State University. Maas, V. S., M. van Rinsum, and K. L. Towry. 2010. Subjective performance evaluation and social preferences. Working Paper, Emory University. Motivating performance in multi-task environments Kachelmeier, S. J., B. E. Reichert, and M. G. Williamson. 2008. Measuring and motivating quantity, creativity, or both. Journal of Accounting Research 46(2): 341-373. Choi, W., G. Hecht, and W.B. Tayler. 2010. Lost in translation: The effects of incentive compensation on strategy surrogation. Working paper, Emory University. 2/5
Day III (June 22, 2011) Judgments in financial accounting - investors Hales J., J. Kuang, and S. Venkataraman. 2010. Who believes the hype? An experimental examination of how language affects investor judgments. Journal of Accounting Research, forthcoming Thayer, J., 2011. Determinants of investors information search: Credibility and confirmation. The Accounting Review 86(1): 1-22. Information effects in financial and management accounting Erickson, D., Hewitt, M., L. Maines, 2011. Do smooth earnings lower investors' perceptions of investment risk?" Working paper, Indiana University. Tafkov, I.D. 2011. Private and public relative performance information under different incentive systems. Working Paper, Georgia State University. Day IV (June 23, 2011) Corporate Social Resposibility - financial reporting and contracting effects Martin, P. R., and D. V. Moser. 2011. The impact of the societal benefits of green initiatives and related disclosures in a market environment." Working paper, University of Pittsburgh Balakrishnan, R., G.B. Sprinkle, and M.G. Williamson. 2010. Contracting benefits of corporate giving: An experimental investigation. Working paper, University of Iowa 13:00 15:00 In-class exam 15:00 16:00 Review of exam and wrap up 3/5
4.2 Location Universität Hamburg 4.3 Max. number of participants The number of participants is limited to 20. 4.4 Cost The course fee amounts to EUR 600. 5 Content Course content consists of a sampling of recent research by the leading experimentalists in financial and managerial accounting. Content ranges from cognitive-based research, embedded in institutionally-rich context to economics-based research, embedded in abstract contexts. Most of the papers fall somewhere between these two extremes, and thus, allows the students to observe and crique the pros and cons of various approaches to theory and experimental design. 6 Prerequisites Students should have read accounting research published in the premier academic journals. Students do not need any background in experimental research, although experimental design and data analyses courses would be beneficial. 7 Course Material 7.1 Essential Reading Material Articles listed in Section 4.0. These will be provided to the students prior to the class. 7.2 Additional Reading Material The following background materials are optional and will not be provided to the students. Bonner, S. E., 2007. Judgment and Decision Making in Accounting. Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River NJ. Bonner, S. E., and G. B. Sprinkle. 2002. The effects of monetary incentives on effort and task performance: Theories, evidence, and a framework for research. Accounting, Organizations, and Society 27: 303-345. Chow, C. W., and P. D. Harrison. 2002. Identifying meaningful and significant topics for research and publications: An interview study of influential accounting authors. Journal of Accounting Education 20: 183-203. Libby, R., R. Bloomfield, and M. W. Nelson. 2002. Experimental research in financial accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society 27: 775-810. 4/5
Luft, J. and M. Shields. 2003. Mapping management accounting: Graphics and guidelines for theory-consistent empirical research. Accounting, Organizations and Society 28(2-3):169-279. Maines, L. A., G. L. Salamon, and G. B. Sprinkle(2006). An Information Economic Perspective on Experimental Research in Accounting. Behavioral Research in Accounting 18: 85-102 Sprinkle, G. 2003. Perspectives on experimental research in managerial accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society 28(2 3): 287 318. 8 To Prepare All participants are required to read the essential reading material prior to the course. 9 Assessment The grade will depend on Class participation: You are expected to have read the discussion papers intensely. During the discussion of these papers, you should raise issues, ask questions, contribute your knowledge, and challenge the opinions of others, including mine. A two-hour in-class exam, offered on the last day. 10 Credits The course (including the exam) is eligible for 6 ECTS. 5/5