Journal of Undergraduate Research

Kaleb Norwald and Jake Thornock, Accounting Introduction Companies are sometimes required to pay taxes on events that have not yet occurred. This tax is called a deferred tax asset or DTA. These companies will receive a refund on this special type of tax, but the refund won’t be dispersed until years later. (Sometimes, this can […]

Nathan Mecham, Dr. Melissa Lewis-Western, and Dr. David Wood, Accounting Department Introduction Pornography use has increased significantly over the past twenty years, mostly due to the Internet. The Internet has increased access, affordability, and anonymity of pornography which are the driving forces for the increase in pornography consumption both at home and in the workplace. […]

Scott Tolton and Michael Drake, School of Accountancy We behave differently when we are being watched. A large body of research finds that when observed, individuals are more likely to act in accordance with the perceived expectations or desires of the observer as a means to achieve a specific goal (e.g., positive appraisal, promotion, penalty […]

Drew Allen and David Wood, Accounting In order to ensure accurate financial reporting, deter fraud, and safeguard assets, companies implement internal controls throughout their organization. Internal controls can be something as simple as requiring a manager to sign off on all expenses or having two people present to handle and count cash receipts. Without these controls, companies […]

Andrew Petersen and William Tayler, Accounting Introduction The purpose of this project was to test whether wearing a fitness tracker, such as a Fitbit, induces wearers to increase their physical activity. We believe that when wearers know that their physical activity is being measured, they will accelerate their physical activity. To test this hypothesis, we needed […]

Hannah Whipple, Bryan Stewart, and Doug Prawitt; School of Accountancy Introduction As watchdogs of public companies’ financial reporting, auditors have the responsibility to attest whether a firm’s financial statements fairly represent its finances. As such, auditors are subject to professional standards to ensure high-quality audits. At times, however, auditors fail to meet these standards with their […]

Noah Myers and Dr. David Wood, School of Accountancy Introduction In recent years, companies have increasingly turned to large software solutions known as ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems to centralize and streamline their accounting information systems. However, this centralization has caused tension with end users because of the system’s rigid structure and unfamiliarity to employees. […]

Artem Davletshin and Dr. Ted Christensen, School of Accountancy One of the key voluntary disclosures managers can provide to investors is an earnings forecast prior to the end of the accounting period. An earnings forecast (often called earnings guidance) can help investors and financial analysts to more easily forecast future performance and to make more […]