Ronald A. Davidson

Relationship of study approach and exam performance

Abstract This study considers the relationship between study approach and examination performance. The data show a significant relationship between performance on complex examination questions and the use of a deep study approach, ceteris paribus. No significant relationships occur between the use of a deep study approach and performance on questions that are less complex or between the use of a surface study approach and any examination results. The findings also show that prior academic achievement, as indicated by cumulative GPA, and motivation for taking the course, as indicated by students’ plans to seek an accounting job, are the best predictors of examination performance. These findings imply that accounting educators should encourage students to develop and use a deep study approach to become more proficient with complex material. Examples of how this may be done are provided.

Empirical evidence on the functional relation between audit planning and total audit effort

In this study we examine the relation between the extent of audit planning and total audit effort. While it is well recognized in the literature that the effectiveness and efficiency of an audit is dependent upon audit planning, no empirical evidence has been presented that demonstrates whether audit planning in fact leads to a more effective or efficient audit. A modified version of the basic audit pricing model used throughout the literature introduced by Simunic (1980) is used to examine the relationship between an independent variable measuring the extent of audit planning and a dependent variable measuring total audit effort, expressed in hours. We provide evidence that audit planning reduces total audit effort and is subject to diminishing returns. This outcome appears to support the contention with respect to the extent of the tradeoff between audit planning and audit verification hours when audit effectiveness is taken into consideration.

Internal Auditors' Evaluation of Fraud Factors in Planning an Audit: The Importance of Audit Committee Quality and Management Incentives

We examine internal auditors fraud risk decisions in response to variations in audit committee quality and management performance incentives. Using an experimental approach, we find that internal auditors serving in a either a self-assessment role or a due diligence role were sensitive to variations in management performance incentives, linked these variations to fraud risk assessments and altered their audit plans accordingly. With respect to audit committee quality, internal auditors in both roles were sensitive to variations in quality, but the responses to quality variations depended on whether they were in a due diligence or self-assessment role. With respect to the former, they linked the variation in quality to fraud risk, but did not alter the scope of their planned audit effort. With respect to the latter, they neither linked the variations in quality to fraud risk nor to planned scope.

Analysis of the complexity of writing used in accounting textbooks over the past 100 years

Many news reports in the USA describe problems in education, including that of students graduating from high school with very poor reading and writing skills. Published academic studies have also documented the reduction in the content and writing levels of school textbooks. However, no published study has considered the longitudinal trends of the writing styles used in accounting textbooks. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence on whether the complexity of the words and sentences used in American financial accounting textbooks has changed in any systematic manner over the past 100 years. To provide evidence on this question, samples of writing were obtained from introductory financial accounting textbooks published in the USA over the past 100 + years, intermediate accounting textbooks published over the past 50 years, and advanced accounting textbooks published over the past 60 years. These writing samples were analysed for the complexity of the words and sentences used. Trend lines for all three levels of textbooks gathered for this study show decreases in sentence complexity and increases in word complexity over the relevant time periods. Introductory textbooks have the lowest levels of both sentence and word complexity. Implications of these findings on the complexity of the mental models produced by accounting students using these textbooks are discussed.

Personalities of accounting students and public accountants: Implications for accounting educators and the profession

Abstract This study compares personalities of senior accounting students with public accountants using a rigorous personality instrument, the 16PF. Comparisons are made between accountants and students, between accountants and students by gender, between male and female students, and between students and junior accountants. For all comparisons made, the findings indicate significant differences exist, both overall and for individual personality factors. Implications of these findings for accounting educators concerning curriculum emphasis, content, and counseling of students are discussed, together with possible implications for the profession.

Measuring the Problem-Solving Abilities of Accounting and Other Business Students: A Comparison and Evaluation of Three Methods

Abstract The accounting profession requires accounting graduates to operate in a complex and often rapidly changing environment. Consequently, they must develop problem-solving skills to enable them to function in situations that are unfamiliar or ambiguous. We describe a test of three measures of problem-solving ability, including two measures of linguistic performance (Idea Density and Grammatical Complexity) and one of cognitive complexity (Paragraph Completion Test, PCT), used previously in several accounting studies. Subjects were senior undergraduate accounting and business students at a large AACSB-accredited Canadian university. Examination questions taken from different business courses were categorized as either structured or unstructured using the method developed by Shute (1979 Accounting Students and Abstract Reasoning: An Exploratory Study, Sarasota, Florida: American Accounting Association). We confirm that students with a high level of cognitive complexity, as measured by the PCT, performed at a superior level on unstructured questions, as found in previous studies. We find also that Idea Density makes the same differentiation, but Grammatical Complexity does not.