Stacy E. Kovar

Personality preferences of accounting students: a longitudinal case study

Abstract As the skills needed to succeed in accounting broaden, accounting programs must develop recruiting strategies to attract and retain individuals with a broader range of personality characteristics. As a form of recruitment evaluation, this study uses the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to examine the characteristics of accounting students recruited into and retained by one of the original Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) grant programs. Results indicate that, contrary to expectations, the personality types attracted to and retained in the program have not become more diverse over the course of 8 years. These results may imply that certain requisite preferences are needed to succeed in accounting or that homogeneity has benefits not previously considered. They certainly suggest a need to further refine recruiting processes, to focus on broader perceptions of the profession, to evaluate facultys own preferences and biases and/or to develop curriculum to help students learn to utilize their less preferred personality traits.

Integrating ABC and TOC for better manufacturing decision making

This paper reviews and compares the concepts of theory of constraints (TOC) and activity‐based costing (ABC). The primary objective of this study is to investigate the integration of both theories so as to provide management with the capability of making better operations decisions in the presence of diverse activities and committed costs. First, the assumptions of each theory are discussed against traditional cost accounting. Next, based on numerical examples, we discuss the managerial implications of the two theories in various decisions such as pricing, make‐or‐buy and product mix. Numerical results show that both ABC and TOC can provide management with better performance measurement of diverse production activities especially when committed costs are a significant factor. Accordingly, suggestions for integrating the two theories are provided.

UNDERSTANDING THE SATISFACTION PROCESS FOR NEW ASSURANCE SERVICES: THE ROLE OF ATTITUDES, EXPECTATIONS, DISCONFIRMATION AND PERFORMANCE

Abstract This study examines the consumer satisfaction formation process for new, non-traditional assurance services. Extending Oliver’s (1997) expectancy disconfirmation model, our online survey mirrors the communications and activities in a typical ElderCare engagement. We find that consumers’ attitudes toward advertisements for the new service, attitudes toward CPAs as providers, perceptions of performance, and disconfirmation are all significant determinants of satisfaction while expectations are not significant. Suggesting that consumers may not be able to form strong, stable expectations for new non-traditional services, these results imply that marketing should focus on professional qualifications and indicators of performance quality rather than on managing prepurchase expectations.

UNRAVELING THE EXPECTATIONS GAP: AN ASSURANCE GAPS MODEL AND ILLUSTRATIVE APPLICATION

The importance of alignment between users’ and providers’ expectations of accounting services has long been recognized as paramount in the auditing profession. The importance of expectations, and especially expectations gaps, is even more compelling for new assurance services, where the importance of marketing the service is pronounced. This paper develops the Assurance Gaps Model, which describes expectations gaps in general, defining these holistic differences between users’ and providers’ perceptions of assurance services as assurance gaps. The model suggests that assurance gaps really have a number of components – expectations, evaluations of performance and disconfirmation – all of which impact users’ satisfaction with the service. The magnitude of each of these components, as well as the emphasis placed on each one, is important in describing the nature of the gap. This model is consistent with previous research in auditing as well as a large body of research in marketing studying expectations and the satisfaction process (Oliver, 1997). To illustrate potential applications of the Assurance Gaps Model, hypotheses are developed and tested using an online simulation of the ElderCare assurance service proposed by the AICPA/CICA. Results indicate that users and providers demonstrate similar magnitude of each of the factors in the model, but differ in that users emphasize performance in forming satisfaction judgments while providers emphasize expectations. The study and results illustrate the usefulness of the model for performing detailed analysis of assurance gaps and for suggesting appropriate courses of action to manage the factors that contribute to them.