Get documents about "Archival-Based Research Methods in Accounting
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ACC 6973
May 2009
Archival-Based Research Methods in Accounting
Venue
BB.302.18 from 8:00 to 10:50 May 11th – May 30th (M-F)
Learning Objective/Purpose of the Course
Examination of quasi-experimental research designs and methods as used in archival-
based accounting research. Provides students the opportunity to develop a foundation for
performing research related to PhD seminar project, academic research and scholarly
papers. Includes partial or complete replications of published archival-based research
papers
Required Texts
Delwiche, L. and S. Slaughter. 2003. The Little SAS Book. (3rd Ed.)
Cody, R. 2005. The SAS Workbook
Recommended Resources
SAS Language and Procedures
SAS 9.1.3 Language Reference: Concepts
SAS 9.1.3 Language Reference: Dictionary
Base SAS 9.1.3 Procedures Guide
SAS/IML
Grading
Class participation (possibly including an exam) – 25%
Term paper & paper presentation – 75%
Term Project
You will choose a paper positioned within a literature stream of interest to you. You will
prepare a two-part term project. The first part of the project is a comprehensive review of
your chosen literature stream, culminating in a discussion of currently unanswered
questions that might be addressed by future research (one of these questions potentially
could form the basis of your second year summer paper). Ten page maximum. Your
discussion should primarily focus on the "stories" within this literature stream (i.e., the
theories and related conceptual constructs that underpin the literature).
The second part of your project will constitute a complete replication of one of the
papers within your chosen literature stream. You will present the replication results to
class participants (and interested faculty) as though the study were your own. In lieu of
the replication, you may choose to undertake independent research if you prefer. The
latter route will be much more challenging but will place you on the path toward
developing a piece of independent research that can evolve into your dissertation or
comprise a stand-alone paper that potentially could be published before graduation.
Deliverables – Replication Route
Deliverable * Due date
Draft of your literature review paper and complete Monday, 6/1
citation of three papers that you would like to replicate
(I will approve one).
SAS output of data descriptive statistics. Friday, 6/19
SAS output of your analysis. Monday, 7/6
Powerpoint file containing draft copies of your slides Monday, 7/27.
and tables.
Present replication results to class and interested faculty Early August
.
* - all deliverables to be submitted via email. SAS output to be provided in pdf
format.
Deliverables – Independent Research Route
Deliverable * Due date
One page summary of proposed term paper topic. Friday 5/15 (end of first
week).
Two to three page introduction to term paper (Section 1) Due Friday 5/22.
that succinctly describes the purpose and the
Deliverables – Independent Research Route
Deliverable * Due date
contribution of your study. Your Section 1 should be
similar in structure and content to the introduction of
papers published in The Accounting Review.
Two to five page discussion of your theory/hypotheses Due Friday 5/29.
or story/research questions (Section 2). Your Section 2
should be similar in structure and content to the theory
and hypothesis section of papers published in The
Accounting Review.
Two to five page discussion of your research design Due Friday 6/5.
(Section 3). Your Section 3 should be similar in
structure and content to the corresponding section of
papers published in The Accounting Review.
Table 1 of your paper entitled “Table 1 – Definition of
Variables.”
One page discussion of your sample selection criteria Due date will be decided in
and discussion of the descriptive statistics of your data consultation with me
(Section 4). Your Section 4 should be similar in depending upon whether you
structure and content to the corresponding section of must hand-collect data.
papers published in The Accounting Review
Table 2 of your paper entitled “Table 2 – Sample
Selection.”
Table 3 of your paper entitled “Table 3 –Descriptive Due two weeks after Section 4
Statistics.” is due.
Table 4 of your paper entitled “Table 4 – Regression
Analysis of xxx.” where xxx is an appropriately
descriptive title of your choosing.
Table 5 of your paper entitled “Table 5 – Sensitivity Due one week after Table 4 is
Analysis.” due.
Three to five page discussion of the results of your Due one week after Table 5 is
analysis (Section 5). Section 5 should be similar to the due.
corresponding section of papers published in The
Accounting Review.
One page statement of your conclusions (Section 6). Due one week after Section 5
Deliverables – Independent Research Route
Deliverable * Due date
is due.
* - all deliverables to be submitted via email. SAS output to be provided in pdf
format.
Class Activities
Topic Activity
1. Develop basic SAS skills Before class: You will complete the assignments in the Cody workbook on your own
before May 12th.
In class: We will discuss assignments that gave you particular difficulty.
Please send me an email by 8:00 PM Sunday May 10th identifying the problems
you’d like to cover in class Monday May 11th.
2. Develop a basic understanding of the Before class: Peruse the WRDS website. Focus in particular on Compustat, CRSP,
data resources available to you via WRDS. IBES, and Audit Analytics.
In class: We'll discuss these databases in class.
3. Working with Compustat-- Abnormal Before class: Read Jones, K., G. Krishnan, and K. Melendrez. 2008. Do models of
accrual models. discretionary accruals detect actual cases of fraudulent and restated earnings?
Contemporary Accounting Research. 25(2): 499-531.
In class: I will ask you to explain how abnormal accrual models “work,” the variation
in specifications used, the power of the models, and the factors that threaten the
validity of the models.
In class: We will estimate models 1-8 in Jones et al. for the period 1998-2001 and
compare your results to those reported in Jones et al. Table 4.
Topic Activity
4. Working with Audit Analytics and Before class: Read Payne, J. 2008. The influence of audit firm specialization on
IBES analysts' forecast errors. Auditing: A Journal of Theory & Practice. 27(2): 109-136.
In class: We will discuss the paper.
In class: We will replicate portions of the paper.
5. Working with Execucomp & CRSP Before class: Read Banker, R, H. Huang, and R. Natarajan. 2009. Incentive contracting
and value relevance of earnings and cash flows. Journal of Accounting Research.
47(3): 647-678.
In class: We will discuss the paper.
In class: We will replicate portions of the paper.
