The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of interactions with IRS employees on tax practitioners' attitudes toward the IRS. The mission of the IRS is to inspire the highest degree of public confidence as it collects the proper amount of tax revenues at the least cost to the public. The IRS believes it must project a favorable image to tax practitioners in order to foster a high level of support for its mission. Prior surveys of tax practitioners found that practitioners have generally unfavorable attitudes toward the IRS and its employees. This study examined whether the unfavorable attitudes result from interactions with IRS employees, and provides empirical evidence of the effects of interactions with IRS employees on tax practitioners' attitudes toward the IRS.

The purpose of this research project is to develop concepts for doing cost-benefit analyses for governmental and nonprofit homes. Such concepts should facilitate a differential diagnosis which recognizes the wide individual differences among those served. Developing relevant concepts is a first step in measurement. An aim is to develop appropriate concepts and instruments that will make an ordinal measurement of resident satisfaction possible. This study makes no effort to develop monetary measures of either costs or benefits. These measures and the related cost-benefit analyses must await further developments. Of the home's employees, the nurses and nurses' assistants usually have the most prolonged and intimate contact with the residents. The nurses and nurses' assistants often are the home personified in that they provide the bulk of a home's services to the less able residents. This explains why the environment of the home, which includes the values, needs, and attitudes of nurses and nurses' assistants, is believed to influence resident satisfaction.

The present auditing environment involves increasing audit costs and potential legal liability. Increasing audit costs mandate methods to make the audit more efficient, while the credibility of audited financial statements depends on audit effectiveness. Internal accounting control evaluation impacts both the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit process since this judgment establishes a basis for determining the timing, nature and amount of auditing procedures to be performed. Results of previous research, however, have indicated that variance does exist in auditors' evaluations of internal controls. While individual differences have been given as an explanation of the variance, no research has successfully isolated which individual differences relate to differences in judgment. This study examined the possibility that cognitive style, defined as the mode of processing which individuals use in their perceptual activities, was an individual difference which could explain some of the variance in internal control judgments. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was used to measure the cognitive style of auditors. A second instrument, an audit judgment case, was prepared by the researcher to elicit (1) an auditor's estimate of the reliability of internal controls in a computerized payroll application, and (2) his assessment of the perceived relevance of case information to …

The purpose of this study is to provide empirical evidence relevant to perceptions of internal auditor independence. Specifically, this study investigates how the auditor practitioners (both internal and external auditors) perceive the importance of five selected factors that characterize the organizational settings of an internal audit department. Role theory is the frame of reference used to develop the conceptual model for this study in which the judgment of internal auditor independence is viewed as the role perception of internal auditors. A modified version of the Brunswik's lens model was developed to provide "paramorphic" representation of judgment of independence. The research methodology of this study is based upon a laboratory experiment in which a replicated factorial design was used to elicit the subjects' judgments of independence. The data collected from this experiment were analyzed by three statistical methods: conjoint measurement, multiple regression, and cluster analysis. The major findings follow. First, the five selected factors were not perceived as equally important by the subjects. In general, internal auditor's scope of audit. scope o^ service, and reporting level were perceived as more important than adequacy of organizational support. and formalization of audit policies. Second, the two groups of auditors disagree, significantly, on the …

Previous research has shown that accountants may be inadequate moral reasoners. Concern over this trend caused the Treadway Commission (1987) and the Accounting Education Change Commission (1990) to call for greater integration of ethics into the student's training. Ponemon and Glazer (1990) found a difference in cognitive moral development (CMD) between accounting students at a public university and a private university with a liberal arts emphasis. This study expands Ponemon and Glazer's research by examining two liberal arts universities, one a private, secular institution and one a Catholic institution. The primary research question asks if Catholic university accounting students manifest greater CMD growth than secular university accounting students. Additionally, this study examines and compares the priority that accounting students from the different institutions place on ethical values versus economic values. It was expected that Catholic university accounting students would manifest both greater CMD growth and a greater concern for ethical values over economic values when compared with non-Catholic university accounting students. The study utilized a two-phase approach. In the first phase, an organizational study of two institutions was made to determine how each strives to integrate moral development into their accounting students' education. In the second phase, lower-division and senior …

With the current strain on the world's material resources and the increase in their cost, a constant pressure is building to increase the productivity of human resources. Adding, to the strain is the increasing demand of society for a higher quality of life through more meaningful work. Responding to both of these pressures requires decisions that simultaneously meet the goals of organizations and the needs and values of employees. To make the kind of decisions demanded by this dual priority of human effectiveness and improved quality of life, information is needed to: 1. Improve understanding of the nature and scope of human resource expenditures; 2. Improve selection, retention, and motivation of employees; 3. Allocate money spent on human resources; 4. Overhaul the approach to communication among managers, between managers and other employees, and between the organization as a whole and outside parties; 5. Expand the scope of internal and external reports to deal with social as well as financial accomplishments. The ultimate objective of this research is to develop a human resource model and a heuristic for developing empirical support which can be useful to businessmen seeking to increase human effectiveness and improve the quality of life. The model merges …

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect tax complexity has on taxpayers' understanding of the tax law. The individual income tax system in the United States is based on self assessment by the taxpayer. A self assessing system requires a high level of voluntary compliance by the participants. Taxpayers who file returns on time and file correctly are considered to be in compliance with the tax law. A taxpayer who cannot understand the rules for tax reporting logically does not have the ability to comply with the law. A tax system predicated on the presumption that the average taxpayer can understand and comply with the tax rules must not become so complex that the taxpayer is forced into either seeking external help or not fully complying. The question arises, does complexity affect the ability of taxpayers to understand, and thus comply with, the tax system?

The Internet provides many sources of financial information that investors can use to help with investment decisions and in interpreting companies' accounting information. One source of information is Internet stock message boards such as those at Yahoo! Finance. This source allows for anonymous postings and information exchange. Despite the possibility of the information being incorrect many individuals visit these message boards. The purpose of this study is to investigate Internet stock message boards and address the primary question: From an individual investor perspective, do message boards, which contain accounting information, influence investment decisions? The question is addressed using psychology rumor literature and attitude theories. Message board postings are a type of rumor, since not all the information is verified and is usually intended to persuade a belief or influence a decision. Further, the messages may influence an investor by causing a change in attitude about the investment. Using an experiment, message board influence on an investment decision and attitude was tested. The results indicated that individuals that received negative message board postings did have a significantly higher change in investment amount as compared to a control group that did not receive any message postings. The positive message board group and …

It is the purpose of this study to examine the underlying nature of the relative risk associated with an audit engagement.

This study deals with three problems—the influence of the study of accounting on the value-level choices of individuals, a comparison of value—level choices among accounting populations, and a comparison of value-level choices between accounting and each of four other disciplines. Two models were developed to test sixteen hypotheses related to these problems. One model isolates any influence of the study of accounting on value-level choice and the other model develops value-level profiles without regard to cause. Multiple Regression Correlation techniques were used to analyze the data.

Private philanthropy is important in America. In 1985, philanthropy totaled almost 80 billion dollars. Philanthropy is partially a function of price. Absent a tax benefit, the price of charitable giving is unity. When tax benefits are available, the price of cash giving is one minus the marginal tax rate of the donor. Philanthropy is not evenly distributed among all classes of organizations. Changes in tax cost bring about changes in the distribution of gifts among organizations. Predictions have been made of a six to twelve billion dollar decline in individual giving as a result of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The question is, "Whose ox gets gored?" In 1962, the Internal Revenue Service collected data directly linking itemized charitable contributions to class of donee organization. Prior works by Taussig, Schwartz, Feldstein, and Clotfelter have been principally based on this data. Their works document differing elasticities of price on charitable giving. The current research gathered 1985 data on the relationships between income, price, and charitable donee for 298 Dallas County, Texas, taxpayers. Data was obtained from selected certified public accountants in Dallas County who prepared income tax returns for individuals as part of their practice. Two hundred fifty usable responses …

The problem of this investigation is that of determining how double entry bookkeeping originated and evolved during the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth century in mediaeval Italy and its influence on capital formation. The methodology of this study included the use of both primary and secondary sources of information. Great reliance was placed upon a direct examination of original documents found mainly in the State Archives of Genoa, Florence, Milan and Venice. Because this is basically a historical research, particular emphasis was given to the study and criticism of economic, political and religious conditions that most likely had a considerable influence on the creation and evolution of bookkeeping techniques and methods.