This study seeks to determine if a difference exists in student performance and participation between an online and face-to-face Accounting Intermediate I class taught by the same professor. Even though students self-selected which course section to enroll, no significant difference was found to exist between the delivery method of the two courses based on the students major field of study, gender, and whether or not they commuted to class. No significant difference is found between the assessments of the two class sections membership except the students course performance. Contrary to prior research, the students enrolled in the online sections did not perform as well as the face-to-face students. This study supports prior research which finds that online class support videos or other materials must be kept to ten minutes or less to retain students attention.

Recently insolvent municipalities have declared bankruptcy when they are unable to meet their bond debt or pay their outstanding liability obligations. This analysis looks at the fiscal health of Texas municipalities who have issued debt in the past two years to identify those suffering financial stress that would possibly result in the municipality seeking bankruptcy to resolve its fiscal issues. This investigation analyzes the State of Texas and local municipalities fiscal health using the revised Altman Z-Score with the governments annual financial report data. Additional analysis relating the Z-score to entities bond rating is reported. These findings provide an effective mechanism for investors and interested citizens to evaluate and identify distressed governmental entities with a possible bankruptcy risk.

In order to fully appreciate the potential impact accounting information systems have on the accounting profession, an understanding of what accounting encompasses is necessary.  Over the years, accounting has evolved from what many would call a “checks and balance” system to a much more complex system involving complicated activities such as calculating taxes and garnishments, auditing financial statements and processing payroll to name a few.  It would be reasonable to think that advanced technology such as accounting information systems would only enhance the production of these activities.  However, like with any “game changers,” there are always potential threats involved.  The objective of this paper is to determine if accounting information systems have become so helpful, they in fact have begun to hinder business and decrease productivity.  This paper demonstrates that although a majority population of those surveyed felt accounting information systems have added credibility to the accounting profession, there is still a large population that remain neutral on the subject leaving doubt as to the advantages and purpose of accounting information systems.

This study investigates the attitudes small business owners and managers have towards fraud and internal controls. Commonly small businesses consist of long-term friends and relatives and tend to embody a culture of family, love, and trust. Four factors were identified that lend themselves to a lack of internal controls and a breeding ground for fraud. A survey was distributed to small business owners and management. The responses were analyzed and compared to the data in the 2016 American Certified Fraud Examiners Report to the Nations. Of the four expectations studied, only the anticipated results of Expectation 1 were confirmed.

Planning and conducting the audit of financial statements involves understanding the entity and the environment in which it operates.  First and foremost this requires identifying the risks faced by the entity.  Identifying these risks can be a complex and difficult task since the auditor needs to not only understand the entity’s risk process but also independently understand the risks facing the firm.  Tackling this task will involve a comprehensive review of the external and internal factors affecting the business.  It is possible many identified business risks are related to financial reporting risk and ultimately to audit risk.  Therefore, the auditor must understand the linkage between risks, controls and the audit.  The objective of this paper is to examine the risks faced by U.S. companies conducting business in China.  This paper attempts to identify a wide array of risks faced by U.S. companies to demonstrate how important it is for the company and the auditor to understand the business environment.