Incorporating Experiential Learning into the Accounting Curriculum: Best Practices and Lessons Learned from a Recently Implemented Curriculum

This paper offers best practices for implementing an experiential learning component into an accounting curriculum in order to provide multiple experiential learning opportunities that are “for credit.” Sometimes employers may not be able to provide internship opportunities to students, or students may not be able to dedicate the required amount of time to obtain an internship in accounting. Recognizing this reality, we recommend implementing an on-campus alternative that would provide students the experiential learning opportunity they need through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) for course credit. For students transitioning into the job market, this experiential learning opportunity provides participation incentives, offers practical experience that aligns with the AICPA framework, and focuses on the development of communication skills

Accounting Conservatism or Earnings Management: A Study of the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

This paper empirically examines the relationship between conservatism and earnings management in chemical and allied products manufacturers via an analysis of the allowance for doubtful accounts and bad debt expense. Data used in the study included total accounts receivable, the total allowance for uncollectible accounts, total assets, and other firm-level data from the COMPUSTAT database of North American firms for companies with the standardized industry code (SIC) of 28 which represents chemical and allied products manufacturers. Chemical and allied products manufacturers were deemed an ideal target for the study because the industry typically has large balances in accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts. Bad debt expense and write-offs were also used; these were obtained from the firms’ forms 10K Schedule II filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during the study period from 2005-2017. Analysts reports were also used, as obtained from Bloomberg for each firm. Results from subsequent regression analyses indicate that firms utilized excessive conservatism within the allowance for doubtful accounts to manage earnings to achieve earnings goals throughout the study period

Effects of Absenteeism on Company Productivity, Efficiency, and Profitability

As the age of the 9 to 5 workday comes to close and employment situations become more and more complex with the rise of ever-growing technology, employers are experiencing ever-increasing costs of absenteeism. The purpose of this research paper is to answer the general question of how absenteeism affects a company’s productivity, efficiency, and profitability. We seek to assist a company in understanding what absenteeism is, how to determine whether or not an absenteeism problem exists in the company, and how to recognize and eliminate issues related to absenteeism. Specific causes of absenteeism will be discussed, along with respective solutions that some companies are using to deal with these issues. We will conclude with a consideration of how companies can implement specific, company-wide policies and organizational culture to attempt to combat absenteeism in the workplace

Unfaithful Representation: Understating Accounts Receivable In The Name Of Conservatism

This research empirically examines the relationship between conservatism in accounting and the allowance for doubtful accounts. A sample of companies’ financial data related to the allowance for doubtful accounts and bad debt expense in the chemical and allied products manufacturers industry, SIC 28, for the period from 2005 through 2017 was obtained. The results of analysis of this data indicate that the allowance for doubtful accounts is overstated in these firms and has become more overstated since 2004. This research is important as few have researched the allowance for doubtful accounts, and that research has not considered the allowance for doubtful accounts as a percentage of the accounts receivable balance

The Momentum Distribution of Liquid 3^3He

We present high-resolution neutron Compton scattering measurements of liquid $^3$He below its renormalized Fermi temperature. Theoretical predictions are in excellent agreement with the experimental data when instrumental resolution and final state effects are accounted for. Our results resolve the long-standing inconsistency between theoretical and experimental estimates of the average atomic kinetic energy.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Who Gives a Trump? Evidence of Framing Effects in Tax Policy

We use a framed survey to measure how associating the name “Trump” with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) affects people’s satisfaction of said Act. Our research included 72 participant clients from a Volunteer Income Tax Assistants (VITA) program, who were asked to provide baseline data regarding political affiliation and attitudes prior to having tax returns completed. We find that using the name “Trump” with people who self-identify as Republican results in more satisfaction with the Act, whereas, for people with who do not self-identify as Republican, association with the name “Trump” does not precipitate stronger or weaker satisfaction with the Act

Ephus: Multipurpose Data Acquisition Software for Neuroscience Experiments

Physiological measurements in neuroscience experiments often involve complex stimulus paradigms and multiple data channels. Ephus (http://www.ephus.org) is an open-source software package designed for general-purpose data acquisition and instrument control. Ephus operates as a collection of modular programs, including an ephys program for standard whole-cell recording with single or multiple electrodes in typical electrophysiological experiments, and a mapper program for synaptic circuit mapping experiments involving laser scanning photostimulation based on glutamate uncaging or channelrhodopsin-2 excitation. Custom user functions allow user-extensibility at multiple levels, including on-line analysis and closed-loop experiments, where experimental parameters can be changed based on recently acquired data, such as during in vivo behavioral experiments. Ephus is compatible with a variety of data acquisition and imaging hardware. This paper describes the main features and modules of Ephus and their use in representative experimental applications

Remote Estimation of Net Ecosystem CO2 Exchange in Crops: Principles, Technique Calibration and Validation

Accurate and synoptic estimation of spatially distributed CO2 fluxes is of great importance for regional and global studies of carbon balance. A technique solely based on remotely sensed data was developed and tested for estimating net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) in maize and soybean. The model is based on the reflectance in two spectral channels: the near-infrared and either the green or red-edge around 700 nm. The technique provides accurate estimations of mid-day NEE in both crops under either rainfed or irrigated conditions, explaining more than 85% of NEE variation in maize and more than 81% in soybean, and shows great potential for remotely tracking crop NEE