Auditors Academic and Firm Training Regarding Current Information Technology Issues

This study explores auditors perceptions of their college exposure to and training by their firms on the Top Ten Technology Issues for the Year 2000 as identified by the AICPA Technology Committee. Participants are staff and senior auditors currently employed by Big-5 accounting firms. The results indicate that the auditors received only limited exposure to the emerging technology issues while pursuing a college degree. Results indicate that audit staff had significantly more exposure to technology in college than audit seniors had. This finding confirms that accounting educators have included technology topics in accounting curricula. Even so, auditors appear to obtain most of their knowledge on information technology through accounting firm training. Findings of this study imply that accounting educators need to continue developing technology-relevant curriculum. Moreover, educators and practitioners should work closely in the future to enhance accounting graduates competency in information technology

A Decision Support System For Audit Staff Scheduling Of Multiple And Large-Scaled Engagements

As raising cost of audit and shrinking audit market, the management of accounting firms have put into more efforts on increasing productivity by improving audit planning, upgrade audit technology and cost control. One avenue to accomplish cost savings while maintaining high audit quality is to refine staff scheduling. This study proposes a different approach to resolving audit staff scheduling for multiple and large engagements. The major advantage of the proposed method is to solve staff resource allocation problems by alleviating the limitations of both linear and integer programming. In addition, the objectives and constraints of models proposed in this study can be modified easily to adjust for firm-specific situations

In vivo photopharmacology with light-activated opioid drugs

Traditional methods for site-specific drug delivery in the brain are slow, invasive, and difficult to interface with recordings of neural activity. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility and experimental advantages of in vivo photopharmacology using "caged" opioid drugs that are activated in the brain with light after systemic administration in an inactive form. To enable bidirectional manipulations of endogenous opioid receptors in vivo, we developed photoactivatable oxymorphone (PhOX) and photoactivatable naloxone (PhNX), photoactivatable variants of the mu opioid receptor agonist oxymorphone and the antagonist naloxone. Photoactivation of PhOX in multiple brain areas produced local changes in receptor occupancy, brain metabolic activity, neuronal calcium activity, neurochemical signaling, and multiple pain- and reward-related behaviors. Combining PhOX photoactivation with optical recording of extracellular dopamine revealed adaptations in the opioid sensitivity of mesolimbic dopamine circuitry in response to chronic morphine administration. This work establishes a general experimental framework for using in vivo photopharmacology to study the neural basis of drug action

Identification of novel risk loci, causal insights, and heritable risk for Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies

Background Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in Parkinson's disease have increased the scope of biological knowledge about the disease over the past decade. We aimed to use the largest aggregate of GWAS data to identify novel risk loci and gain further insight into the causes of Parkinson's disease. Methods We did a meta-analysis of 17 datasets from Parkinson's disease GWAS available from European ancestry samples to nominate novel loci for disease risk. These datasets incorporated all available data. We then used these data to estimate heritable risk and develop predictive models of this heritability. We also used large gene expression and methylation resources to examine possible functional consequences as well as tissue, cell type, and biological pathway enrichments for the identified risk factors. Additionally, we examined shared genetic risk between Parkinson's disease and other phenotypes of interest via genetic correlations followed by Mendelian randomisation. Findings Between Oct 1, 2017, and Aug 9, 2018, we analysed 7·8 million single nucleotide polymorphisms in 37 688 cases, 18 618 UK Biobank proxy-cases (ie, individuals who do not have Parkinson's disease but have a first degree relative that does), and 1·4 million controls. We identified 90 independent genome-wide significant risk signals across 78 genomic regions, including 38 novel independent risk signals in 37 loci. These 90 variants explained 16–36% of the heritable risk of Parkinson's disease depending on prevalence. Integrating methylation and expression data within a Mendelian randomisation framework identified putatively associated genes at 70 risk signals underlying GWAS loci for follow-up functional studies. Tissue-specific expression enrichment analyses suggested Parkinson's disease loci were heavily brain-enriched, with specific neuronal cell types being implicated from single cell data. We found significant genetic correlations with brain volumes (false discovery rate-adjusted p=0·0035 for intracranial volume, p=0·024 for putamen volume), smoking status (p=0·024), and educational attainment (p=0·038). Mendelian randomisation between cognitive performance and Parkinson's disease risk showed a robust association (p=8·00 × 10−7). Interpretation These data provide the most comprehensive survey of genetic risk within Parkinson's disease to date, to the best of our knowledge, by revealing many additional Parkinson's disease risk loci, providing a biological context for these risk factors, and showing that a considerable genetic component of this disease remains unidentified. These associations derived from European ancestry datasets will need to be followed-up with more diverse data. Funding The National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (USA), The Michael J Fox Foundation, and The Parkinson's Foundation (see appendix for full list of funding sources)

Genome-wide analysis of 53,400 people with irritable bowel syndrome highlights shared genetic pathways with mood and anxiety disorders

Funder: Kennedy Trust Rheumatology Research Prize StudentshipFunder: DFG Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic In-flammation” (PMI; ID: EXC2167)Funder: EC | EC Seventh Framework Programm | FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific Programme: “Ideas” Implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (2007 to 2013)); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/100011199; Grant(s): 715772Funder: NWO-VIDI grant 016.178.056, the Netherlands Heart Foundation CVON grant 2018-27, and NWO Gravitation grant ExposomeNLFunder: Li Ka Shing Foundation (Li Ka Shing Foundation Limited); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/100007421Abstract: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) results from disordered brain–gut interactions. Identifying susceptibility genes could highlight the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. We designed a digestive health questionnaire for UK Biobank and combined identified cases with IBS with independent cohorts. We conducted a genome-wide association study with 53,400 cases and 433,201 controls and replicated significant associations in a 23andMe panel (205,252 cases and 1,384,055 controls). Our study identified and confirmed six genetic susceptibility loci for IBS. Implicated genes included NCAM1, CADM2, PHF2/FAM120A, DOCK9, CKAP2/TPTE2P3 and BAG6. The first four are associated with mood and anxiety disorders, expressed in the nervous system, or both. Mirroring this, we also found strong genome-wide correlation between the risk of IBS and anxiety, neuroticism and depression (rg > 0.5). Additional analyses suggested this arises due to shared pathogenic pathways rather than, for example, anxiety causing abdominal symptoms. Implicated mechanisms require further exploration to help understand the altered brain–gut interactions underlying IBS

An empirical examination of competing theories to explain the framing effect in accounting-related decisions

[[abstract]]The purposes of this study are to explore framing effects in a managerial accounting decision context and to test the explanatory power of prospect theory and two competing theories, fuzzy‐trace theory and probabilistic mental models, on such effects. In Experiment 1, 86 undergraduate students made a choice between two alternatives in a managerial decision problem that illustrates a classic, Asian disease‐type business scenario. Results show that the subjects committed the framing effect bias and that prospect theory, fuzzy‐trace theory, and probabilistic mental models all predict the bias. In Experiment 2, a business variant of the Asian disease problem was designed to distinguish among the explanatory abilities of these theories in an accounting context. One hundred eighty‐five undergraduate students participated in the experiment. Results of Experiment 2 indicate that the fuzzy‐trace theory provides additional power to explain the framing effect. Hence, accounting professionals can design better approaches to reporting/presenting financial information that will help managers alleviate the framing effect in decision making.[[notice]]補正完

Continuous auditing for web-released financial information

Purpose – The increasing provision of timely financial information through web-based technology is expected to improve the quality of communication between a company and its stakeholders. However, the information asymmetry problem still exists since almost all “web-releases” usually remain unaudited. The purpose of this paper is to propose conceptual and technical frameworks of continuous auditing to provide a solution for this problem. This solution could also move the traditional auditing forward to the new e-auditing generation. Design/methodology/approach – This paper develops a conceptual framework to present why continuous auditing would dominate other auditing approaches in examining web-based financial information. Using a 3?×?2?×?2?×?1 design, this study compares the economic efficiency of three auditing approaches under the joint-combination of various disclosure types, materiality perceptions and information environments. A technical framework, the external continuous auditing machine, is derived from the conceptual framework to specify the generic procedures to perform the online control testing and the continuous substantive testing over web-releases. Findings – Continuous auditing issues are scrutinized both theoretically and technically. Two main conclusions arise. First, the behavior model simulates various information disclosing and auditing environment and argues that the continuous auditing would be the most appropriate approach for web-releasing assurance. Although the hypothesis derived from that model still needs further empirical supports, the anticipated sustaining is quite reasonable under the emergent web-release practice. Originality/value – Given the new era of online, real-time business reporting, constructing a theoretical model and applying it to develop a technical model for implementing continuous audits for web-releases provide significant contributions to the accounting/auditing professionals as well as researchers.

Accounting information systems

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Accounting education, firm training and information technology: a research note

Rapid developments in information technology (IT) have posed many challenges to the accounting profession. In this study we examined what has been done in US colleges by polling auditors' perceptions to investigate whether US accounting firms provide their auditors with more information on current IT topics than colleges do. Also educators in the USA are surveyed to find out what they are planning to do in college courses to ensure that accounting graduates acquire necessary IT knowledge/skills. The results indicate that the entry-level auditors have had significantly more exposure to IT topics while in college than the senior auditors had, which suggests that educators have modified their curricula by incorporating more IT topics into accounting programmes. According to the findings, educators recognize the importance of IT topics, but only a few IT topics can/will be covered in accounting curricula. Implications, limitations, and future research directions of this study are also discussed.accounting education, accounting firm training, information technology,