The impact of client information technology capability on audit pricing

This paper explores the question: “How does a client\u27s information technology (IT) capability influence audit pricing?” Company data for the years 2004 through 2012 are employed. Firms appearing on the InformationWeek 500 (IW500) annual list of U.S. organizations with superior IT functions serve as a proxy for companies with superior IT capability. Our findings suggest that companies with superior IT capabilities incur higher levels of audit fees. In addition, as client size increases, the audit fees of firms with advanced IT capabilities increase at a greater rate than firms without such capabilities. These findings contrast with prior research by Chen et al. (2014) that found in the immediate post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) period for the years 2004 through 2007, client IT capability reduced audit fee increases. In addition, we replicate the Chen et al. (2014) results and find that IT capability did not influence audit fee increases during the subsequent recession and recovery periods. Further, superior capability clients see smaller audit fee increases when exogenous shocks such as SOX regulations occur. These results suggest a revised interpretation of Chen et al. (2014) may be warranted. This study contributes to the literature by providing a more complete picture of how a client\u27s IT capability affects audit fees

The spatial resolution of information in a diffusive cytoplasm

Every cell is faced continuously with the task of transducing a vast number of external signals into appropriate intracellular responses. In mammalian cells, membrane bound receptors modulate the production of secondary messenger molecules, such as cyclic AMP (cAMP). Cell signaling through second messengers relies on the diffusion of such second messengers from sites of production to sites of intracellular action to modulate the activities of an intracellular effector molecule, which in turn modulates a cellular response. Protein kinase A is the primary sensor of intracellular concentrations of cAMP, and protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation events are regulated by fluctuations in cAMP concentrations. This thesis examines the mechanism by which protein kinase A functions within fish melanophore to regulate intracellular activities in response to cAMP. A novel in situ assay to monitor protein kinase A-dependent phosphorylation is described here. By using a fluorescent substrate, the activities of protein kinase A are characterized in living cells as a function of phosphorylation-dependent fluorescence decay. Physiologically manipulated cells were microinjected with the fluorescent substrate to correlate the activities of protein kinase A and the subsequent effects on melanosome distribution. Cytoplasmic compartmentalization of protein kinase A is one means to regulate the specificity of a multifunctional kinase. The physiologic effects of an overexpressed PKA anchoring protein, Ht31, demonstrated that protein kinase A anchoring is required to direct the movements of melanosomes. Additional studies demonstrated that protein kinase A redistributes with the stimulated movements of melanosomes and interacts with proteins from a motor-protein complex. These observations shed light on how a transduction complex, consisting of a group of proteins, which localize components within the cell and provide motor activity, is able to integrate signaling information that regulate melanosome movements. I propose a model and suggest that protein kinase A is a component of the transduction complex: the proposed PKA complex constitutes a molecular servomechanism comprised of a sensor, an effector, and a regulator that function together in feedback loop to direct the motor-protein dependent transport of melanosomes

Remyelination Reporter Reveals Prolonged Refinement of Spontaneously Regenerated Myelin

Neurological diseases and trauma often cause demyelination, resulting in the disruption of axonal function and integrity. Endogenous remyelination promotes recovery, but the process is not well understood because no method exists to definitively distinguish regenerated from preexisting myelin. To date, remyelinated segments have been defined as anything abnormally short and thin, without empirical data to corroborate these morphological assumptions. To definitively identify regenerated myelin, we used a transgenic mouse with an inducible membrane-bound reporter and targeted Cre recombinase expression to a subset of glial progenitor cells after spinal cord injury, yielding remarkably clear visualization of spontaneously regenerated myelin in vivo. Early after injury, the mean length of sheaths regenerated by Schwann cells and oligodendrocytes (OLs) was significantly shorter than control, uninjured myelin, confirming past assumptions. However, OL-regenerated sheaths elongated progressively over 6 mo to approach control values. Moreover, OL-regenerated myelin thickness was not significantly different from control myelin at most time points after injury. Thus, many newly formed OL sheaths were neither thinner nor shorter than control myelin, vitiating accepted dogmas of what constitutes regenerated myelin. We conclude that remyelination, once thought to be static, is dynamic and elongates independently of axonal growth, in contrast to stretch-based mechanisms proposed in development. Further, without clear identification, past assessments have underestimated the extent and quality of regenerated myelin

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

The impact of client information technology capability on audit pricing

This paper explores the question: “How does a client\u27s information technology (IT) capability influence audit pricing?” Company data for the years 2004 through 2012 are employed. Firms appearing on the InformationWeek 500 (IW500) annual list of U.S. organizations with superior IT functions serve as a proxy for companies with superior IT capability. Our findings suggest that companies with superior IT capabilities incur higher levels of audit fees. In addition, as client size increases, the audit fees of firms with advanced IT capabilities increase at a greater rate than firms without such capabilities. These findings contrast with prior research by Chen et al. (2014) that found in the immediate post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) period for the years 2004 through 2007, client IT capability reduced audit fee increases. In addition, we replicate the Chen et al. (2014) results and find that IT capability did not influence audit fee increases during the subsequent recession and recovery periods. Further, superior capability clients see smaller audit fee increases when exogenous shocks such as SOX regulations occur. These results suggest a revised interpretation of Chen et al. (2014) may be warranted. This study contributes to the literature by providing a more complete picture of how a client\u27s IT capability affects audit fees

The making of accountants: the continuing influence of early career experiences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the residual influence that the early career experiences of accountants might have on careers in the field. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews semi-structural interviews with former Arthur Andersen personnel. Findings – The paper finds that several years after departure from employment, accountants attribute much consequence to the training, value-formation and interpersonal relationships of their work history. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the research are the small sample size and restricted geographic area used in the paper. Originality/value – The paper: turns its attention to the relationship between organizational and professional socialization; suggests limits to career re-training by subsequent employers; and identifies mid-career personal resources of accountants.Accountants, Accounting firms, Career development, Job satisfaction, Professional associations, Socialization

Is Public Accounting Eating Its Seed Corn? An Assessment Of The Outsourcing Of Tax Work

For many years, public accounting firms have sent much of their tax compliance work to overseas centers for assembly and initial processing. This has achieved labor cost savings for the firms and is made possible by digital data conversion and the belief that the work itself has been commodified. Relocating the work that used to be done by US tax staff may have had some dysfunctional long-term consequences including inhibiting US staff skill and expertise development. This paper offers the data created by 27 interviews with US tax professionals to inform this domain. We also consider possible solutions suggested by the participants in this community of practice