Social Skills Preferences Among Internal Auditors An Explanatory Study Using The FIRO-B

This study applies the FIRO-B technique to analyze the social interaction preferences of certified internal auditors working in U.S. corporations. Surveys were developed using the FIRO-B technique and obtained information on internal auditors from corporations located in the Western and Southeastern sections of the United States. This study will determine the social interaction scores of certified internal auditors, and compare them to the scores of other accounting professionals. This study indicates that social interaction skills are of increasing importance to the working success of internal auditors. The SII number is higher than prior research of CPAs employed in large international CPA firms but similar to those results found among accountants at regional CPA firms and national business professionals. This study did not segment the sample by industry to determine if there are any effects due to industry or company size. Future research might compare the internal auditors might make these comparisons. Also, the study did not include samples from outside of the United States. Understanding the social interaction of certified internal auditors is important since such information sheds light on the types of professionals who are most likely to succeed in the diverse work environment that internal auditors face. This is the first exploratory study using the FIRO-B on internal auditors

Formal Versus Informal Mentoring Of MAS Professionals

CPA firms have consistently experienced high turnover and poor performance amongst their management advisory and information systems professionals. As Keller (2008) suggests, mentoring programs are a mechanism to help attract and maintain good employees. The extant accounting literature well documents the benefits of mentoring such as enhanced communication, greater organizational commitment, higher professional performance and reduced personnel turnover (Scandura & Viator, 1994; Siegel & Reintein, 2001; Siegel et al., 1997). In light of their potential benefits, CPA firms have begun to develop formal mentoring programs for accounting specialists to ensure that the advantages of mentoring are maintained rather than relying on happenstance (Siegel et al., 1997). The extant literature also addresses the benefits and shortcomings of formal mentoring programs for both auditing and tax professionals. (Viator, 2001; Siegel, et al., 1997; Herbohn, 2004). However, to date, no research addresses formal mentoring relative to management advisory services (MAS) professionals employed by CPA firms. MAS professionals work milieu is generally less structured than other professionals employed by CPA firms. In addition, they have greater operating autonomy than is usually the case in public accounting. Thus the purpose of this study is to compare the effects of formal and informal mentoring program effects on MAS professionals working at international public accounting firms. To evaluate the different mentoring programs, the study examines the mentoring processes within the tax departments of two international CPA firms that employ both formal and informal mentoring programs. The results indicate no significant differences between formal and informal programs on MAS professionals career development. However, the statistical analysis did show a significant difference in the perceived influence of the programs at two professional levels on personal development that appears at the middle range of the programs. The results suggest that the informal mentoring approach leads to stronger personal relationships but does not extend to higher professional firm levels. Neither formal nor informal programs appear to have a significant influence to staff level professionals

The Social Skill Preferences Of Tax Professionals In CPA Firms: A FIRO-B Analysis

The social interaction preferences of tax professionals working in U.S. accounting firms are analyzed and compared with other public accounting firm personnel. Social skill preferences are analyzed using the FIRO-B methodology which has been widely validated and applied to accounting professionals. Considering the high cost of turnover and the nominal cost of using the FIRO-B instrument, it makes sense for businesses and educational institutions to use FIRO-B analysis as an aid in counseling, training, and assisting individuals entering the accounting profession. The findings of this study indicate that tax professionals have significantly higher social interaction preferences than other accounting professionals employed in public accounting. This makes sense in light of the demands put on tax accountants to work with a wide range of other professionals within, and external to, the firm

A planar quasi-optical SIS receiver for array applications

A planar, quasi-optical SIS receiver operating at 230 GHz is described. The receiver consists of a 2 x 5 array of half wave dipole antennas with ten niobium-aluminum oxide-niobium SIS junctions on a quartz dielectric-filled parabola. The 1.4 GHz intermediate frequency is coupled from the mixer via coplanar strip transmission lines and 4:1 balun transformers. The receiver is operated at 4.2 K in a liquid helium immersion cryostat. We report accurate measurements of the performance of single receiver elements. A mixer noise temperature of 89 K DSB, receiver noise temperature of 156 K DSB, and conversion loss of 3 dB into a matched load have been obtained

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Using The U.S. Banking Industry

There are many analyses of the economic effects that regulations, in general, and Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in particular, have had on American business. This analysis looks at the effect that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has had on the American banking industry. The return on assets and return on equity were obtained from the Federal Reserve Bank for all SEC-registered and nonregistered banks for the period 2000 through 2005. Comparative results indicate that during the period that the Act had been in effect there is a marked negative divergence for SEC-registered banks as opposed to those banks that do not report to the SEC

Tax Professional Internships And Subsequent Professional Performance

How do internships influence the socialization and performance of accounting students employed in the tax department of a CPA firm?  Previous research on accounting internships primarily focuses on auditing personnel.  There is evidence in the literature that indicates audit and tax professionals have different work cultures.  This paper examines the relationship between internships and subsequent professional performance of tax professionals as measured by promotion velocity and employee turnover.  The human resource department, from seven regional CPA firms with similarly structured internship programs, provided performance, promotion and turnover data on employees who completed internships and employees who did not complete internships.  The results of the study indicate that internships positively affect performance evaluations, promotions, and employee retention of tax professionals

Parallel Processing Implementations of a Contextual Classifier for Multispectral Remote Sensing Data

Contextual classifiers are being developed as a method to exploit the spatial/spectral context of a pixel to achieve accurate classification. Classification algorithms such as the contextual classifier typically require large amounts of computation time. One way to reduce the execution time of these tasks is through the use of parallelism. The applicability of the CDC Flexible Processor system and of a proposed multimicroprocessor system (PASM) for implementing contextual classifiers is examined

Identifying Ethical Hypernorms For Accounting Educators

Accounting educators have a unique role in academe because students learn about codes of ethics that will guide their actions as professionals. We identify hypernorms related to internal auditing educators that reflect unethical behaviors believed to be universally unacceptable by that community. We then compare the results to a prior survey of accounting educators and identify ethical principles for accounting academics in their roles as teachers and researchers. The results might help to develop a code of ethics for accounting educators to help them serve as role models for students as they prepare to enter the accounting profession

Self-stigma in PTSD: Prevalence and correlates

Self-stigma is the internalization of negative societal stereotypes about those with mental illnesses. While self-stigma has been carefully characterized in severe mental disorders, like schizophrenia, the field has yet to examine the prevalence and correlates of self-stigma in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Thus, we assessed self-stigma in veterans diagnosed with PTSD and compared with veterans with schizophrenia. We further examined associations between PTSD, depressive symptoms and self-stigma in the PTSD sample. Data came from two larger studies of people with PTSD (n = 46) and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (n = 82). All participants completed the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMIS). Results revealed that people with schizophrenia report more experiences of discrimination as a result of stigma than do those with PTSD, but these diagnostic groups did not differ for other subscales. In the PTSD group, feelings of alienation positively correlated with PTSD and depressive symptoms; other subscales positively correlated with depressive symptoms only. Taken together, results suggest a significant level of self-stigma exists among veterans with PTSD, and that self-stigma has an effect on PTSD and commonly comorbid symptoms, like depression. Future work should investigate whether current self-stigma interventions for other groups could be applicable for those with PTSD