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• 23 Apr 2024
• In Practice

Getting to Net Zero: The Climate Standards and Ecosystem the World Needs Now

What can companies and regulators do as climate predictions grow grimmer? They should measure their impact, strengthen environmental institutions, and look to cities to lead, say Robert Kaplan, Shirley Lu, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter.

• 17 Jan 2024
• Research & Ideas

Are Companies Getting Away with 'Cheap Talk' on Climate Goals?

Many companies set emissions targets with great fanfare—and never meet them, says research by Shirley Lu and colleagues. But what if investors held businesses accountable for achieving their climate plans?

• 23 Jun 2023

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

Dutch home health care organization Buurtzorg avoids middle management positions and instead empowers its nurses to care for patients as they see fit. Tatiana Sandino and Ethan Bernstein explore how removing organizational layers and allowing employees to make decisions can boost performance.

• 07 Feb 2023

Supervisor of Sandwiches? More Companies Inflate Titles to Avoid Extra Pay

What does an assistant manager of bingo actually manage? Increasingly, companies are falsely classifying hourly workers as managers to avoid paying an estimated $4 billion a year in overtime, says research by Lauren Cohen.

• 13 Jan 2023

Are Companies Actually Greener—or Are They All Talk?

More companies than ever use ESG reports to showcase their social consciousness. But are these disclosures meaningful or just marketing? Research by Ethan Rouen delves into the murky world of voluntary reporting and offers advice for investors.

• 24 Feb 2022

Want to Prevent the Next Hospital Bed Crisis? Enlist the SEC

After two years of COVID-19, many hospitals still haven't figured out how to manage the overwhelming wave of patients that flood ICUs during each surge. Regina Herzlinger and Richard Boxer offer a novel solution. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 28 Feb 2021
• Working Paper Summaries

Connecting Expected Stock Returns to Accounting Valuation Multiples: A Primer

This paper introduces a framework to investors and researchers interested in accounting-based valuation. The framework connects expected stock returns to accounting valuation anchors. It can be generalized to evaluate an enterprise's expected returns, and can be adapted to correct for the use of stale accounting data.

Measuring Employment Impact: Applications and Cases

Employment impact-weighted accounting statements quantify the positive and negative effects of firm practices for employees and the broader labor community. This analysis of companies in different sectors shows how these statements are beneficial both at an aggregate and more specific level.

• 02 Nov 2020

Accounting for Organizational Employment Impact

Impact-weighted accounting methodology standardizes previously disparate measures of impact, in this case the impact of employment. This paper’s methodology and analysis of Intel, Apple, Costco, and Merck shows the feasibility of measuring firm employment impact for insight into firm practices and performance. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

• 20 Sep 2020

Updating the Balanced Scorecard for Triple Bottom Line Strategies

Society increasingly expects businesses to help solve problems of environmental degradation, inequality, and poverty. This paper explains how the Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Map should be modified to reflect businesses’ expanded role for society.

• 24 Aug 2020

Performance Hacking: The Contagious Business Practice that Corrodes Corporate Culture, Undermines Core Values, and Damages Great Companies

Performance hacking (or p-hacking for short) means overzealous advocacy of positive interpretations to the point of detachment from actuals. In business as in research there are strong incentives to p-hack. If p-hacking behaviours are not checked, a crash becomes inevitable.

• 27 Feb 2020
• Sharpening Your Skills

How Following Best Business Practices Can Improve Health Care

Why do Harvard Business School scholars spend so much time and money analyzing health care delivery? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 18 Feb 2020

A Preliminary Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts

Although there is growing interest in environmental, social, and governance measurement, the impact of company operations is emphasized over product use. A framework like this one that captures a product’s reach, accessibility, quality, optionality, environmental use emissions, and end of life recyclability allows for a systematic methodology that can be applied to companies across many industries.

• 16 Oct 2019

Core Earnings? New Data and Evidence

Using a novel dataset of earnings-related disclosures embedded in the 10-Ks, this paper shows how detailed financial statement analysis can produce a measure of core earnings that is more persistent than traditional earnings measures and forecasts future performance. Analysts and market participants are slow to appreciate the importance of transitory earnings.

• 28 May 2019

Investor Lawsuits Against Auditors Are Falling, and That's Bad News for Capital Markets

It's becoming more difficult for investors to sue corporate auditors. The result? A weakening of trust in US capital markets, says Suraj Srinivasan. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 22 Jan 2019

Corporate Sustainability: A Strategy?

Between 2012 and 2017, companies within most industries adopted an increasingly similar set of sustainability practices. This study examines the interplay between common and strategic practices. This dynamic distinction helps for understanding whether and how sustainability practices can help companies establish a competitive advantage over time.

• 03 Jan 2019

Financing the Response to Climate Change: The Pricing and Ownership of US Green Bonds

Green bonds are used for environmentally friendly purposes like renewable energy. Complementing previous research, this paper explores the US corporate and municipal green bond and shows that a subset of investors is willing to give up some return to hold green bonds.

• 03 Dec 2018

How Companies Can Increase Market Rewards for Sustainability Efforts

There is a connection between public sentiment about a company and how the market rewards its corporate social performance, according to George Serafeim. Is your company undervalued? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 19 Nov 2018

Lazy Prices

The most comprehensive information windows that firms provide to the markets—in the form of their mandated annual and quarterly filings—have changed dramatically over time, becoming significantly longer and more complex. When firms break from their routine phrasing and content, this action contains rich information for future firm stock returns and outcomes.

• 24 Sep 2018

How Cost Accounting is Improving Healthcare in Rural Haiti

The cost of healthcare in rural Haiti was found to vary widely, even inside the same health organization. A pioneering cost accounting system co-developed by Robert Kaplan was called in to determine the cause. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• USF Research
• USF Libraries

Digital Commons @ USF > Muma College of Business > School of Accountancy > Theses and Dissertations

Accounting Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

The Rise of Text Analysis: Using Machine Learning to Explain the Variation in Going Concern Accuracy , Yimei Zhang

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Influence Auditors' Knowledge-Sharing Behavior , Xu Cheng

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Retail Investors' Perceptions of Financial Disclosures on Social Media: An Experimental Investigation Using Twitter , Neal Michael Snow

Does the Format of Internal Control Disclosures Matter? An Experimental Investigation of Nonprofessional Investor Behavior , Amanuel Fekade Tadesse

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Do Changing Reference Levels affect the Long-Term Effectiveness of Incentive Contracts? , Lee Michael Kersting

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

The Effects of Directional Audit Guidance and Estimation Uncertainty on Auditor Confirmation Bias and Professional Skepticism When Evaluating Fair Value Estimates , Norma R. Montague

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

Mitigating Escalation of Commitment: An Investigation of the Effects of Priming and Decision-Making Setting in Capital Project Continuation Decisions , Ann C. Dzuranin

Understanding and Improving Use-Tax Compliance: A Theory of Planned Behavior Approach , Christopher Robert Jones

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

Detecting Financial Statement Fraud: Three Essays on Fraud Predictors, Multi-Classifier Combination and Fraud Detection Using Data Mining , Johan L. Perols

Performance and Perception: An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Continuous Reporting and Continuous Assurance on Individual Investors , Anita Reed

The Effect of Multidimensional Information Presentation on the Effectiveness and Efficiency of a Spatial Accounting Judgment , John K. Tan

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150 Original Accounting Research Paper Topics

Our academic experts understand how hard it can be to come up with original accounting research paper topics for assignments. Students are often dealing with multiple responsibilities and trying to balance numerous deadlines. Searching the web or class notes takes up a lot of time. Therefore, we have put together our list of 150 accounting research topics that students can choose from or gather inspiration from.

Managerial Accounting Topics for College Students

This area of study has tremendous upside as more businesses rely on managerial accountants to bring innovative changes to their organizations. Here is a list of topics for research paper in this area:

• Differences between financial accounting and managerial accounting.
• Managerial accounting in the 21 st century.
• The impact of managerial accounting in big businesses.
• The major components of activity-based costing.
• How managerial accounting affects international finance.
• The impact managerial accounting has on human resources.
• The major components of capital budgeting.
• How managerial accounting affects internal business decisions.
• Effective ways of adopting managerial accounting into small businesses.
• Differences between variable costing and absorption costing.

Accounting Blog Topics for Today’s Generation

The following collection can be considered accounting hot topics because they deal with the issues that are most important to today’s generation of accountants that utilize advanced software to keep businesses successful:

• Cost of manufacturing goods overseas.
• The cost of instituting anti-harassment programs.
• Inventory and cost of products sold in the U.S.
• Reinventing accounts payable processes.
• Using best practices to boost the bottom line.
• The cost of keeping human resources on staff.
• Simplifying procedures in accounts payable.
• The cost of updating internal systems with technology.
• The cost-effectiveness of employee training.
• Working capital increasing in large companies.

Advanced Accounting Topics

As students advance academically, they may want to consider these topics for research paper to earn higher scores in their classes. Here are some suggestions:

• How to run an efficient large accounting department.
• Red flags in outdated accounting processes.
• Identifying unconventional processes in payment processes.
• Utilizing paperless processes in small businesses.
• Applying EDP to accounts payable processes.
• The benefits of automating payables and receivables.
• Outsourcing procurement processes to save money.
• Automation to handle repetitive processes.
• The need for diversifying skills in accounting.
• The ways time affects seasonal cash flow.

Controversial Accounting Topics

Many accounting topics for research papers need to draw a reader’s attention right from the start. This list of topics is controversial and should accomplish just that:

• The impact the Jobs Act will have on large businesses.
• The positive effects tax cuts will have on small business.
• The risks of offshore accounting on U.S. businesses.
• The need to update software each year to avoid accounting problems.
• How small businesses are falling behind in accounting practices.
• The impact bonus depreciation allows businesses.
• Applying to government relief programs.
• Describe the role the internet has on accounting.
• The trustworthiness of online accounting programs.
• The negatives of auditing collusion.

Intermediate Accounting Topics

These accounting paper topics are meant for students that have acquired skills in writing but may not have developed the skills needed to write a top-notch paper quite yet. They should be easy to research given a proper planning period:

• Discuss why companies need to incorporate automated processes.
• The problems with ethics in accounting practices.
• Technology advancements that improve accounting accuracy.
• The problem with accuracy in decade-old software.
• Explain the best way to help accountants work manually.
• Describe the historical prospect of best accounting practices.
• The most effective way to become a certified accountant.
• Compare accounting systems that improve processes.
• The quick flow of data and the value on today’s accountants.
• The negatives that come from relying on accounting software.

Interesting Accounting Topics

Sometimes you need to consider accounting project topics that would be great for numerous situations. You may need to present before a class or write a paper for a discussion panel. These ideas may suit your needs:

• Explain the concept of accounting theory to practice.
• The theories behind normative accounting practices.
• The effect theories in accounting have on businesses.
• Challenges of taking theory to practice.
• The major changes in accounting practices over the last 25 years.
• The impact the internet has had on accounting ethics.
• Accounting practices in the 21 st century.
• The challenges of accounting technologies on fast-growing companies.
• The dangers the internet poses toward ethical accounting.
• Describe the difficulties that come from putting theories into practice.

Accounting Projects Topics for a Short Project

Some cost accounting topics are worthy of an audience but need to be completed within a tight deadline. These project ideas are easy to research and can be completed within one week:

• Use of efficient accounting software in tax season.
• Applicable Professional and Legal Standards.
• The difficulties in using offshore accounting.
• The most effective way of managing earnings.
• The development of cash flow in the United Kingdom.
• The development of cash flow in the United States.
• The best way to manage personal finances.
• The effect financial markets have on personal spending.
• Debt management in large corporations.
• Accounting challenges during the pandemic.

Forensic Accounting Research Topics

This is another area of accounting that has a promising future for small to large businesses. Here are forensic accounting research paper topics you can use if you are interested in this booming segment:

• Methods for identifying instances of money laundering.
• The government’s right to search private accounts.
• The use of tax records to report possible crimes.
• Class action litigation cases in the United States.
• Court use of forensic accounting in criminal cases.
• Forensic accounting to develop better anti-fraud programs.
• A company’s reliance on forensic accounting to prevent theft.
• Establishing controls in emerging international markets.
• Forensic accountants and their role in court proceedings.
• Natural disaster and loss quantification practices.

Accounting Theory Topics for College

Good accounting thesis topics should mirror personally important issues. Essay ideas should reflect the things you want to learn more about and explore in-depth. Here is a list that may pique your interest:

• Impact of accounting research on financial practices.
• Scientific research studies in modern economies.
• Modern accounting concepts and applications.
• The change in accounting practices over the last two decades.
• Describe the components of Positive Theory.
• Marketplace discipline across major industries.
• Major accounting theories and techniques in big businesses.
• The use of technology to reduce accounting costs.
• Technology theory in the use of modern accounting.
• Risk management and the most effective theories.

Accounting Dissertation Topics for Grad Students

The following topic ideas delve into some serious issues in accounting and are much more difficult to handle. These should be approached with the utmost academic determination to earn a master’s or a Ph.D.:

• Compare accounting software versus manual accounting.
• Tax management procedures in the 21 st century.
• The risks of updated technology in small companies.
• The costs associated with broader health care in the workplace.
• The history of accounting in the 20 th century.
• The best method of managing debts without difficulties.
• Accounting problems caused by online transactions.
• Cryptocurrency and its impact on modern accounting practices.
• Forecasting jobs in the field of accounting.
• The danger technology poses to the accounting industry.

Current Accounting Topics for College

If you don’t have enough time to research current topics in accounting, these ideas will help you save time. There are plenty of online resources discussing current issues and you can also find information in the library:

• Compare and contrast different cryptocurrencies.
• The definition of a successful and modern business account.
• Non-profit organizations and tax reductions.
• Sports accounting in today’s world of social media.
• The financial benefits of having a second stream of revenue.
• Financial stock management of overall earnings.
• The relationship between corporate donations and accounting.
• Minimizing risks in big and small-sized businesses.
• The impact that tax deductions have on big businesses.
• Financial strategies to ensure employee retention.

Hot Topics in Accounting for a Graduate Level Course

These are the topics you should be considered for a graduate-level course if you want to make a great impression on the professor. Just be sure to do your due diligence and research your selected topic thoroughly:

• The instances of “cooking books” in the 21 st century.
• The best approach to update accounting systems.
• Fraud cases currently in the United States.
• The importance of forensic accountants in fraud cases.
• The reasons account reports have government regulations.
• The benefits of incorporating computerized accounting.
• The need for companies to make changes to accounting departments.
• Evolving accounting practices that reduce the risk of theft.
• The effects offshore gambling has had on accounting.
• Privacy protocols to keep accounting practices secret.

Financial Accounting Topics Being Discussed Today

Topics in accounting are rooted in financial processes that date back centuries. Yet, there are still many innovative ideas that drive business success. Consider these topics for an essay on issues that are current for today’s world:

• The evolution of accounting practices over the last century.
• The biggest ethical concerns about accounting.
• Minimizing taxes when you are a small company.
• Accounting software that will cut company costs.
• The best way to lower taxes through accounting practices.
• Describe the way managerial accounting is affected by international markets.
• Explain the major factors of management earnings.
• The most accurate way to figure out the estimated tax on a company’s earnings.
• The quickest way to become a certified accountant.
• Describe how culture influences accounting practices.

Accounting Information Systems Research

The next set of topics are great for anyone wanting to combine accounting with technology. We put together this set to generate interest in this area:

• The ways small businesses can benefit from advanced technologies.
• Describe how IT affects financial analysis for reporting.
• Explain how companies use AIS to collect and store data.
• Explain the 10 elements used to understand AIS.
• Rank the best accounting information systems.
• The future of AIS in small business financial practices.
• Explain how AIS eliminates the use of balance sheets.
• AIS technologies save money in large businesses.
• The future of AIS in small to mid-size businesses.
• Describe the role of AIS in modern business.

Accounting Presentation Topics for College

These presentation topics cover a wide range of areas that are perfect for diverse interests. At the college level, students must conduct a lot of academic research to guarantee they have all the most relevant information needed to present on a great topic:

• Describe how forensic accounting can reduce risk to small businesses.
• Describe the challenges value and cost that managers deal with.
• The biggest changes to accounting practices in the 21 st century.
• The benefits of having separate controlling accounts.
• The rapid flow of data and the importance of modern accountants.
• Describe how forensic accountants conduct their investigations.
• The most likely causes of financial instability in small businesses.
• Explain the factors one must consider before investing.
• Describe the differences between financial and management accounting.
• Describe the impact of new taxation policies on managerial accounting.

What do you think of our accounting research topics? These are available for free and can be shared with other students. If you need a custom list of accounting topics, our academic experts can take your assignment details and provide you with original and simple accounting research topics to facilitate your project and help you earn a top grade. We can also provide you with writing, editing, and proofreading services to ensure your assignment is error-free and gets you the highest score possible.

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30 Accounting Research Paper Topics and Ideas for Writing

Most students face hurdles approaching accounting research papers. They need to proceed with complex financial terminology and make the structure look like a continuous flow. Beyond that, financial accounting doesn’t seem a matter where you can let your imagination run riot. That’s why such papers may end up being faulty.

While some students prefer hiring an expert to buy a research paper online written from scratch, others build a plan B with attempts to master it on their own. This guide is the exact plan B for those who don’t give in the chance to manage complex accounting research papers. Learn the best topics to choose from, and get interesting ideas for your prolific writing.

Top 30 Accounting Research Paper Topics

Below you may find the top 30 topics that may help you get an A grade. Yet, you may modify them per your preferences. The main idea is to find a topic that can be supported with many facts and examples that will show a professor your proficiency in the field.

• Manual accounting versus accounting software;
• Managing debts without trouble;
• The negative aspect of off-shores;
• The advances of online banking;
• Strategies to make profit flow without mistakes;
• History of accounting in Europe, America, and Asia;
• The problems of accounting accuracy;
• Profit management;
• Tax management in a modern society;
• Most hard accounting theories in America/Canada/UK/India/Europe/China/BrazilAustralia/Japan/Africa, or any other country;
• Difficulties concerning tax dodgers;
• Can business work without accounting software;
• How to avoid inaccuracies with large profits in a business?
• Accounting literacy for children;
• Financial instability in America;
• How to protect accounting data from third-party access?
• How can one accounting mistake lead to bankruptcy?
• Past and current accounting standards;
• How do we distribute extra earnings among employees?
• The correlation between accounting and donations?
• Fake accounting reports – their impact on the economy;
• The secrets of financial standing on the market;
• Stocks and financial management of the earnings;
• Tax reduction for non-profit organizations;
• How to minimize accounting risks within small-sized companies?
• A profile of a modern and successful account;
• Accounting history over the last 50 years;
• Is accounting a good occupation to choose in 2021?
• Online money vs. paper money;
• Online transactions and e-commerce accounting problems.

Beyond that, a student may play around with one accounting term and develop its importance to the modern financial system. You may refer to this Financial encyclopedia for more terminology.  

Otherwise, a good option is to speak to a professor to learn about the rarely covered and interesting topics to investigate. Remember, you should show your best proficiency in the end.

Top Ideas for Accounting Research Paper

Since we live in a modern world, it dictates modern approaches to accounting. It is achieved through designated software or mobile applications. It may draw you to one obvious idea covering mobile/online/virtual accounting. If it seems a piece of cake, you may also refer to the next ideas:

• What are common hurdles you experience with accounting? Research this matter, taking into consideration your problems . For example, mobile applications take much time to submit all financial information, which you should refresh 5-times. Find the online users’ feedback on one accounting application, and gather the collective problems as evidence or fact.
• Investigate the scandalous events related to off-shores or tax dodgers. You may get inspiration to cover one of the 5th famous tax cheats. Learn their stories, and investigate the background of such stories. Why, when, at what cost, etc.
• If appropriate, you may write about Bitcoin or other virtual currency. For instance, Bitcoin broke the record recently in its prime cost. Research what events led to such a record , what the average price of this currency is, etc.
• Provide a professor with your unique accounting strategy. If you plan to climb the career ladder in the field, you may show your future impact. For example, tell about your ethics related to accounting or ways of improving the economy of the country with new approaches. Still, since it is a research paper, you should fill your paper with much other evidence and facts to make it look academic .

That’s it. Spend some qualitative time thinking about the accounting field to cover, which won’t be trite and already well-researched. It is better to dedicate at least 1-2 days only to the investigation of your future topic.

What to Avoid in Accounting Research Papers?

When you are done with the search for a topic, look at the following advice on what to avoid in your research papers.

#1 Personal Opinions

A research paper is all about the reliability of the information. No need to add – I, me, myself to the extreme. Play around sources only!

#2 Missing correlations

In particular, it concerns the missing correlation between your thesis statement and the stuffing found in the main body. Ensure you open the body by referring to your primary thesis. The same concerns the conclusion. There should be no new information you don’t cover in the main body.

#3 No cited sources

Missing citations are shared among all the students. One such mistake, your research paper won’t pass any plagiarism choices. After citing all the borrowings, go to any plagiarism checker (or the one your professor uses), and check if there are many such online citation services.

#4 No proofreading

• Plagiarism and citations are half of the deal. Double-check your paper for accuracy.
• Is there all information covered?
• Are you satisfied with the grammar and accounting terminology used?
• Can you learn something new by reading the paper?

Pretend you are a professor or other student who wants to learn something new. Or, give your paper to your friend or relative to receive feedback.

Memorize all these tricks and tips, and choose one topic for your research. Be creative but stick to sources and only reliable information. No need for a mediocre approach since accounting is not a pool for imagination.