Accounting and Auditing Research and Databases

THOMAS R. WEIRICH, PHD, CPA, is the Jerry and Felicia Campbell Endowed Professor of Accounting at Central Michigan University and former chair of its School of Accounting. He has served in the Office of the Chief Accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; as a consultant to the Public Oversight Board’s Panel on Audit Effectiveness; and as an expert witness for the SEC and several other organizations. He has written numerous articles in professional journals. NATALIE TATIANA CHURYK, PHD, CPA, is the Caterpillar Professor of Accountancy at Northern Illinois University. She is a contributor to the annual Wiley CPA Exam Review: Financial Accounting and Reporting and Wiley Focus Notes: Financial Accounting and Reporting. A frequent contributor to academic and professional journals, Dr. Churyk has received research grants from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Institute of Management Accountants. THOMAS C. PEARSON, LLM, JD, MBA, CPA, is a Professor of Accounting at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and former director of its School of Accountancy. Pearson has published a number of articles in professional and leading academic accounting journals and has won numerous teaching awards.

• Preface xiiiAcknowledgments xvChapter 1 An Introduction to Applied Professional Research 1What Is Research? 2Research Questions 4The Nature of Professional Research 7Critical Thinking and Effective Communication 9The Economic Consequences of Standard Setting 14The Role of Research in the Accounting Firm 15Remaining Current in Knowledge and Skills 27International Complexities in Practice 29Summary 29Notes 30Appendix: Abbreviations Commonly Used in Citations 31Chapter 2 The Environment of U.S. Research—the SEC and the FASB 37The Accounting Environment 37SEC Accounting for Public Companies 38American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) 47U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) 49The Financial Accounting Standards Board, Advisory Boards, and the Emerging Issue Task Force 52The Levels of U.S. GAAP and FASBAccounting Standards Codification 61Locating U.S. GAAP 65The FASB Accounting Standards Codification Research System (the Codification) 65Codification Access 66Navigating the Codification 68The Research Process 73Email, Print, and Copy/Paste Functions 81Summary 85Notes 85Chapter 3 The Environment of International Research 87The International Accounting Environment 87Other Regional and National Standard-SettingBodies and Organizations In fluencing IFRS 94IASB Authorities 95The IASB’s Conceptual Framework 101IFRS Funding, Regulation, and Enforcement 103International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Research 106Summary 119Notes 120Chapter 4 Other Research Databases and Tools 121Governmental Accounting Sources (FASAB and GASB) 121Other Databases for Accounting Authorities 127Researching Industries and Companies 131Industry Research 133Major Databases 135Researching Corporate News 149Research Tools 154Research Strategies 156Summary 157Appendix 1: Checklist for Industry Research 158Appendix 2: Checklist for Company Research 159Appendix 3: Websites 160Chapter 5 Tax Research for Compliance and Tax Planning 163Tax Research Databases 164The Internal Revenue Code 170Treasury Regulations 172Other Administrative Authorities 174Judicial Sources 180Original Jurisdiction Courts 183Steps in Conducting Tax Research 185The Tax Research Environment 196Regulation of Tax Professionals 211Summary 212Notes 213Appendix: Selected Tax Websites 213Chapter 6 Assurance/Auditing Research 215Introduction 215Assurance Services 216Consulting Services and Standards 217Auditing Standard-Setting Environment 218Auditing Standard-Setting Process 228AICPA Code of Professional Conduct 231Auditing Standards in the Public Sector 236Compilation and Review Services 238Role of Judgment in Accounting and Auditing 239Economic Consequences 240Summary 241Notes 241About the Authors 243Index 247