Accounting research papers focus on experimentation.
Writing an accounting research paper will provide you with the opportunity to propose new ideas, promote your concepts and learn about new practices in the field. Research papers should have narrow topics to investigate all the aspects of a topic or problem. Be sure to have a clear goal before beginning your paper.
Auditing Collusion
You will investigate the relationship between the owner and manager of a company and the auditor and owner of a company. There is a tendency for these individuals to collude to alter the value of the company. You can analyze past research and gather inferences and results from previous studies or review a current situation in a company. Test these relationships and determine what results occur from the collusion partnerships; for instance, when the manager colludes with the auditor, the manager can steal from the company easier, because income is not reported to the owner. Study the extent of the collusion and the rate of distortion that can occur between these individuals.
Earnings Management
Research the legality of creative accounting, where numbers are smoothed over to make the company look more profitable than it is. Look over past studies and cases to determine what the results were when creative accounting was used. Locate any instances when corporate accounting was acceptable, if any. Investigate how investors react to different earnings, and if smoothing over numbers actually makes them happier. Review the types of accounting strategies that would allow such manipulation. Identify the audit procedures that may reveal creative accounting. Make recommendations about earnings management. Make your own inferences and conclusions about earnings management.
Cash Flow
When you are researching cash flow, you are investigating its structure. Investments into companies are based on cash flow statements, but noncash assets and accounts are not included, even if they make the company money. Discover what types of accounting strategies can be used to include noncash items in investment research for potential investors. Investigate how including these accounts would change the financial outlook of the company. Calculate if noncash accounts and assets actually indicate profitability or profit capability within the company.
History
The history of accounting is a common topic for research papers. Trace the field and the practice back to its creation. What caused its creation, and how was accounting conducted in the beginning. Investigate when governments first instituted accounting laws. Find out why the government started creating rules and laws to govern accounting. Compare and contrast the laws from different governments. Discover new laws during your research. Identify the impact new laws have on the accounting field.
