Sessions and Topics

1. Introduction: Introduction to International Accounting Research Why is accounting regulation important?

2. Research Methods I: Theory in International Accounting Research and Literature Research

3. Research Methods II: Empirical analysis in International Accounting Research

4. Research Topics I: Do differences across (International) Accounting Standards matter?

5. Research Topics II: Are harmonized International Accounting Standards beneficial?

6. Research Topics III: Is accounting information useful and/or relevant? Is accounting information reliable and unbiased?

7. Research Topics IV: Is accounting information helpful in contracting?

8. Exam

After successfully completing this course, students will have (1) subject-specific knowledge and (2) technical skills to undertake a small research project on their own, e.g. a Bachelor’s thesis, in the area of international accounting.

(1) To provide students with the necessary subject-specific knowledge to undertake a small research project in the area of international accounting, the course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of research topics in international accounting research. Specifically, the students will be able to answer the following questions after completing this course:

1. Why is accounting regulation important?

2. Do differences across (International) Accounting Standards matter?

3. Are harmonized International Accounting Standards beneficial?

4. Is accounting information useful and/or relevant?

5. Is accounting information reliable and unbiased?

6. Is accounting information helpful in contracting?

(2) To provide students with the technical skills to read and understand research in international accounting, the course will provide students with a step-by-step framework to read and analyze research papers in the area of international accounting. Specifically, after successfully completing this course students will be able to

1. read and understand research papers in international accounting. Specifically, after successfully completing the course students will be able to

• understand how academic papers are typically structured,
• identify an academic paper’s research question and its motivation,
• identify the theoretical body of an academic paper and its hypotheses and/or predictions,
• identify the methodological approach used in the paper to answer the research question,identify the results of an academic paper and put them into perspective.

2. conduct a thorough and comprehensive literature review of a given research question and/or topic. Specifically, after successfully completing the course students will be able to

• search and retrieve academic papers in international accounting research using common databases,
• find related and similar literature for a given academic paper,
• place academic papers in a body of prior academic research related to the research question,
• differentiate between different stages of academic research (working paper vs. publication),

This course will not provide students with the following skills:

• Students will not learn how to cite and manage academic research. The WU library specifically provides courses for students who are interested in this topic
• Students will not learn about formalities of academic research.

PI - 80% minimum presence in lectures.

The course offers two types of lectures to achieve the defined learning outcomes.

(1) Subject-specific lectures:

To provide students with the necessary knowledge in international accounting research, the lectures are centered around a general question or theme concerning international accounting. Subject-specific lectures are designed as a self-contained unit and cover the most important research papers around the theme of the lecture and conclude with the state-of-the-art of the research stream.

(2) Research methods lectures:

To provide students with the technical skills to read and understand research in international accounting, research method lectures are practical and hands-on oriented lectures in which students learn and practice the skills needed to read, understand and work with research papers in international accounting research. In these lectures, the learning outcomes of point (2) will be demonstrated using a sample paper. Specifically, the lectures will dissect one paper throughout the course and students will go through the entire paper step-by-step during the course.

Students’ assessment is based on multiple types of assessment to provide students with extensive opportunities to demonstrate their acquired skills.

1. Report on assigned paper (40% of course grading)

At the beginning of the course, each student is assigned a research paper that the student has to work on during the course. The assigned paper is set in one of the themes/questions dealt with in the research topics lectures. Students are required to hand in a report of the assigned paper at the end of the course. The report should consist of the following parts, which are covered in lectures:

a) Executive summary of a research paper (2-3 pages)
Students have to write a short executive summary of the paper assigned covering the research question of the paper, the paper’s motivation, theory and the results.

b) Literature review (3-4 pages)
Students have to find sufficient papers related to the assigned paper’s research question and shortly summarize including a statement on the papers’ research question, methodological approach and results.

The report on the assigned paper constitutes 40% of the course grading.

2. Final written exam at the end of the course (40% of course grading)

Students are supposed to take a final exam at the end of the course, which covers the topics and techniques dealt with in the course.

The final exam constitutes 40% of the course grading.

3. Homework and in-class participation (20% of course grading)

Students are supposed to actively prepare the next lecture and actively participate in class. Students are assigned small tasks to complete at home to provide sufficient incentives to prepare the next lecture in advance. During class students are provided small tasks, questions etc. to actively participate in class.

Homework and in-class participation constitutes 20% of the course grading.