Xiaochuan Zheng

Bio: Xiaochuan Zheng is an academic researcher from Bryant University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Closed-end fund & Open-end fund. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 17 publications receiving 203 citations.

XBRL Mandate: Thousands of Filing Errors and So What?

Abstract: Since the mandate by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to begin interactive data reporting in June 2009, according to XBRL Cloud, an XBRL product and service provider, more than 4,000 filing errors have been identified. We examine the overall changing pattern of the errors to understand whether the large number of errors may hamper the transition to interactive data reporting. Using a sample of 4,532 filings that contain 4,260 errors, we document a significant learning curve exhibited by the XBRL filers. Specifically, we find that the number of errors per filing is significantly decreasing when a company files more times, suggesting that the company filers or the filing agents many companies use learn from their experiences and therefore the future filings are improved. Our findings provide evidence to encourage the regulatory body, the filers, and the XBRL technology supporting community to embrace the new disclosure requirement in financial reporting. The significantly decreas...

Compensation/audit committee overlap and the design of compensation systems

Abstract: This study examines the association between director overlap (defined as overlapping membership on the compensation and audit committees) and incentive-based compensation schemes. Using a sample of firms in the S&P 500 over the period 1997–2005, we find that cash compensation plans are not associated with director overlap, while option compensation is negatively associated with director overlap. These results suggest that knowledge of the misstatement-inducing effects of option-based compensation may spill over from the audit committee to the compensation committee, which may lead the compensation committee to reduce the option-based component of executive compensation. This research sheds some light on the association between board structure and corporate governance effectiveness. Its findings have important practical implications. Given the limited number of board members available, the organization must consider how to allocate an individual director among different committees. The findings of this research provide some guidance in this regard. For instance, this study suggests that the overlapping of the compensation committee and the audit committee may be beneficial to the design of compensation schemes because of the knowledge spillover between the two committees.

Do Accounting Faculty Characteristics Impact CPA Exam Performance? An Investigation of Nearly 700,000 Examinations

Abstract: While many colleges and universities publicize CPA examination pass rates as evidence of having a high-quality accounting program, some have questioned whether program-specific characteristics are legitimate predictors of examination success. To examine this issue, we empirically investigate the link between accounting faculty characteristics and performance on the CPA examination. We examine the results from nearly 700,000 first-time exam sittings taken during the period 2005–2013 and find that faculty research and teaching specialization has a significant impact on CPA exam performance. That is, when a program has a relatively higher percentage of accounting faculty with expertise in a particular content area tested on the exam (e.g., auditing), graduates achieve higher scores on the related exam section (e.g., AUD). We also find that faculty research productivity and CPA certification status are positively related to candidate exam performance. We believe these results contribute to the exist...

The Association between Sustainability Governance Characteristics and the Assurance of Corporate Sustainability Reports

Abstract: The following study seeks to provide evidence on whether sustainability-oriented corporate governance mechanisms impact the voluntary assurance of corporate sustainability reports. Specifically, we consider the presence and characteristics of environmental committees on the board of directors and a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) among the management team. When examining the assurance services, we make a distinction between those services performed by external assurance providers and the company’s internal auditors. We find that the presence of an environmental committee and a CSO are positively associated with corporate sustainability report assurance services. However, presently, environmental committees appear to prefer the services of consultants and internal auditors. Additional analysis suggests the associations are conditional upon the committee’s expertise and overlap with the audit committee. Similarly, sustainability assurance appears to increase in relation to CSO expertise. Our results are particularly important to those with interests in understanding the evolution and demand for sustainability assurance, as well as the impact of environmental governance mechanisms that are increasingly part of the corporate mosaic. Overall our results suggest that there remain large opportunities for both external and internal audit standard setters to establish stronger guidelines increasing the value and demand for sustainability assurance services.

The Association between Sustainability Governance Characteristics and the Assurance of Corporate Sustainability Reports

Abstract: SUMMARY: This study provides evidence on whether sustainability-oriented corporate governance mechanisms impact the voluntary assurance of corporate sustainability reports. Specifically, we consid...

Exploring the impacts of interactions, social presence and emotional engagement on active collaborative learning in a social web-based environment

Abstract: This study examines the influence of social presence, interactions (student-student and teacher-student) and emotional engagement on active learning within the context of social web-based collaborative learning (SWBCL). In order to accomplish this objective, an empirical study was conducted with 416 students from two universities, organized into groups of 4 or 5 students, who were instructed to complete a collaborative project over the course of one semester. At the end of the project, the students filled out a questionnaire and the resulting data was analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. The results suggest that social presence and teacher-student interaction have a positive influence on students' active learning, both directly and indirectly, through emotional engagement. This variable also mediates the influence of student-student interactions, which have a less significant impact on active learning than the other analyzed variables. Consequently, this study offers important contributions to the study and practice of active learning in a SWBCL environment.

Measuring Accounting Reporting Complexity with XBRL

Abstract: Using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) filings, we propose two measures of accounting complexity The first is based on the number of US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy tags reported in the annual financial filings The second is based on the number of customized (extended) XBRL tags created by companies when the taxonomy does not include suitable tags to represent company-specific accounting concepts Based on existing theory, we conjecture that high volume and more unique company-specific accounting information complicate the preparation of the financial reports We validate these measures by examining their association with several proxies for financial reporting quality We find that the proposed accounting complexity measures are strongly associated with increased likelihood of issuing financial statement restatements, disclosing material weaknesses in internal controls and with higher level of abnormal accruals Greater complexity is also positively associated with higher audit fees