Qualitative Methods Symposium on Auditing, Governance, and Professionalism in Context

Room: Nova Scotia D

Full Day

The CPA Ontario Centre for Corporate Reporting and Professionalism is pleased to sponsor the 2024 Qualitative Methods Symposium.  The objective of the Symposium is to prompt the development of qualitative research and offer a positive space for scholars from all horizons and background to present their research.

Workshop Organizers

Bertrand Malsch is Associate Professor of Accounting at the Smith School of Business at Queens University since 2013.

He holds a PhD in accounting from Laval University and is a member of the Quebec Bar.

He is the author of numerous leading articles in international academic journals on the subject of auditing, accounting regulation and governance. His work has been presented in many scholarly and professional conferences around the world.

He is associate editor of the Behavioral Review of Accounting, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, Accounting Horizons, and Accounting and Business Research. He also serves on the editorial board of Accounting, Organizations and Society, and Contemporary Accounting Research.

His current work funded by SSHRC and Smith research grants focuses on the role of accounting firms in tax avoidance mechanisms and the financial reporting processes of Indigenous communities.

He regularly contributes to public policy discussions by publishing editorials reflecting the content of his research. Bertrand serves as a member of the Cannabis Oversight Committee established by the Cannabis Regulation Act in Quebec in 2019. Bertrand is also an active member of the Extended External Reporting Advisory Group set by the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board in Canada in 2020 to discuss the future of auditing practice.

Anna Samsonova-Taddei is Professor of Accounting at HEC Montréal, Canada. She also holds an Honorary Professorship from Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. Her research focuses on topics such as auditing and accountability; country-specific and transnational regulatory processes and structures; governance reforms in transition economies; professional ethics and practice methodology.

Anna’s work appeared in leading journals such as Accounting, Organizations and Society; Organization Studies; Journal of Business Ethics; Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal; Critical Perspectives on Accounting; and Accounting and Business Research, among others.

Workshop Program

See the full program on the Qualitative Methods Symposium webpage.

Workshop Sponsor

Ethics Workshop

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT

Ethical Tax Planning and Social Justice: Navigating Decisions for Equitable Outcomes

27th Annual Workshop Sponsored by the Centre for Accounting Ethics, University of Waterloo

This year, our workshop, “Ethical Tax Planning and Social Justice: Navigating Decisions for Equitable Outcomes,” promises engaging discussions and insights into the evolving ethical landscape faced by today's accountants. Updates can be found on the Centre for Accounting Ethics, University of Waterloo website.

8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. EDT	Breakfast
8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. EDT	Welcome Seda Oz, Centre for Accounting Ethics
8:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. EDT	Navigating Ethical Challenges in Tax Planning John Oakey, Vice President of CPA Canada, Taxation Discussion about the perception of tax planning and the responsibilities we have as CPAs based on our professional code of ethics.
10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. EDT	Break
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EDT	Bridging Ethics and Practice in Accounting Tisha King, Assistant Professor of Accounting, University of Waterloo Exploration into how ethical decisions are influenced by societal expectations, specifically addressing the effects of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on accounting.
12:00 p.m. EDT	Closing Remarks Seda Oz, Centre for Accounting Ethics

We welcome all CAAA conference participants and will start our workshop with breakfast. Although the workshop is free to conference attendees, we ask you to register on the conference registration form and check off whether you will be requiring lunch so we can keep our food order reasonably accurate. If you have any questions, please contact Seda Oz at seda.oz@uwaterloo.ca or Jenny Rothwell at jrothwell@uwaterloo.ca.

Workshop Speakers

John F. Oakey, CPA, CA, TEP, CC
Vice President, Taxation
Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada)

As Vice-President of Taxation, John leads CPA Canada’s Tax group, which influences the development of an equitable, effective, and efficient tax system in Canada, as well as delivers practical information and fresh perspectives on tax to members and the broader tax community.

A strong proponent of tax education, John also aims to increase CPA Canada’s reputation as the preeminent provider of core tax education in Canada. John serves as a spokesperson for CPA Canada, both domestically and internationally, and acts in the public interest, providing tax-related information and perspective. He leads committees and working groups, consulting with the federal government regarding the development and administration of federal tax policies, while also providing thought leadership and education to CPA members.

Previously, John was Baker Tilly Canada's National Tax director, driving key tax advisory initiatives to support practitioners across its network. An accomplished leader and trusted advisor, John also provided tax training to other professionals through various organizations, including the Canadian Tax Foundation, CPA Nova Scotia and CPA Canada.

John has written and presented numerous articles and papers over his career and has presented at many national conferences, including several Atlantic Tax Conferences. During the pandemic, John wrote many tax related articles pertaining to government relief measures and legislation.

Tisha King PhD FCCA, CPA, CGA
Assistant Professor of Accounting
University of Waterloo

Tisha King PhD FCCA, CPA, CGA is an Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo. She specializes in behavioural research that largely focuses on ethical judgments and decision making. Professor King's research examines topics including how advances in technology, punishment outcomes, and fairness influence taxpayers' decisions to comply with tax law. She also explores ethical judgments related to social justice issues. In her free time, Tisha enjoys running, biking, and hiking with her family.

Workshop Sponsor

Craft of Accounting Research Workshop

Room: Nova Scotia B
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. AT

The Craft of Accounting Research Workshop will consist of faculty presentations on various topics, students’ research presentations, break-out sessions and socialization. The workshop is intended for doctoral students (at any stage of the program) and junior faculty members (within 3 years of graduation) who are interested in performing research and writing research-based articles for scholarly journals in accounting. The workshop is available to members and non-members. Anyone wanting to present at the Workshop needs to register before April 19th and submit a 500-word abstract before April 30th (by way of filling out a questionnaire that we will send you after registration).

Workshop Organizers

Khim Kelly is the KPMG Professor of Accounting at the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting, University of Central Florida. Dr. Kelly received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and previously held faculty positions at the University of Waterloo, Canada and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She has taught courses in financial accounting (dealing primarily with financial reporting and disclosures to investors and creditors external to organizations) and managerial accounting (dealing primarily with the reporting of =information within an organization to support decision-making), at the undergraduate, masters, and PhD level. Her research examines the design of performance measurement, evaluation, and compensation practices in organizations; and how those performance management practices impact employee behavior and performance. She is interested in how individuals and groups behave and make decisions when operating under different organizational controls. For example, her research has investigated how formal and informal corporate governance mechanisms (e.g., regulatory requirements, audit procedures, internal controls, compensation structures, decision-making structures, organization culture and identity) affect the behaviors of various organizational stakeholders (e.g., managers, auditors, and investors). She has used lab and field experiments, surveys, interviews, and archival empirical methods in her research. Dr. Kelly’s research has received multiple Best Paper Awards and has been published in top accounting journals including the American Accounting Association’s The Accounting Review, Oxford University’s Accounting, Organizations and Society, and the Canadian Academic Accounting Association’s Contemporary Accounting Research. She has been invited to present her research at numerous conferences and universities in the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Kelly is currently the Deputy Editor-In-Chief at Management Accounting Research, and also serves on the Editorial Board of Journal ofManagement Accounting Research.

Leveraging Excel with AI and ChatGPT for data analysis, formula creation, and more

Presented by Wendy Tietz

1:00-2:00 PM AT

This session will provide a deep dive into how AI, especially ChatGPT, can significantly enhance Excel's capabilities, making data analysis, formula creation, and overall spreadsheet management more efficient and effective. Attendees will learn how to use AI for automating complex tasks, generating advanced formulas, optimizing data organization, and gaining deeper insights from data sets. We will be looking at Excel’s built-in AI capabilities. We will also be talking about the differences between ChatGPT 3.5 and ChatGPT 4 with respect to Excel tasks and how ChatGPT can help to leverage the power of Excel. This interactive session will provide hands-on experience and practical examples, empowering instructors to integrate AI into their Excel curriculum. Examples and materials that can be used in attendee’s own classes will be shared.

Meet Wendy Tietz:

Wendy Tietz, PhD, CPA, CMA, CGMA, CSCA, is a professor at Kent State University. She teaches introductory financial and managerial accounting in a variety of formats. She also teaches advanced management accounting and advanced accounting analytics and technology. She is the co-author of two Pearson introductory accounting textbooks and has won numerous teaching awards. Dr. Tietz authors a blog, Accounting in the Headlines, which contains real-life accounting stories for use in the introductory accounting classroom.

 

AI-powered study tool

Presented by Pearson

2:00-2:30 PM AT

Revolutionize your students' learning experience with our groundbreaking AI-powered study tool for Mylab. This intuitive chatbot draws from trusted Pearson content, keeping students engaged with the materials you’ve chosen for your course. This tool will offer students personalized homework help, simplified course material explanations, and guided practice. Join us to learn more!

Session Sponsor

Ted’s Teas: A Two-Part Accounting and Audit ‘Crossover Case’

Presented by Tammy Crowell, CPA, CA, MBA University Teaching Fellow, Dalhousie University

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM AT

Many students who major in accounting in their undergraduate degree are interested in pursuing a CPA designation. Instructors at Dalhousie University developed a two-part case used in two separate courses to integrate competencies and begin the process of developing case-writing skills. The workshop will present how the crossover case links knowledge between two separate classes requisite to accounting majors. In Part 1 of the case, students are introduced to the CPA Way case-writing format for intermediate accounting issues, with a continuation in Part 2 of the case with assessment of risk, approach, materiality and procedures. A rubric will be presented showing how students were evaluated, along with student survey results about their thoughts on the case.