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

Room: 204B, Conference Centre

Full Day

The CPA Ontario Centre for Corporate Reporting and Professionalism is pleased to sponsor the 2023 Qualitative Methods Symposium on Auditing, Governance, and Professionalism in Context. The objective of the Symposium is to promote the development of qualitative research and offer a positive space for scholars from all horizons and backgrounds 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 

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

The Centre for Accounting Ethics is pleased to invite all CAAA Conference attendees to its annual workshop. This free workshop will be held in conjunction with the CAAA Annual Conference. 

Please note: this workshop will take place in-person. Virtual attendees will be able to watch the presentations. Following the workshop, in-person attendees will receive 4 hours credit. Virtual attendees will receive 2 hours credit.

Workshop Sponsor

Expanding the “A” in CPA: antagonists, accessibility, assessment, and accounting for the new CPA

Room: 204A, Conference Centre
Time: 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

Session Panelists

Mike Walke, Canadian Centre for Audit Quality

Cara Orzech, University of Toronto

Lisa Ricci, Simon Fraser University

Lara Greguric, CPA Profession’s Certification 2.0 Steering Committee

Moderator

Sonia Dhaliwal, University of Guelph

Session Description

Faculty and firms agree: there is declining interest in post-secondary accounting programs, and a worrying drain of graduates to other professions.  With no time to waste on lamenting the situation, join us for a spirited panel discussion constructively addressing four “A”s for the new CPA:

• Antagonists – What courses and professions are competing with accounting, and why?
• Accessibility – CM 2.0 addresses the challenge of attracting diverse entrants to the profession – how do we cultivate this at all curriculum levels (e.g., high school) while being realistic about the highly technical aspects of accounting?
• Assessment – How are CPA Canada and post-secondary institutions addressing the new challenge of evaluating the skills new CPAs need to take into firms?
• Accounting – How do we ensure new entrants are equipped with the technical skills they need in an increasingly complex regulatory environment?

Session Sponsor

Reshaping teaching excellence through accounting and business students as generators and co-creators of value for business and society

Room: 204A, Conference Centre
Time: 10:45a.m. - 12:00p.m. EDT

Session Presenter

Camillo Lento (Lakehead University)

Session Description

The dynamics of higher education institutions are changing with the expectations of students for their educational experiences. In universities around the world, academics are encouraged to facilitate excellent education. Teaching excellence contributes to business students' optimal development to become professional and trusted value creators for business and society. However, there is an ongoing debate around the definition of excellence. Recognising an excellent teacher poses questions such as the characteristics and competencies of such candidates.Several studies have investigated different dimensions of teachers' effectiveness, but there is hardly a consensus on "what makes an excellent teacher?". Moreover, various stakeholders have distinct perceptions of evaluating teaching excellence and the quality of teaching.

This workshop is based on a large-scale international research project that examines how accounting and business students define teaching excellence, whether teaching excellence perceptions vary based on student demographics and between academic institutions in different countries, and whether teaching excellence perceptions vary between accounting and non-accounting students. The quantitative and qualitative empirical data is collected in ten countries across five continents to advance our understanding of teaching excellence from the perspective of business students.

This workshop will benefit CAAA participants as understanding what teaching excellence means for students would enhance teaching practices and, as a result, improve student engagement, enhance the student learning experience, and develop employability skills.

Craft of Accounting Research Workshop

Room: Duquesne
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT

Format: In-person attendance is required for presenters, but the workshop will allow a virtual audience to watch the presentations.

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 20th and submit a 500-word abstract before April 30th (by the way of filling out a questionnaire that we will send you after registration).

Workshop Organizers

Kim Trottier is an Associate Professor at HEC Montréal with an interest in using advanced analytics to explore business issues. Her research topics are varied, from economics-based research in capital markets, financial reporting, corporate governance, and firm fundamental value, to areas that speak to ESG concerns and social returns on investments. Dr. Trottier’s teaching ranges from Undergraduate to PhD students and Executive MBAs. She has written several research papers, peer-reviewed book chapters, and a Financial Accounting textbook. Prior to academia, Kim spent years in professional practice as a Chartered Accountant, therefore brings real-world experience to her teaching and research, applying insight from her work as a financial analyst, consultant, manager, corporate controller, and external auditor in the private and public sector. She holds board positions at Social Value Canada and 460 MIC, and is on the Editorial board of Accounting Perspectives. She holds memberships with the Artificial Intelligence Network of British Columbia, SAS Women in Analytics, and Women in AI. Her current focus is to manage global inter-disciplinary projects that utilize creative datasets and techniques to explore new business questions as well as update prior insights.

Lan Guo’s research interests include performance measurement, incentive designs, employee (un)ethical behavior, and other behavioral topics mainly within the field of management accounting. In her research, she uses both experimental and survey methods. Her coauthored work appeared at journals such as Accounting, Organizations & Society, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Business Ethics, and International Journal of Operations and Production Management. She is an associate editor at Accounting Perspectives and serves on the editorial board of Contemporary Accounting Research. She has taught management accounting, data analytics and accounting information systems to undergraduate students and co-taught different PhD seminars. Prior to her academic career, she worked as an accountant in China Securities Depository & Clearing Corp. (Shanghai) and Construction Bank of China (Shanghai). She is a CPA, CMA and CGA.

Andrew Bauer is the Canada Research Chair in Taxation, Governance, and Risk and an associate professor at the University of Waterloo. His primary area of research studies corporate tax. More specifically, he examines the influence of agency issues on tax planning, including governance mechanisms, and the role of uncertainty in shaping tax planning, including risk assessment. Other specific research interests include internal control and financial disclosures, risk more generally, and data analytics.

Please see his faculty profile for additional information: https://uwaterloo.ca/school-of-accounting-and-finance/people-profiles/andrew-bauer.

Workshop Sponsors

Case Writing Workshop (CPA Canada)

Room: 204A, Conference Centre
Time: 1:00p.m. - 2:00p.m. EDT

Session Presenter

Ian Chan (CPA Canada)

Session Description

We all know the advantages of using cases as an educational tool and have purchased, borrowed and/or used cases from textbooks, repositories, and colleagues.

Come to this workshop to gain knowledge to write your own cases. In particular, learn how to create cases with the purpose of testing your students on concepts and skills like decision-making and problem solving.

At this workshop, you will learn the method that CPA Canada uses at their author workshops to develop integrative, multi-competency cases for PEP exams.

Publisher Session: Wiley
Embracing Generative AI such as ChatGPT: Continued Innovation in the Accounting Learning Environment - Risks and Opportunities

Room: 204A, Conference Centre
Time: 2:15p.m. - 3:15p.m. EDT

Session Presenter

Irene Wiecek and the Wiley team

Session Description

Harnessing the power of emerging technologies such as generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) is crucial for us all as educators, students, publishers and as a profession. Before the release of the current versions of generative AI, many were arguing that artificial intelligence in its then-current form was very narrowly focused on specific tasks. They argued that we were very far away from more broadly applicable artificial intelligence (e.g., artificial intelligence that very closely mimicked human intelligence in a more general sense). AI experts are now questioning this. Things are moving so much faster than originally thought with these technologies.

We now have an opportunity to rethink our learning environments in the context of this. And now is a good time given the release of the new CPA Competency Map (CM2.0) in 2022, which has, at its foundation, a requirement to focus on emerging technologies and produce accountants who are tech savvy. What are the risks of using these technologies in the classroom? What are the opportunities? More importantly, what are the missed opportunities if we fail to embrace them? How can we use these technologies to foster evergreen learning with a focus on human skills and values as outlined by the new Competency Map (CM2.0)?

Join Irene Wiecek and Wiley for a frank and open discussion about this very interesting and evolving area. Who is already using ChatGPT in the classroom? How is that working for them? Wiley will present some insights from their recent research into the use of technologies such as ChatGPT. We will have a look at where education is headed.

Session Sponsor

Publisher Session: Pearson Canada

Room: 204A, Conference Centre
Time: 3:30p.m. - 4:30p.m. EDT

Session Description

Join us for a focus-group style session as Dr. Russell Evans (Assistant Professor, Odette School of Business, University of Windsor) from Temagami First Nation and Dr. Louis Beaubien (Professor, Associate Dean (Innovation), Dalhousie University) walk through a managerial accounting case relating to Indigenization that they are authoring. The authors will also present some additional early development managerial accounting case ideas in Indigenous topics. This session will allow attendees to ask questions about the cases, acquire ideas for incorporating Indigenous topics into their classrooms, and provide feedback to our authors to ensure that the final product delivers the most optimal learning experience for all.

Session Sponsor

Reception Sponsor