bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Accounting for Employee Stock Options
Authors: Kirschenheiter Michael , Mathur Rohit , Thomas Jacob K. 
Published: March 2008

Accounting for employee stock options is affected by whether outstanding options are viewed as equity or liabilities. The common perception is that the FASB's recommended treatment (per SFAS No. 123), which is based on the options-as-equity view, results in representative financial statements. We argue that this treatment distorts performance measures for three reasons. First, the deferred taxes associated with nonqualified options should also be included as equity, but are not. Second, since unexpected share price changes affect optionholders and equityholders differently, combining their interests provides an average earnings effect that is not representative for either group. We show that efforts to isolate the interests of common stockholders via diluted earning per share calculations (per SFAS No. 128) are inherently incapable of identifying wealth transfers between stockholders and optionholders. Finally, projections of future cash flow statements prepared under SFAS No. 95 overstate cash flows to current equityholders by the pretax value of projected option grants. We show that these distortions can be avoided simply by accounting for options as liabilities at grant and thereafter recognizing changes in option values (similar to the accounting for stock appreciation rights).
Our analysis of stock option accounting leads to two, more general implications: (1) all securities other than common shares should be treated as liabilities, thereby simplifying the equity versus liability distinction, and (2) these liabilities should be recorded at fair values, thereby obviating the need to consider earnings dilution.
The Impact of Continuity on Concurring Partner Reviews: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Favere-Marchesi Michael , Emby Craig E. N. 
Published: March 2008

Public expectations of auditors' objectivity, the on-going debate over auditors' independence (SEC 2001), and previous research motivate our study of one aspect of auditor rotation. Using an experimental case, we examine the impact of continuity on concurring partner reviews. Continuity specifically refers to a concurring partner's assumed degree of prior involvement with a client engagement. We explore two levels of prior involvement—a continuing concurring partner (i.e., involved as a concurring partner in the current and prior year's engagement) and a new concurring partner (i.e., involved as a concurring partner in the current year's engagement only).
Based on information in the case, audit partners in the role of concurring partners make judgments related to goodwill impairment. Consistent with our expectation, continuing concurring partners are less likely than new concurring partners to conclude that purchased goodwill may be impaired. Based on our results, the recent regulatory actions mandating within-firm rotation of concurring partners are likely to affect audit firm judgments.
Accounting and the Moral Order: Justice, Accounting, and Legitmate Moral Authority
Authors: Williams Paul F. 
Published: March 2008

Relying upon the manner in which accountants speak about their practice, this paper provides an argument that accounting discourse suffers from incoherence. Arguing that accountants speak as if the institution of accounting is part of a moral order, it follows that for accounting to have moral standing it must be capable of providing good reasons for people to conform to accounting directives. Through the work of Baier (1995) and Habermas (1990), the paper describes the nature of a moral order and develops the conclusion that good reasons for accounting rules must be society anchored ones.Two examples are provided that illustrate why considerations of accounting as a deeply moral discourse are important. The first example is the iron law of accountability—which acts to subject people to accounting intrusions that may be unnecessary. The second example is the case of SFAS No. 106. The post-retirement benefits standard is a recent example of the FASB establishing a supra-legal definition of liability by assuming technical capabilities that simply do not exist. The paper concludes with a discussion of how a view of accounting as a system of moral rules may lead to the consideration that the appropriate solution to an “accounting problem” may not always be to extend the technical scope of accounting.
User Primacy, Positive Accounting Theory, and Nonaudit Services: Evidence from the SEC's Independence Hearings
Authors: Thornton John M. 
Published: March 2008

An analysis of the testimony given before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on auditors' independence requirements indicates that users of financial statements generally favored increased restrictions on the scope of nonaudit services provided by external auditors to their audit clients, while corporate management and public accounting (professional service) firms providing nonaudit services did not. Moreover, users of the financial statements generally favored the more extensive ban on nonaudit services over the SEC's proposed list of proscriptions. The principle of user primacy, a principle that has been espoused by regulatory and accounting standard-setting bodies, holds that the interests of the users of financial reports take precedence over the interests of the report preparers. However, the SEC's final ruling on auditor independence requirements was more closely aligned with the position taken by the preparers.An analysis of the arguments presented in the transcripts and the regulations promulgated suggests that positive accounting theory predicated on instrumental economic and political power better explains the SEC's behavior than do considerations relative to the public interest reflected in the principle of user primacy. Positive accounting theory provides the theoretical model for the empirical research supporting nonregulation of nonaudit services and represents a theoretical model that explains the actions of the SEC as reflected in the final ruling on auditor independence requirements. Further, while positive accounting theory represents the underlying dogma upon which rhetorical arguments against increased regulation are grounded, the arguments themselves are framed and justified using the rhetoric of user primacy, which suggests either a nai¨ve belief in the ultimate generalized good of the neoclassical assumption of instrumental, self-interested behavior (ethical egoism), or a juxtaposition of incompatible theoretical frameworks. The discussion and analysis suggests, and subsequent events seem to confirm, the incompatibility of the two perspectives and, thus, the inability of positive accounting theory-based arguments to provide adequate grounds for acting in the public interest. The principle of user primacy affords legitimate grounds for evaluating regulatory alternatives and should provide the theoretical and empirical basis upon which to evaluate regulatory proposals.
The Impact of Accounting Education on Ethical Values: An Institutional Perspective
Authors: Mayper Alan G. , Pavur Robert J. , Merino Barbara D. , Hoops William 
Published: March 2008

The accounting scandals at the beginning of the 21st century led to public distrust and demands for reform. Were these scandals unexpected? From an old institutional economics (OIE) perspective, which originated with the work of Thorstein Veblen in the 1890s, these failures and the moral lapses should not be a surprise. OIE theorists, like critical theorists, generally, contend that corporate hegemony, i.e., the domination of business values in all areas of human life, has eroded moral sensitivities. All institutions, including our once-autonomous educational institutions, have become mechanisms for promoting economic interests.
We first present a brief overview of institutional theory, to provide a theoretical framework for our subsequent experimental analysis. We discuss the concept of corporate hegemony and explain how hegemony impacts higher education, generally. We then examine efforts to commodify higher education and explain how that impacts all students in universities in the United States. Finally, we discuss the effect of commodification on accounting education to explain why we posit that our current accounting educational environment should be expected to desensitize students to the ethical aspects of their profession. This theoretical framework provides the basis for three hypotheses that we test in an experimental context to determine if accounting education desensitizes students to the moral aspects of their discipline.
The experiment utilizes a capital budgeting context, which incorporates financial, social, and environmental factors. Subjects ranked and provided perceptions on eight alternatives as to their economic and moral content. Three groups of students, with differing levels of accounting knowledge, participated in the experiment. We develop hypotheses based on institutional theory and test those hypotheses in the latter part of this paper. Our results suggest that accounting education needs reform, so that accounting students become more aware of the ethical dimensions of our discipline.
The Influence of Disclosure Regulation on Selective Disclosure: Impact on Difficult-to-Measure Reporting Activities and the Importance of Assurance Services
Authors: Janvrin Diane J. , Kurtenbach James M. 
Published: March 2008

The objective of recent disclosure regulation (e.g., Regulation Fair Disclosure [FD]) is to reduce selective disclosure, the practice of releasing financial information to selected users before publicly disclosing the information. Prior to FD, providers used narrow distribution reporting activities, such as phone calls and one-on-one meetings with analysts, reviews of analysts' earnings estimates, and analysts' contracts with suppliers and firm employees, to communicate private financial information to selected users at the expense of uninformed users. Public interest theorists view regulation as a means to protect the public. We predict that if FD is effective, providers will move away from narrow reporting activities and reduce the probability that selected users can achieve a competitive advantage over the general investing public. In addition, assuming that reducing selective disclosure increases the number of market participants receiving information, we argue that the importance of assurance services will increase since FD (1) reduces users' ability to evaluate the credibility of provider information based on personal relationships with providers, and (2) increases the pressure on provider investor relations personnel to monitor the amount and credibility of information disclosed to decrease the likelihood that market participants view the information released as unreliable.
Due to the lack of available empirical data related to narrow reporting activities and the importance of assurance services, we employ a field-based questionnaire of providers and users to address these issues. Results indicate that (1) providers and users perceive that narrow distribution reporting activities still exist, and (2) reducing users' personal access to providers may increase the importance of assurance services. The study increases our understanding of how regulation to reduce selective disclosure may protect the public by examining its impact on corporate disclosure activities and policies.
Arterial Hypertension Determined by Ambulatory Blood Pressure Profiles
Authors: Dost Axel , Klinkert Christoph , Kapellen Thomas , Lemmer Andreas , Naeke Andrea , Grabert Matthias , Kreuder Joachim , Holl Reinhard W. ,   for the DPV Science Initiative
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE—Arterial hypertension is a key player in the development of diabetes complications. We used a nationwide database to study risk factors for abnormal 24-h blood pressure regulation and microalbuminuria in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed in 2,105 children and adolescents from 195 pediatric diabetes centers in Germany and Austria. Individual least median squares (LMS)-SD scores were calculated for diurnal and nocturnal systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and mean arterial (MAP) blood pressure according to normalized values of a reference population of 949 healthy German children. The nocturnal blood pressure reduction (dipping) was calculated for SBP as well as DBP.
RESULTS—In diabetic children, nocturnal blood pressure in particular was significantly elevated (SBP +0.51, DBP +0.58, MAP +0.80 LMS-SD) and dipping of SBP DBP, and MAP was significantly reduced (P &lt; 0.0001). Age, diabetes duration, sex BMI, A1C, and insulin dose were related to altered blood pressure profiles; dipping, however, was only affected by age, female sex, and A1C. The presence of microalbuminuria was associated with nocturnal DBP (P &lt; 0.0001) and diastolic dipping (P &lt; 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS—Our observations revealed a clear link between the quality of metabolic control and altered blood pressure regulation even in pediatric patients with short diabetes duration. Nocturnal blood pressure in particular seems to mainly contribute to diabetes complications such as microalbuminuria.
Effect of Lifestyle Intervention on the Occurrence of Metabolic Syndrome and its Components in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study
Authors: Ilanne-Parikka Pirjo , Eriksson Johan G. , Lindström Jaana , Peltonen Markku , Aunola Sirkka , Hämäläinen Helena , Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi Sirkka , Laakso Mauri , Valle Timo T. , Lahtela Jorma , Uusitupa Matti , Tuomilehto Jaakko ,   on behalf of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study Group
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE—The aim of this secondary analysis of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study was to assess the effects of lifestyle intervention on metabolic syndrome and its components.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A total of 522 middle-aged overweight men and women with impaired glucose tolerance were randomized into an individualized lifestyle intervention group or a standard care control group. National Cholesterol Education Program criteria were used for the definition of metabolic syndrome.
RESULTS—At the end of the study, with a mean follow-up of 3.9 years, we found a significant reduction in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the intervention group compared with the control group (odds ratio [OR] 0.62 [95% CI 0.40–0.95]) and in the prevalence of abdominal obesity (0.48 [0.28–0.81]).
CONCLUSIONS—The results suggest that lifestyle intervention may also reduce risk of cardiovascular disease in the long run.
Measurement of Insulin Sensitivity in Children
Authors: Schwartz Betsy , Jacobs David R. , Moran Antoinette , Steinberger Julia , Hong Ching-Ping , Sinaiko Alan R. 
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE—In this study we compared fasting insulin and measures of insulin sensitivity (M) based on fasting insulin and glucose (i.e., homeostasis model assessment [HOMA], quantitative insulin sensitivity check index [QUICKI], and fasting glucose–to–insulin ratio [FGIR]) or triglycerides to the insulin clamp in a cohort of children/adolescents.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—The subjects were Minneapolis fifth- to eighth-grade students. Euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps were performed on 323 adolescents at mean age 13 and were repeated on 300 of these subjects at mean age 15. Insulin sensitivity was determined by glucose uptake (milligrams per kilogram per minute) adjusted for lean body mass (MLBM) and steady-state insulin (MLBM/ln SSI). Comparisons were made for the whole cohort and by body size (BMI &lt;85th percentile vs. BMI ≥85th percentile). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to test whether specific fasting insulin cut points separated true-positive from false-positive approximations of insulin resistance.
RESULTS—Fasting insulin was significantly correlated with HOMA (r = 0.99), QUICKI (r = 0.79), FGIR (r = −0.62), and (ln fasting insulin + ln triglycerides) (r = 0.88). Correlations of the surrogates with MLBM were significantly lower than those with M for the total cohort and ≥85th percentile group. In general, correlations in the ≥85th percentile group were higher than those in the &lt;85th percentile group. Correlations with MLBM and MLBM/ln SSI decreased in the total cohort and ≥85th percentile group from age 13 to 15. ROC curves showed only a modest capability to separate true- from false-positive values.
CONCLUSIONS—Surrogate measures are only modestly correlated with the clamp measures of insulin sensitivity and do not offer any advantage over fasting insulin. In general, lower correlations are seen with MLBM than with M and with thinner than with heavier individuals.
Can Self-Rated Health Scores Be Used for Risk Prediction in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes?
Authors: Hayes Alison J. , Clarke Philip M. , Glasziou Paul G. , Simes R. John , Drury Paul L. , Keech Anthony C. 
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE—To investigate whether self-rated health profiles compiled using the EuroQol group’s visual analog scale (EQ VAS) are independent predictors of vascular events and major complications in people with type 2 diabetes after controlling for standard clinical risk factors.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—The study is based on 7,348 individuals with a mean follow-up of 2.4 years after completing the EQ-5D questionnaire. We used Cox proportional hazards modeling to estimate hazard ratios associated with EQ VAS scores after controlling for baseline covariates: age, sex, smoking status, diabetes duration, A1C, systolic blood pressure, BMI, plasma lipids, and prior clinical history.
RESULTS—A 10-point higher EQ VAS score was associated with a 6% (95% CI 1–11) lower risk of vascular events and a 22% (95% CI 15–28) lower risk of diabetesc complications.
CONCLUSIONS—Self-rated health profiles compiled using the EQ VAS provide valuable information on patient risk in addition to that determined from clinical risk factors alone.
Tracking and Prediction of Arterial Blood Pressure From Childhood to Young Adulthood in 868 Patients With Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Knerr Ina , Dost Axel , Lepler Rudolf , Raile Klemens , Schober Edith , Rascher Wolfgang , Holl Reinhard W. ,   On behalf of the Diabetes Data Acquisition System for Prospective Surveillance (DPV) Scientific Initiative Germany and Austria
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE—Arterial blood pressure was followed in 868 patients with type 1 diabetes aged 6.0–19.9 years in 95 centers in Germany and Austria.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—European blood pressure reference data for 28,043 children and adolescents were used with respect to age and sex. Data were stratified into three groups: prepubertal, pubertal, and postpubertal.
RESULTS—Up to 4% of the participants in the younger age-groups and 13.9% of the postpubertal patients exhibited blood pressure values &gt;97th centile. Blood pressure levels correlated with A1C level and BMI Z score. Tracking of blood pressure revealed that children with elevated blood pressure had higher blood pressure in adolescence and young adulthood.
CONCLUSIONS—Patients with higher blood pressure in childhood showed elevated blood pressure later in life. We need to focus on the diagnosis of hypertension in children with type 1 diabetes and to study the efficacy of early intervention.
Individualized, Non–Age-Based Glycemic Control in Elderly Veterans With Diabetes
Authors: Helmer Drew A. , Sambamoorthi Usha , Rajan Mangala , Tseng Chin-Lin , Pogach Leonard M. 
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE—To examine the role of age and endocrinology care in glycemic testing and control in elderly veterans with diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—In this retrospective study of Veterans Health Administration clinic users aged ≥65 years with diabetes, we compared glycemic testing and poor glycemic control (A1C &gt;9%) between older (≥75 years) and younger (65–74 years) veterans in the year 2000.
RESULTS—Without adjustment, rates for glycemic testing were 70.2% in older and 71.1% in younger veterans, and those for poor control were 9.4% in older and 12.8% in younger veterans. After adjustment, older veterans had 1.8% lower probability of glycemic testing and 2.9% lower probability of poor control than younger veterans. Endocrinology care was associated with a higher probability of both glycemic testing (9.7%) and poor control (1.0%), regardless of age.
CONCLUSIONS—Glycemic testing and control and effect of endocrinology care were comparable in older and younger veterans with diabetes.
Racial Disparity in Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 and Inflammation Markers Among Severely Obese Adolescents
Authors: Velásquez-Mieyer Pedro A. , Cowan Patricia A. , Pérez-Faustinelli Sylvia , Nieto-Martínez Ramfis , Villegas-Barreto Cesar , Tolley Elizabeth A. , Lustig Robert H. , Alpert Bruce S. 
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE—Compared with Caucasians, obese African-American adolescents have a higher risk for type 2 diabetes. Subclinical inflammation and reduced glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) concentration are linked to the pathogenesis of the disease. We determined the relationship between insulin resistance, β-cell activity, and subclinical inflammation with GLP-1 concentrations and whether racial disparities in GLP-1 response were present in 49 obese adolescents (14 ± 3 years; 76% African American; 71% female).
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Subjects underwent physical examination and an oral glucose tolerance test. We measured levels of high-sensitivity CRP (CRPhs), fibrinogen, glucose, GLP-1total, GLP-1active, and insulin. Insulin and glucose area under the curve (AUC), insulinogenic index (ΔI30/ΔG30), and composite insulin sensitivity index (CISI) were computed. Subjects were categorized by race and as inflammation positive (INF+) if CRPhs or fibrinogen were elevated.
RESULTS—No racial differences were seen in mean or relative BMI. Thirty-five percent of subjects had altered fasting or 2-h glucose levels (African American vs. Caucasian, NS), and 75% were INF+ (African American vs. Caucasian, P = 0.046). Glucose and insulin, CISI, and ΔI30/ΔG30 values were similar; African Americans had lower GLP-1total AUC (P = 0.01), GLP-1active at 15 min (P = 0.03), and GLP-1active AUC (P = 0.06) and higher fibrinogen (P = 0.01) and CRPhs (NS) compared with Caucasians.
CONCLUSIONS—African Americans exhibited lower GLP-1 concentrations and increased inflammatory response. Both mechanisms may act synergistically to enhance the predisposition of obese African Americans to type 2 diabetes. Our findings might be relevant to effective deployment of emerging GLP-1–based treatments across ethnicities.
Nuclear Factor-κB Induction by Visfatin in Human Vascular Endothelial Cells
Authors: Adya Raghu , Tan Bee K. , Chen Jing , Randeva Harpal S. 
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE—Visfatin is elevated in obesity and type 2 diabetes and is thought to be an inflammatory mediator within atherosclerotic lesions and to induce gelatinase activity. We investigated the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), a well-known proinflammatory transcription factor, by visfatin in endothelial cells.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Human endothelial cells were transfected with pNF-κB-Luc plasmid. Using quantitative PCR, Western blot analysis, and gelatin zymography, we studied NF-κB signaling in gelatinase-mediated vascular inflammation by visfatin using the NF-κB inhibitor BAY 11-7085.
RESULTS—Visfatin significantly increased NF-κB transcriptional activity (P &lt; 0.001). We also found a significant inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced NF-κB activity by visfatin (P &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, the NF-κB inhibitor significantly negated visfatin-induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2/9 mRNA expression, protein levels, and gelatinolytic activity (P &lt; 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS—Visfatin-induced NF-κB signaling in human endothelial cells affects the activation of gelatinases MMP-2 and -9, suggesting an important role of visfatin in the pathogenesis of vascular inflammation in obesity and type 2 diabetes.