The relationship between accounting information and investment

Define information asymmetry and the two main consequences.

Describe the role of accounting information in the capital markets framework, and how it can reduce information asymmetry. Lastly, describe why it cannot completely eliminate the primary problems of information asymmetry.

Identify information intermediaries, describe their role in the capital markets, and how they fulfill their role.

Why do information intermediaries sometimes fail to fulfill their role in the capital markets?

Cognitive biases

What is a cognitive bias?

Identify and describe several cognitive biases. Which biases are groups and leaders particularly prone to suffer from?

Why is it important to discuss biases in an accounting information systems class?

Transparency

Define noise and distortion, as related to accounting information. Identify and briefly describe the potential sources of noise and distortion in accounting information.

Is GAAP obsolete? Why or why not? What can accountants/managers in organizations do if they feel GAAP does not allow them to provide adequate, transparent information? What are the pitfalls or problems managers must remember when dealing with situations where GAAP does not represent their business?

Earnings management

Define earnings management

What do we manage, how, and why?

Data analysis and visualization

Identify and describe the common mistakes in information presentation

How can you identify and protect yourself from false or misleading information?

Fraud and Internal controls

Describe the fraud triangle and the two main types of fraud (exclude corruption). Provide specific examples of how EVERY side of the fraud triangle applies to EACH of the two different types of fraud. (You should identify several examples for every side, for each of the two types).

Which level of people in an organization are more likely to commit each of the two types of fraud? Why?

Describe the COSO-Internal Controls framework, including each piece.

How does the COSO-Internal Controls framework relate to fraud?

Ethics

Why should we be concerned about ethics in business?

Identify and discuss the three main 'tests' for ethical analysis

Tell me something you learned in this class that is different from your answers above (10 points). (Note: it can be the same topic, just not the exact same answer. For example, dont tell me you learned what the fraud triangle is and give me the same definition from Q6 above).