Accounting Research (1st Sem AY 2020-2021) Assignment 4

Marbella, Melch Yvan R. October 6,2020

Nature of Professional Research

 defined as work performed to advance an individual’s profession. It is a

form of communication produced in a professional manner in order to
facilitate work. Professional research focuses on research goals/questions
that emerge from business requirements. It may or may not use the
formal, scientific and systematic procedures to discover answers. It is not
grounded in theories and may not require a representative sample.

Here are some pointers as to how Professional Research Differentiates with other
forms of research:

 Also called as Applied Research Seeks to find solutions to instant

problems and issues
 Problems tend to be more practical
 Organizationally focused
 Findings are generally kept private
 Results are generally used internally to make decisions and set up
strategy
 Assessed by client-organization and/or industry standards
 Shared mainly through internal reports to reveal results; may also be
shared more widely through professional conferences and industry/trade
publications (e.g., articles, case studies, etc.)i
Accounting Research (1st Sem AY 2020-2021) Assignment 4
Marbella, Melch Yvan R. October 6,2020

Role of Professional Research in the Accounting Firm

 Although research is often conducted by accountants in education,

industry, and government, accounting, auditing, and tax research is

particularly important in a public accounting firm. Professional research

gives an accounting professional the tools need to investigate and assess

an issue or problem that a client, business, or government may have.

Being able to do this on a regular basis is a very important aspect of being

a public accountant because there are many changes that are occurring

with regards to laws, services, technologies, and standards. Thus, to keep

up with all this, professional research is required to decipher the problem

and come up with a solution. iiIt is also the responsibility of a public

accountant to carry out or conduct auditing and accounting research. As a

result, practitioners should possess the ability to conduct efficient

research. An accountant's responsibility to conduct accounting/auditing

research is analogous to an attorney's responsibility to conduct legal

research. The practitioner today requires greater knowledge because of

greater complexity in many business transactions, the proliferation of new

authoritative pronouncements, and advances in technology. iii

Accounting Research (1st Sem AY 2020-2021) Assignment 4
Marbella, Melch Yvan R. October 6,2020
The Research Process

 Anything you write involves organization and a logical flow of ideas, so

understanding the logic of the research process before beginning to write is
essential. Simply put, you need to put your writing in the larger context—see the
forest before you even attempt to see the trees.

Major steps in the research process:

Identify a Research Problem

- One can identify a research problem by first selecting a general

topic that’s interesting to you and to the interests and specialties
of your research advisor. Once identified, you’ll need to narrow
it. For example, if teenage pregnancy is your general topic area,
your specific topic could be a comparison of how teenage
pregnancy affects young fathers and mothers differently.

Review the Literature

- One must find out what’s being asked or what’s already been
done in the area by doing some exploratory reading. Discuss
the topic with his/her advisor to gain additional insights, explore
novel approaches, and begin to develop your research question,
purpose statement, and hypothesis(es), if applicable.

Determine Research Question

- A good research question is a question worth asking; one that

poses a problem worth solving. A good question should:
 Be clear. It must be understandable to everyone.
 Be researchable. It should be capable of developing into a
manageable research design, so data may be collected in
relation to it. Extremely abstract terms are unlikely to be
suitable.
Accounting Research (1st Sem AY 2020-2021) Assignment 4
Marbella, Melch Yvan R. October 6,2020
 Connect with established theory and research. There should
be a literature on which you can draw to illuminate how your
research question(s) should be approached.
 Be neither too broad nor too narrow.

Develop Research Methods

- Once research question, purpose statement, and

hypothesis(es), are finalized one will need to write his/her
research proposal—a detailed management plan for his/her
research project. The proposal is as essential to successful
research as an architect’s plans are to the construction of a
building.

Collect & Analyze Data

- In Practical Research–Planning and Design (2005, 8th Edition),

Leedy and Ormrod provide excellent advice for what the
researcher does at this stage in the research process. The
researcher now
 collects data that potentially relate to the problem,
 arranges the data into a logical organizational structure,
 analyzes and interprets the data to determine their
meaning,
 determines if the data resolve the research problem or
not, and
 determines if the data support the hypothesis or not.
Accounting Research (1st Sem AY 2020-2021) Assignment 4
Marbella, Melch Yvan R. October 6,2020
Document the Work

- Because research reports differ by discipline, the most effective

way for one to understand formatting and citations is to examine
reports from others in his/her department or field. The library’s
electronic databases provide a vast number of examples
illustrating on how others in one’s field documents their
research.

Communicate Your Research

- The researcher must consult with his/her advisor about potential

local, regional, or national venues to present your findings. And
don’t sell yourself short: Consider publishing your research in
related books or journals.

Refine/Expand, Pioneer

- Earlier, it was emphasized that the research process, rather

than being linear, is recursive—the reason we conceptualized
the process as a series of steps within a circle. At this stage,
one may need to revisit his/her research problem in the context
of his/her finding.iv
Accounting Research (1st Sem AY 2020-2021) Assignment 4
Marbella, Melch Yvan R. October 6,2020
Data Analytics in Accounting and Auditing Research

 Accounting Research is defined as an examination as to how accounting is used

by individuals, organizations and government as well as the consequences that
these practices havev, while Data Analytics is the science of analyzing raw data
in order to make conclusions about that information vi. Thus, data analytics plays a
major role in creating research with regards to accounting because it primarily
deals with raw data

Diving deeper into data analytics, here are the four types of data analytics:

1. Descriptive analytics - “What is happening?”

This is used most often and includes the categorization and
classification of information. Accountants report on the flow of money
through their organizations: revenue and expenses, inventory counts,
sales tax collected. Accurate reporting is a hallmark of solid accounting
practices. Compiling and verifying large amounts of data is important to
this accurate reporting.

2. Diagnostic analytics - “Why did it happen?”

Diagnostics are used to monitor changes in data. Accountants
regularly analyze variances and calculate historical performance. Because
historical precedent is often an excellent indicator of future performance,
these calculations are critical to build reasonable forecasts.

3. Predictive analytics - “What’s going to happen?”

Here, data is used to assess the likelihood of future outcomes.
Accountants are instrumental in building forecasts and identifying patterns
that shape those forecasts. When accountants act as trusted advisors and
build forecasts, business leaders grow increasingly confident in following
them.
Accounting Research (1st Sem AY 2020-2021) Assignment 4
Marbella, Melch Yvan R. October 6,2020
4. Prescriptive analytics - “What should happen?”
Tangible actions — and critical business decisions — arise from
prescriptive analytics. Accountants use the forecasts they create to make
recommendations for future growth opportunities or, in some cases, raise
an alert on poor choices. This insight is an example of the significant
impact that accountants make in the business world.vii
i
https://www.phdassistance.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-academic-research-and-professional-
research
ii
https://www.studymode.com/essays/Accounting-Research-The-Role-Of-Professional-1459131.html
iii
https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/accounting-and-auditing/9781118416877/c01anchor-6.html
iv
https://researchwriting.unl.edu/overview-research-process
v
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_research
vi
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/data-analytics.asp
vii
https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/news/macwp-why-does-should-data-analytics-matter-to-
accountants/#:~:text=Accountants%20use%20data%20analytics%20to%20help%20businesses%20uncover,that
%20can%20increase%20efficiency%2C%20and%20better%20manage%20risk.