Question: Discuss the importance of segmentation research.

> What elements must a plaintiff prove in order to win action under Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934? What was the significance of the outcome of the Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder case for auditors’ liability?

> Distinguish between the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Why is it easier for a plaintiff to sue an auditor under the Securities Act of 1933?

> Distinguish among the four standards that have evolved for defining auditors’ liability for ordinary negligence to third parties under common law. Why is this area of auditors’ liability so complex?

> What elements must a client prove to maintain an action against an auditor for negligence?

> What is meant by proportionate liability? Contrast this legal doctrine with the doctrine of joint and several liability.

> What types of activities should the auditor be alert to that may violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act?

> How does the Dodd-Frank Act affect the auditing profession?

> What types of sanctions can the SEC and the PCAOB impose on auditors?

> Briefly describe the four stages of the auditor dispute process.

> Generally, a CPA is not allowed to disclose confidential entity information without the consent of the entity. Identify four circumstances in which confidential entity information can be disclosed under the Rules of Conduct without the entity’s permissio

> Why might the auditor do an account analysis and vouch selected transactions in income statement accounts such as legal expense, travel and entertainment, and other income/expenses?

> Summarize the major differences between the AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct independence rules and the SEC’s independence rules for auditors of public companies. Briefly describe why the SEC’s requirements diverged from those of the AICPA in the ear

> What types of personal loans from a financial institution are allowed by the Rules of Conduct? What is meant by normal lending procedures, terms, and requirements within this context?

> What are the eleven major sections of the Rules of Conduct in Part 1 of the Code of Professional Conduct?

> Describe the six Principles of Professional Conduct, and indicate which CPAs are responsible for observing these six professional ideals.

> Including the preface, what are the four major “Parts” of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct? To what group of CPAs is each Part of the Code applicable?

> What entities are involved in establishing standards and rules for the professional conduct of public accountants? Who establishes such standards for auditors of public versus private companies?

> Why are companies like Kmart able to continue in business after experiencing federal indictments, convictions of top executives, and bankruptcy, while accounting firms, like the once highly respected, financially strong Arthur Andersen, can be destroyed

> How are the roles of the PCAOB inspection program and the AICPA peer review program similar, and how are they different?

> What is the purpose of a CPA firm’s establishing a system of quality control? List the six elements of quality control and provide one example of a policy or procedure that can be used to fulfill each element.

> A CPA is allowed to advertise as long as the advertising is not false, misleading, or deceptive. Provide three examples of advertising that might be considered false, misleading, or deceptive. Why are such acts of concern to the profession?

> What procedures would an auditor use to verify the completeness, rights and obligations, and accuracy and valuation assertions for property, plant, and equipment?

> Give three examples of acts that are considered discreditable under the Rules of Conduct.

> Briefly describe the three theories of ethical behavior that can be used to analyze ethical issues in accounting.

> List four bases for special purpose financial statements. Why is it important that the audit report clearly identify the basis of accounting used in the preparation of the financial statements?

> List three examples of “special reports.”

> If the auditor determines that other information contained with the audited financial statements is incorrect and the client refuses to correct the other information, what actions can the auditor take?

> What are the auditor’s responsibilities for other information included in an entity’s annual report?

> In 2017, your firm issued an unmodified report on Tosi Corporation, a private company. During 2018, Tosi entered its first lease transaction, which you have determined is material but not pervasive. Tosi Corporation’s management chooses to treat the tran

> How does the materiality of a departure from GAAP affect the auditor’s choice of financial statement audit reports?

> Give examples of a client-imposed and a condition-imposed scope limitation. Why is a client-imposed limitation generally considered more serious?

> Distinguish between accounting changes that affect consistency and changes that do not. To what does the word consistency refer? How is it possible for an accounting change to affect comparability but not consistency?

> Identify three substantive analytical procedures that can be used to audit property, plant, and equipment.

> Distinguish between prepaid expenses and intangible assets. Give two examples of each.

> A researcher develops hypotheses that suggest consumers like ads better when they; (1) Are truthful, (2) Creative, and (3) Present relevant information. Picture the conceptual model that would show these relationships. Which variables are the independ

> What should you look for in assessing whether or not an Internet resource is credible?

> What are the various reasons to conduct a literature review?

> List the six fundamental principles used to assess the validity of secondary data.

> Explain why a company should use all potential sources of secondary data before initiating primary data collection procedures.

> What characteristic separates secondary data from primary data? What are three sources of secondary data?

> Design a research proposal that can be used to address the following decision problem: “Should the Marriott Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reduce the quality of its towels and bedding in order to improve the profitability of the hotel’s operations?”

> Comment on the following statements: a. The primary responsibility for determining whether marketing research activities are necessary is that of the marketing research specialist. b. The information research process serves as a blueprint for reducing ri

> How are management decision makers and information researchers alike? How are they different? How might the differences be reduced between these two types of professionals?

> In the business world of the 21st century, will it be possible to make critical marketing decisions without marketing research? Why or why not?

> Could qualitative research be used to improve quantitative methods such as surveys? Explain your answer.

> Identify the significant changes taking place in today’s business environment that are forcing management decision makers to rethink their views of marketing research. Also discuss the potential impact that these changes might have on marketing research

> Identify the three major groups of people involved in the marketing research process, and then give an example of an unethical behavior sometimes practiced by each group.

> As the marketing research industry expands, what skills will future executives need to possess? How do these skills differ from those currently needed to function successfully in the marketing research field?

> What are the advantages and disadvantages for companies maintaining an internal marketing research department? What advantages and disadvantages can be attributed to the hiring of an external marketing research supplier?

> What improvements in retailing strategy might be attributed to the results obtained from shopper marketing studies?

> What is the role of marketing research in organizations?

> Why is it important to explain limitations in your marketing research report?

> What are the common problems associated with the marketing research report?

> Why are conclusions and recommendations included in a marketing research report?

> Should marketing researchers working with Latinos concentrate solely on qualitative research? Explain your answer.

> What are the primary topics/issues that need to be addressed in the research methods-and-procedures section of a marketing research report?

> In the context of the marketing research report, what is the primary goal of the executive summary?

> What are the seven components of the marketing research report? Briefly discuss each objective and why it is important.

> What is the difference between simple regression and multiple regression?

> What is regression analysis? When would you use it?

> What are the differences between univariate and bivariate statistical techniques?

> What is covariation? How does it differ from correlation?

> Explain the difference between association and causation.

> Explain the difference between testing for significant differences and testing for association.

> What will ANOVA tests not tell you, and how can you overcome this problem?

> Regarding the owners’ desire to understand the interrelationships between customer satisfaction, restaurant store image, and customer loyalty, develop a set of hypotheses that might be used to investigate these interrelationships.

> Why and when would you want to use ANOVA in marketing research?

> Why and how would you use Chi-square and t-tests in hypothesis testing?

> Explain the difference between the mean, the median, and the mode.

> What is the purpose of a simple one-way tabulation? How does this relate to a one-way frequency table?

> Briefly describe the process of data entry. What changes in technology have simplified this procedure?

> Explain the differences between developing codes for open-ended questions and for closed-ended questions.

> What are the differences between data validation, data editing, and data coding?

> Briefly describe the process of data validation. Specifically discuss the issues of fraud, screening, procedure, completeness, and courtesy.

> What are the various ways that credibility can be established in qualitative analysis?

> What is triangulation, and what is its role in qualitative analysis?

> Based on your understanding of the material presented in Chapter 3 and the above key research questions, should the owners of the Santa Fe Grill Mexican restaurant go back and restate their questions? If “no,” why not? If “yes,” why? Suggest how the rese

> What are some of threats to drawing credible conclusions in qualitative data analysis?

> Give some specific examples data displays, and explain how they may be used in qualitative data analysis.

> What is negative case analysis, and why is it important to the credibility of qualitative analysis?

> How do you build theory in qualitative analysis?

> What are the interrelated steps in data reduction?

> Describe the three steps in qualitative data analysis, and explain how and why these steps are iterative.

> How are quantitative and qualitative data analyses different?

> Unless needed for screening purposes, why shouldn’t demographic questions be asked up front in questionnaire?

> Discuss the main benefits of including a brief introductory section in questionnaires.

> Discuss the value of a good questionnaire design.

> Is the target population being interviewed the appropriate one?

> What makes a question bad? Develop three examples of bad questions. Rewrite your examples so they could be judged as good questions.

> What are the guidelines for deciding the format and layout of a questionnaire?

> Explain the role of a questionnaire in the research process. What should be the role of the client during the questionnaire development process?

> Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using unstructured (open-ended) and structured (closed-ended) questions in developing an online, self-administered survey instrument.

> Explain the major differences between “rating” and “ranking” scales. Which is a better scale measurement technique for collecting attitudinal data on sales force performance of people who sell commercial laser printers? Why?

> What are the major differences between ordinal and interval scales? In your response include an example of each type of scale.

> Explain the main differences between interval and ratio scale measurements.

> Among the four basic levels of scales, which one provides the researcher with the most information?

> Explain the relationship between sample sizes and sampling error. How does sampling error occur in survey research?

> Why do many research studies place heavy emphasis on correctly defining a target population rather than a total population?

> If this proposal is accepted, will it achieve the objectives of management?

> How might a faulty problem definition error affect the implementation of a mail survey?