PhD Programs in Accountancy and Business

You’ll explore both quantitative and qualitative methodology courses, and take a series of core seminars in Financial Accountancy, Auditing and Assurance, Managerial Control Systems, Judgment and Decision-Making. You’ll also take an Accountancy Workshop that considers special topics in accounting research, and a specialized course in experimental design that’s taught as an independent study.

PhD in Accountancy Curriculum - 42 Credits

PhD Courses:

• PhD 1640 -- Intro to Quant & Stats Workshop - 0 credits
• PACC 1604 -- Accountancy Workshop Parts I-IV - 3 credits  
• PhD 1750 -- Independent Summer Research Project - 3 credits  
• PhD 1650 -- Teaching Workshop - 0 credits  

PhD Methods Courses:

• PhD 1502 -- Quantitative Analysis I - 3 credits    
• PhD 1504 -- Quantitative Analysis II - 3 credits  
• PhD 1506 -- Quantitative Research Methods I - 3 credits  
• PhD 1503 -- Qualitative Research Methods I - 3 credits  

Accountancy PhD Courses:

• PACC 1607 -- Intro to Accountancy Research - 3 credits
• PACC 1602 -- Auditing and Assurance - 3 credits    
• PACC 1605 -- Judgement and Decision-Making - 3 credits  
• PACC 1603 -- Managerial Control Systems - 3 credits  
• PACC 1601 -- Financial Accounting - 3 credits  

Elective Courses: 

• Two Methods Electives - 6 credits    
• Open Elective - 3 credits

A selection of published collaborative research between Bentley Accountancy Faculty and PhD Students and Alumni:

• Andiola, L. M., Bedard, J. C., Kremin, J. (2021). Coaching Quality and Subordinate Work Attitudes in the Multiple Supervisor Audit Context . Accounting Horizons. 
• Burke, J. J., R. Hoitash, U. Hoitash, and X. Xiao. (2021). The costs and benefits of retirement policies at U.S. audit firms. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy.
• Fedorowicz, J., Gray, J. The MSA is Dead. Long Live the MSA(A)!. Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting (forthcoming)
• Hoitash, R., Hoitash, U., Morris, L. (2021). V. eXtensible Business Reporting Language: A Review and Directions for Future Research. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory. Forthcoming.
• Sumantra, S., Gray, J., Boss, S. R., Daly, E. (2021). Developing Institutional Skills for Addressing Big Data: Experiences in Implementation of AACSB Standard 5. Journal of Accounting Education.
• Alberti, C. T., J. C. Bedard, O. Bik, and A. Vanstraelen. (2020). Audit Firm Culture: Recent Developments and Trends in the Literature. European Accounting Review: 1-51.
• Burke, J., Hoitash, R., Hoitash, U. (2020). The use and characteristics of foreign component auditors in U.S. multinational audits: Insights from Form AP disclosures. Contemporary Accounting Research, 37 (4), 2398-2437. 
• Durkin, M., Rose, J., Thibodeau, J. (2020) Can Simple Metaphors Be Used as Decision Aids to Promote Professional Skepticism?, Journal of Information Systems, 34(1), 47-60.
• Gantman, S., Fedorowicz, J. (2020). Determinants and Success Factors of IT Outsourcing in the Public Sector . Communications of the Association of Information Systems, 47 (1), 14.
• Hunter, K. E., Alberti, C. T., Boss, S. R., Thibodeau, J. C. (2020). Intelliclean: A Teaching Case Designed to Integrate Data Cleaning and Spreadsheet Skills into the Audit Curriculum. Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, 17 (2), 1-7.
• Parlee, M., Rose, J., Thibodeau, J. C. (2020). Can Simple Metaphors Be Used as Decision Aids to Promote Professional Skepticism? Journal of Information Systems, Volume 34 (Number 1), 47-60. 
• Stuart, A. C., Bedard, J. C., & Clark, C. E. (2020). Practitioner Summary: The Value of Assurance and Ethics in Difficult Times: Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures and Investor Decisions, Assurance and Ethics in Difficult Times: CSR Disclosures and Investors. Current Issues in Auditing.
• Stuart, A. C., Bedard, J. C., & Clark, C. E. (2020). Corporate social responsibility disclosures and investor judgments in difficult times: The role of ethical culture and assurance. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-18.
• Andiola, L. M., Bedard, J. C., Westermann, K. (2019). It's not my fault! Insights into subordinate auditors' attributions and emotions following audit review. (1 ed., vol. 38, pp.1-27). Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. 
• Burke, J., , R., Hoitash, U. (2019). Audit Partner Identification and Characteristics: Evidence from U.S. Form AP Filings. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, 38 (3), 71-94. 
• Burke, J., Hoitash, R., Hoitash, U. (2019). Auditor response to negative media coverage of client environmental, social, and governance practices. Accounting Horizon, 33 (3), 1-23. 
• Burke, J., Hoitash, R., Hoitash, U. (2019). The heterogeneity of board-level sustainability committees and corporate social performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 154 (4), 1161-1186. 
• Cannon, N. H., Bedard, J. C., & Schnader, A. (2019). Auditor Reporting and Regulatory Sanctions in the Broker-Dealer Industry: From Self-Regulation to PCAOB Oversight. Contemporary Accounting Research, 36(4), 2554–2587. 
• Downey, D. H., and J. C. Bedard. (2019). Coordination and communication challenges in global group audits. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 38 (1): 123-147.
• Garrett, J., Livingston, J. A., Tayler, W. B. (2019). Controls and cooperation in interactive and non-interactive settings. Contemporary Accounting Research, 36 (4). 
• Morris, L. and R. Hoitash. (2019). The impact of the flu on audit employee productivity and Big Four firm output. Accounting Today.
• Thibodeau, J. C., Williams, T., Witte, A. L. (2019). Point and Click Data: An Assessment of Editorial Perceptions and Recommendations for the Peer-Review Process in the New Data Frontier. Journal of Information Systems, 33 (1): 129-144.
• Tien-Shih Hsieh, Zhihong Wang, and Mohammad J. Abdolmohammadi.  (2019). Does the XBRL disclosure management solution influence earnings release efficiency and earnings management? International Journal of Accounting and Information Management, 27(1): 74-95.
• Andiola, L. M., Bedard, J. C. (2018). Delivering the “Tough Message”: Moderators of Subordinate Auditors’ Reactions to Feedback. (vol. 70, pp.52-68). Accounting, Organizations and Society.
• Andiola, L. M., Downey, D. H., Spilker, B. C., Noga, T. J. (2018). The Interactive Effects of Feedback Sign and Source on Indian Tax Professionals’ Satisfaction: A Social Identity Perspective. (2 ed., vol. 30, pp.1-21). Behavioral Research in Accounting.
• Bierstaker, J. L., D. H. Downey, J. Rose, and J. C. Thibodeau. (2018). Does reading a story or a checklist result in superior knowledge structure development? Implications for judgment and decision making. Journal of Information Systems 32 (2) 1-24.
• Fedorowicz, J., Sawyer, S., Tomasino, A. (2018). Governance Patterns of U.S. Public Safety Networks: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Journal of Information Technology, 33 (4), 326-344.
• Mentzer, K., Williams, C. B., Fedorowicz, J. (2019). Police Use of Social Media: Comparing Classification Methods. Issues in Information Systems, 20 (3), 175-185. 
• Tien-Shih Hsieh, Zhihong Wang, and Mohammad J. Abdolmohammadi.  (2018). Factors associated with XBRL Implementation Strategies. Journal of Information Systems.
• Williams, C. B., Fedorowicz, J., Kavanaugh, A., Mentzer, K., Thatcher, J. B., Xu, J. (2018). Leveraging Social Media to Achieve a Community Policing Agenda. Government Information Quarterly, 35 (2), 210-222.
• Xianwang Shi, Zheng Liu, and Min Zhu. (2018). Does Auditors’ Busyness Affect Audit Opinion? Empirical Evidence of Individual Auditors’ Limited Attention on A-shared Listed Firms. Audit & Economy Research, 2018(1): 34 - 43.
• Asare, K. N.,Abdolmohammadi, M. J., (2017). Auditor Tenure and Financial Reporting Fraud: Pre and Post SOX 2002, Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting.
• Cannon, N. H., & Bedard, J. C. (2017). Auditing Challenging Fair Value Measurements: Evidence from the Field. The Accounting Review, 92(4), 81–114. 
• Hux, C. (2017). Use of specialists on audit engagements: A research synthesis and directions for future research. Journal of Accounting Literature 39 (C): 23-51.
• Mohammad J. Abdolmohammadi, Steven M. Desimone, Tien-Shih Hsieh, and Zhihong Wang. (2017). Factors associated with the internal audit function’s involvement with XBRL implementation in public companies: An international study. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 25, 45-56.
• Tomasino, A., Fedorowicz, J., Williams, C. B. (2017). “Public Sector Shared Services Move Out of the "Back-Office": The Role of Public Policy and Mission Criticality. The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, 48 (3), 83-109.
• Burke, J. J., and C. E. Clark. (2016). The business case for integrated reporting: Insights from leading practitioners, regulators, and academics. Business Horizons 59(3): 273-283.
• Gantman, S., Fedorowicz, J. (2016). Communications and Control in Outsourced IS Development Projects: Mapping to COBIT Domains. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 21, 63-83.
• Schnader, A. L., Westermann, K., Hanes, D., Thibodeau, J. C. (2016). Training Teacher-Scholars: A Mentorship Program. Issues in Accounting Education, Volume 31 (Number 2), 171-190. 
• Westermann, K. and J. Thibodeau. (2016).  Extra Credit Opportunities: A Tool to Motivate Group Interaction in the Classroom. Current Issues in Auditing 10(2): I1-I13

PhD in Business Curriculum - 42 Credits

PhD Courses:

• PhD 1640 -- Intro to Quant & Stats Workshop - 0 credits
• PBU 1604 -- Business Workshop Parts I-IV - 3 credits  
• PhD 1750 -- Independent Summer Research Project - 3 credits  
• PhD 1650 -- Teaching Workshop - 0 credits  

PhD Methods Courses:

• PhD 1502 -- Quantitative Analysis I - 3 credits    
• PhD 1504 -- Quantitative Analysis II - 3 credits  
• PhD 1506 -- Quantitative Research Methods I - 3 credits  
• PhD 1503 -- Qualitative Research Methods I - 3 credits  

Track Specific PhD Courses:
(Marketing, Management, Information Systems & Business Analytics tracks)

• Four Track Specific Courses - 12 credits

Elective Courses: 

• Two Methods Electives - 6 credits    
• Two Open Electives - 3 credits

A selection of published collaborative research between Bentley Faculty and Business PhD Students and Alumni:

• Bai, Z. (2021). Does frequent prayer help reduce alcohol use? Heterogeneity in religious contexts and drinking styles. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 1-13.
• Bai, Z. (2021). Does robo-advisory help reduce the likelihood of carrying a credit card debt? Evidence from an instrumental variable approach. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 29, 100461.
• Li, M., Wang, Y., Ndiwane, N., Orner, M. B., Palacios, N., Mittler, B., ... & Xia, W. (2021). The association of COVID-19 occurrence and severity with the use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin-II receptor blockers in patients with hypertension. Plos one, 16(3), e0248652.
• Marabelli, M., Vaast, E., & Li, J. L. (2021). Preventing the digital scars of COVID-19. European Journal of Information Systems, 1-17.
• Bai, Z. (2020). The impact of different drinking habits on marijuana use among college-aged youths. The Social Science Journal, 1-22.
• Bai, Z., & Wallbaum, K. (2020). "Optimizing Pension Outcomes Using Target‐Driven Investment Strategies: Evidence from Three Asian Countries with the Highest Old‐Age Dependency Ratio". Asia‐Pacific Journal of Financial Studies, 49(4), 652-682.
• Biedova, O., & Steblovskaya, V. (2020). Multiplier optimization for constant proportion portfolio insurance (CPPI) strategy. International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance, 23(02), 2050011.
• Donnelly, R., Manolova, T. S. (2020). Foreign Location Decisions through an Institutional Lens: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. International Business Review, 29 (4), Article 101619.
• Fedorenko, I., Berthon, P., & Edelman, L. (2020). Hide and uncover: the use of secrets in marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(7-8), 682-704.
• Mentzer, K., Frydenberg, M. E., Yates, D. J. (2020). Teaching Applications and Implications of Blockchain via Project-Based Learning: A Case Study. Information Systems Education Journal, 18 (6), 57-98. (link)
• Mentzer, K., Wang, Y., & Haughton, D. (2020). Interlocking Boards and the Corporate Elite: A 20-Year Analysis of the S&P 500. Issues in Information Systems, 21(4).
• Nan, W. V., Zhu, X., Markus, M. (2020). What We Know and Don’t Know about the Socioeconomic Impacts of Mobile Money in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Literature Review. Electronic Journal of IS in Developing Countries.
• Steblovskaya, V. R., Biedova, O. (2020). Multiplier Optimization for Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance (CPPI) Strategy. The International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance, 23 (2), 22.
• Sultanow, E., Duane, J., & Chircu, A. (2020). Skills for Sustainable Enterprise Architectures in a VUCA World. WI2020 Community Tracks, 224–239
• Wang, E. J., Berthon, P. R., & Bechwati, N. N. (2020). The effect of mindfulness on service encounter quality. Journal of Services Marketing.
• Awazu Y., Mariano Stefania, Newell Sue, (2019). The Mediating Role of Artifacts in Position Practice at Work: Examples From a Project-based Context, Information and Management, 56 (4) 602-613.
• Bai, Z., Jain, N., Kurdyukov, R., Walton, J., Wang, Y., Wasson, T. K., Zhu, X., Chircu, A. M. (2019). Conducting Systematic Literature Reviews in Information Systems: An Analysis of Guidelines. Issues in Information Systems.20(3), 83-93.
• Berthon, P., Pehlivan, E., Yalcin, T., Rabinovich, T. (2019). True, fake and alternative: a topology of news and its implications for brands. Journal of Product & Brand Management.
• Mentzer, K., Fedorowicz, J., & Williams, C. (2019). Police Use of Social Media: Comparing Classification Methods. Issues in Information Systems, 20(3).
• Stein, M. K., Wagner, E. L., Tierney, P., Newell, S., & Galliers, R. D. (2019). Datification and the Pursuit of Meaningfulness in Work. Journal of Management Studies, 56(3), 685-717.
• Colleen M Ryan, Austin Lee, Frederick J Stoddard, Nien Chen Li, Jeffrey C Schneider, Gabriel D Shapiro, Cornelia L Griggs, Chao Wang, Tina Palmieri, Walter J Meyer, Frank S Pidcock, Debra Reilly, Robert L Sheridan, Lewis E Kazis, Ronald G Tompkins.(2018). Multi-Center Benchmarking Study Group; The Effect of Facial Burns on Long-Term Outcomes in Young Adults: A 5-Year Study, Journal of Burn Care & Research, Volume 39, Issue 4, 13 June 2018, Pages 497–50.
• Edelman, L. F., Donnelly, R., Manolova, T. S., Brush, C. G. (2018). Gender Stereotypes in the Angel Investment Process. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 10 (2), 134-157.
• Fedorowicz, J., Sawyer, S., Tomasino, A. (2018). Governance Patterns of U.S. Public Safety Networks: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Journal of Information Technology, 33 (4), 326-344.
• Galliers, R. D., Stein, M. (2018). Information Systems: To Be, or Not To Be, a Science? Is that the Question? Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 43 (12), 197-204. (link)
• McLaughlin, M. D., & Gogan, J. (2018). Challenges and best practices in information security management. MIS Quarterly Executive, 17(3), 237-262.
• Perrault, E. and Quinn, M. (2018).  "What firms have been doing?  Exploring what the KLD data report about firms' corporate social performance (CSP) in the period 2000-2010", Business & Society, 57(5), 890-928.
• Primus, D., Stavrulaki, E. (2018). Connecting Product Development and Supply Chain sub-processes to improve New Product Introductions: The impact of connection intensity and timing. Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal (19(2)), 142-159.
• Quinn, M. A., Perrault, E. (2018). A Descriptive Approach to Corporate Social Performance: Not Slack Investments Nor Good Management, but a Virtuous Cycle. Business and Society.
• Williams, C. B., Fedorowicz, J., Kavanaugh, A., Mentzer, K., Thatcher, J. B., Xu, J. (2018). Leveraging Social Media to Achieve a Community Policing Agenda. Government Information Quarterly, 35 (2), 210-222.
• Fedorenko, I. & Berthon, P. (2017). Beyond the expected benefits: unpacking value co-creation in crowdsourcing business models. AMS Review. December 2017. Vol. 7, Issue 3-4, pp.183-194.
• Fedorenko, I., Berthon, P., & Rabinovich, T. (2017). Crowded identity: Managing crowdsourcing initiatives to maximize value for participants through identity creation. Business Horizons. March 2017. Vol.60, Issue 2, pp.155–165.
• Larson, B., Leung, O., & Mullane, K. (2017). Tools for teaching virtual teams: a comparative resource review. Management Teaching Review, 2(4), 333-347.
• Ottley, G., Nasr, N. I. (2017). Teaching an Elevated View of Marketing: Marketing with Customers. Marketing Education Review, 28 (3), 217-229.
• Pololi, L. H., Evans, A. T., Nickell, L., Reboli, A., Coplit, L. D., Stuber, M., Vasiliou, V., Civian, J. T., Brennan, R. T. (2017).  Assessing the learning environment for medical students: an evaluation of a novel survey instrument in four medical schools. Academic Psychiatry,41(3), 354-359.
• Primus, D.,Stavrulaki, E., (2017). A product centric examination of alignment decisions at the nexus of product development and supply chains, International Journal of Logistics ManagemenT.
• Rabinovich, T., Berthon, P., Fedorenko, I. (2017).  Reducing the distance: financial services education in web-extended learning environments . Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 22 (3), 126-131.
• Todd P. Semla, Austin F Lee, Ronald Gurrera, Laura Bajor, Mingfei Li, Donald R. Miller, Eric G. Smith, Chao Wang, Yun Wan, Lewis E. Kazis Mark S. Bauer (2017),  Off-Label Prescribing of second-Generation Antipsychotics to Elderly Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 08/2017.
• Wong, W., Pepe, J. T., Englander, I. S. (2017). Raising the Bar: Challenging Students in a Capstone Project Course With an Android and Mobile Web Parallel Development Team Project. ISEDJ, 15 (6), 27
• Jurgens, M., Berthon, P., Edleman, L. (2016). Social Media Revolutions: The Influence Of Secondary Stakeholders. Business Horizons, 59 (2), 129–136.
• Lutafali, S., Pogvara, Q., & Khoja, F. (2016). Expanding Role of Microfinance Institutions to Combat Multidimensional Poverty. International Journal of Ecological Economics and Statistics, 37(2), 1-10.
• Perrault, E. and Clark, C. (2016). “Environmental shareholder activism: Considering status and reputation in firm responsiveness”, Organization & Environment, 29(2), 194-211.
• Skaletsky, M. ., Galliers, R. D., Haughton, D. M., Soremekun, O. (2016). Exploring the Predictors of the International Digital Divide . Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 19 (1), 44-67. b
• Stein, M., Galliers, R. D., Whitley, E. (2016). Twenty years of the European Information Systems academy at ECIS: Emergent trends and research topics. European Journal of Information Systems, 25 (1), 1-15. b
• Wang, E. J., Berthon, P., Leyland, P., McCarthy, I. (2016). Service, emotional labor, and mindfulness. Business Horizon, 59 (6), 655-661.