Essays on Accounting – Compliance, Education and (Non-)Financial Reporting

Abstract

This dissertation addresses current issues in financial accounting and comprises four research papers structured into three sections: Compliance (Section A), Accounting Education (Section B), and Financial and Non-Financial Reporting (Section C). The empirical study in Section A examines the effect of two control design elements on employees’ performance misreporting behavior. The experimental findings suggest that ethical considerations can be reintegrated into employees’ decision-making depending on the design of control elements, specifically the presence of detrimental effects on others and the level of control result transparency. The research paper in Section B evaluates the animated video series “Bibi Bilanzierung” as an edutainment-based teaching tool. Using survey data and a field experiment, the study finds that the video-based teaching concept increases students’ motivation and exam performance in an introductory accounting course. Section C comprises two normative research papers on financial and non-financial reporting. Research Paper C1 analyzes corporate pay transparency reports following the introduction of the German Transparency in Wage Structures Act and derives best-practice recommendations. Research paper C2 examines the substance-over-form principle in parent-subsidiary relationships within German group accounting. Overall, the dissertation provides empirical and conceptual insights into the effective design and implementation of accounting instruments across education, control systems, and corporate reporting.