Essays on Accounting - Enforcement, Education & Sustainability

Abstract

This dissertation includes seven papers on the subject of financial accounting and is divided into three sections on different topics: Enforcement (Section A), Accounting Education (Section B) and Sustainability in Accounting (Section C). Specifically, the empirical study in Section A examines the capital market reaction to error announcements of the German enforcement system and investigates the role of enforcement institutions in the processing of financial accounting-related information by investors. The research papers in Section B deal with the area of Accounting Education. Innovative teaching concepts are a key instrument to counteract the declining interest of students in the accounting field as well as the shortage of qualified staff in the audit and accounting sector. In this context, paper B1 empirically examines the digital teaching concept of the video series "Bibi Bilanzierung" and analyses the influence of this edutainment approach on students' motivation and performance. Paper B2 illustrates the importance of such a digital teaching concept and shows how to embed it in higher education classes. Paper B3, deals with the general issue and possible approaches to solving the shortage of qualified staff in the auditing profession. Section C contains three normative essays that deal with financial accounting in the context of sustainability related-issues. Paper C1 addresses current discussions about accounting of "green" loans. For this type of financing, the financial terms depend, i.a., on ESG factors of the borrower. The accounting of these financial instruments by the lender leads to uncertainties in the application of IFRS 9, which are picked up on and discussed in this paper. Paper C2 deals with ESG-ratings and descriptively evaluates the results of a consultation of the EU Commission on the ESG-rating market in 2022. It systematically analyses the challenges perceived by stakeholders and the need for regulation. Paper C3 deals with accounting issues of power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the context of IFRS 16. In a conceptual analysis, the paper investigates under which conditions PPAs constitute a lease in accordance with IFRS 16.