Cindy Vance, CPA, Department of Accounting
Tuesday, March 21th, 2017 at 2:00 pm
Byrd Center for Legislative Studies Auditorium
Cindy Vance will present her research from her Ph.D. dissertation, The Effects of the Presence of Fraud and Auditor Certification Considering Professional Skepticism on Fraud Risk Assessment Performance, which examined the effect of the presence of fraud and auditor attributes on fraud risk assessments; fraud risk assessments are required as part of U.S. publicly traded companies’ financial statement audits to detect material financial misstatements. The occurrence of financial statement fraud has a significant impact on economies and stakeholders including employees, investors, creditors, auditors, regulators, and communities. Her research was conducted using the theoretical framework of fraud theory and attribution theory to examine the influence of the presence of fraud and auditor certification, while considering professional skepticism, on fraud risk assessment performance by answering the questions: (a) Does the presence of fraud risk have an effect on fraud risk assessment performance?, (b) Does a certification in fraud knowledge have an effect on fraud risk assessment performance? and (c) Does professional skepticism influence fraud risk assessment performance?
Cindy Vance is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Shepherd. She serves on the Shepherd University Alumni Association Board of Directors, the Shepherd University McMurran Scholars Advisory Board, and the following Shepherd University committees: Core Curriculum, Graduate Council, and Scholarships and Awards. She is the advisor for the Shepherd University Accounting Club, and she maintains membership in the AICPA, VSCPA, and ACFE. She is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with a specialization in Advanced Accounting at Northcentral University; She is expected to complete her Ph.D. in July 2017. She is a licensed CPA in Virginia and serves as a consultant in the accounting field.