BEFORE YOU POST IN THIS DISCUSSION: Read this entire set of information and read all material to include the active link material BEFORE you post. Your topic must be related to your degree. Your topic must be argumentative. Your thesis statement should include the argument and three supporting elements that you will use to defend your position. Review the example below to see how to format the main discussion post. Please note that only ONE student can write on each topic. Post the TOPIC NAME as the SUBJECT of your response post to secure the topic of your choice. If another student has already taken that topic, you will be asked to choose another. For the main post, post your response in the format indicated in the example below. It is highly suggested that you post by Wednesday. However, your main post should be entered no later than Friday. For the two peer responses, due before Sunday but posted on different days from the main post and each other, explore your peers’ work and help them think about their topics further. Are their topics related to their degree? Does the thesis statement include an actual argument and THREE supporting elements? Is the material grammatically and mechanically correct? Does the proposed research make sense in general? THE EXAMPLE: TOPIC: Suicide rates in the state of Wyoming Purpose: I intend to argue that weather events are most responsible for the high number of suicides in Wyoming. Audience: My audience will consist of my peers and my professor. Working Thesis Statement: The high winds, lengthy cold weather, and furious snowstorms contribute greatly to the suicide rates in the state of Wyoming. [Note that this thesis statement is only ONE sentence long. Yours should be, too. It should include the specific argument plus three supporting elements as illustrated here.] Objections: Many people do not believe that suicides occur in such a calm state, or they may not understand how weather can cause challenges for the citizens’ state of mind. Limitations: Published reports may not be current, thus the research provided will not be up-to-date. Medical publications may be too dense with information to adequately cull information for this report. The topic may be too new to locate adequate support. IMPORTANT NOTE: Before posting in the discussions, it would be helpful for you to review the associated rubric.

Topic: Accounting disclosure and reporting companies

Purpose: I intend to argue that the level of reporting companies’ competition is significantly increased by high financial accounting disclosure level

Audience: will be company managers and accounting managers.

Working Thesis Statement: Transparent accounting disclosure informs both the private and public reporting companies about the net worth value, shareholders value, company profits, and expectations, hence increasing their competitiveness.

Objections: some studies show that financial disclosure may bring regulatory capture and unfair competition among the reporting companies

Limitations: not all firms believe in or use accounting disclosure which makes the comparison inadequate or does not reflect all companies’ practices.

There two types of accounting disclosure that a firm can use, mandatory and voluntary. Mandatory exposure is a requirement that a firm must comply with in accordance with rules of legislation. Voluntary exposure is the self-regulation that a firm decides to undertake in response to stakeholders and civil society desire for more disclosure. There are different levels of exposure that companies practice. High accounting exposure levels are beneficial to the firm and other third-party stakeholders (Ali, Ahmed, & Henry, 2004). Reporting companies depend on the accounting information presented by a firm. When the information is transparent, valid and sufficient, then the reporting firms and investors will have increased faith and loyalty to the company and would want to invest or become shareholders. Increase in accounting disclosure increases the shareholders’ value. The created value will attract more investments which brings positive impacts for the company.

Accounting exposure, whether favorable or not, allows the third party companies that are the reporting companies to produce accurate financial or annual reports about the company (Watson, Shrives, & Marston, 2002). Many reporting companies are attracted by transparency and sufficient accounting disclosure given by a firm. The attraction has a positive impact as the company must choose the best reporting companies to work with. The numerous reporting companies will have to work extra hard to earn their desired position with the firm.

References

Ali, M. J., Ahmed, K., & Henry, D. (2004). Disclosure compliance with national accounting standards by listed companies in South Asia. Accounting and Business Research, 34(3), 183-199.

Watson, A., Shrives, P., & Marston, C. (2002). Voluntary disclosure of accounting ratios in the UK. The British Accounting Review, 34(4), 289-313.