QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for Honours, Masters and PhD study. Search to find a topic that interests you or propose your own research topic to a prospective QUT supervisor. You may also ask a prospective supervisor to help you identify or refine a research topic.
Found 9 matching student topics
Displaying 1–9 of 9 results
Risk management and financial systems integrity. Enhancing outcomes for indigenous not-for-profit organisations
This topic examines the NFP sector, in particular, indigenous organisations and the risk associated with incidents of fraud. As funding to these organisations is limited, a fraudulent event can have dire consequences on employees as well as impact future funding opportunities. Scant attention has been paid to the NFP sector in relation to fraud risk management. The study will help to address this.If you are interested in researching this topic as part of a Master of Philosophy (Accountancy), and you …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
Corporate social and environmental performance information and related accountability practices
Due to stakeholder attention, companies are increasingly disclosing social and environmental performance information within their annual and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports.OutcomesThis study will investigate whether these disclosures reflect real performance, and thereby create accountability practices by corporations. Both Australian and international companies are the focus of this project.The project considers both qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
Compensation consultants: Whom do they serve? New evidence on pay for performance
It is common that companies routinely retain compensation consultants to provide guidance in setting executive pay packages. Most importantly, they offer recommendations about formulating appropriate compensation contracts for top management. Research shows that the size and structure of CEO compensation packages significantly affect firm performance (known as pay-for-performance) and, in particular, excessive CEO compensation is associated with the destruction of shareholder wealth. It is, therefore, interesting to investigate whether the use of compensation consultants actually benefits shareholders (e.g. improve firm …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
The effect of information representation on the success of crowdfunding campaigns
Crowdfunding provides a unique opportunity to acquire financial resources online and is often used by entrepreneurs aiming to finance a project or a venture by parties. These investors make their funding decision based on the crowdfunding campaign entailing a textual description and a video pitch. This research seeks to determine which financial information should be included in the campaign, how this information should be presented, and how it affects the judgment and decision making of the potential investors. Detailed insights …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
An insight view on board faultlines: company secretaries' perception of board faultlines, their effect on board performance and strategies to increase board cohesiveness
According to faultline theory, imposing board diversity criteria on corporate board can split the board into subgroups, which negatively impact on board performance by reducing effective communication between directors, instigating frictions and negative group dynamics. The role of the company secretary has been found to be pivotal in managing information blows and brokering meaningful relationships between board members. Company secretaries are therefore in a key position to provide insights into what can potentially cause frictions on boards and offer guidance …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
Can executive compensation improve investment efficiency?
Since the last decade, there have been intense debates over whether executive compensation contracts are set optimally for interest alignment between management and shareholders. As Jensen and Murphy (2010) noted, the real problem of compensation is 'not how much you pay, but how'. While there is an agreement that performance-based pay can influence corporate investment decisions, the evidence is less clear on how and to what extent such a link is established. The real interest of this study is to …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
The gender profile of the insolvency profession
Given the advances in representation by women in business leadership and accountancy profession generally, is it inevitable that there remain 'gendered occupational niches'?This project investigates the nature of professional work undertaken by insolvency practitioners and profiles the state of the profession to examine whether there are any isolating influences or barriers to entry for one gender or the other. It will identify the key determinants to effective performance to the role of insolvency practitioner and whether any systemic biases become …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
Culture and corruption risks in local government: the role of technology in detecting fraud
A recent investigation by the Crime and Misconduct Commission found serious fraud and corruption across a number of Queensland city councils. This included inappropriate relationships between the Council and the private sector, in particular property developers and improper use of power and influence for personal benefit by elected councilors.This project investigates how council employees and councillors avoid detection under existing accounting controls, and how they can be strengthened. We will focus on the latest technologies for detecting financial misconduct and …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
Curtailing corporate tax aggression through uncertain tax benefits
Over the last five years Australia has adopted numerous measures to address aggressive corporate tax practices. A recent addition to these measures (on the 1st of January 2019) is AASB Interpretation 23 - Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments, which was developed to clarify the treatment of uncertain tax positions. This interpretation requires entities who produce general purpose financial reports (GPFRs) to disclose uncertain tax benefits (UTB) in the notes to their financial statements. Extant literature suggests that UTB disclosures are …
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
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