- Professor
- Associate Professor
- Arel, Barbara Ph.D.
- Bonifield, Carolyn M Ph.D.
- Cats-Baril, William L. Ph.D.
- Dempsey, Stephen J. Ph.D.
- Hughes, Susan B. Ph.D.
- Jones, David A. Ph.D.
- Lucas, Marilyn T. Ph.D.
- Novak, David Ph.D.
- Parke, E. Lauck Ph.D.
- Tomas III, Michael J. Ph.D.
- Vanden Bergh, Richard G. Ph.D.
- Zhang, Chun Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor
- Lecturer/Sr Lecturer
- Lecturer (Part Time)
- Faculty Emeritus
- Averyt, William F. Ph.D.
- Battelle, Peter E. M.B.A.
- Brandenburg, Richard G. Ph.D.
- Gatti, James F. Ph.D.
- Gurdon, Michael A. Ph.D.
- Jesse, Richard R. Ph.D.
- Kraushaar, James M. Ph.D.
- Laber, Gene Ph.D.
- Savitt, Ronald Ph.D.
- Severance, Malcolm Ph.D.
- Shirland, Larry E. Ph.D.
- Tashman, Len J. Ph.D.
Barbara Arel, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
Contact Information
Office: 307 Kalkin
Phone: (802) 656-5478
E-Mail: Barbara.Arel@uvm.edu
Office Hours: MW 2:00-3:30 pm or by appointment
Barbara Arel joined the faculty in 2006 after completing her PhD at Arizona State University. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Arel worked as a senior auditor in a regional public accounting firm and is currently licensed as a certified public accountant. She is also a member of the American Accounting Association. Her teaching interests are in the areas of auditing, accounting information systems and financial accounting and her research focuses on the judgment and decision making processes of auditors. Her research has been published in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Issues in Accounting Education, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Advances in Accounting, Journal of Sports Economics and The CPA Journal.
Courses Currently Taught by Barbara Arel:
Publication History
Journal Article, Academic Journal
- Arel, B.; Jennings, M.; Pany, K.; Reckers, P. - "Auditor liability: A comparison of judge and juror verdicts" (Refereed)
- Journal of Accounting and Public Policy
- 2012 - v. 31, no. 5, pp. 516-532
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Abstract: This research examines differences between judges and jurors in rendering liability judgments in auditor litigation cases. While any number of case contexts would allow us to contrast and compare judges and jurors, we chose one that we believed would also address a second timely issue, auditor reliance or non-reliance upon the work of others. Within the general context of litigation of an alleged audit failure, we manipulated, between-participants, external auditor reliance on the work of others (relied on outsourced work, relied on in-house internal auditors??? work or did not rely). Our results show differences in the liability assessments of judges and jurors. Judges assign more liability to auditors that rely on the work of in-house internal auditors, less liability to auditors that rely on outsourced internal auditors and the least liability to auditors that choose not to rely on the work of internal auditors (but re-perform the work themselves) while jurors assess higher liability regardless of the work done by the auditors. Mediation analyses suggests the differences found in the overall liability assessments of jurors and judges are partially driven by their divergent attitudes towards the public accounting profession with jurors??? unfavorable attitudes leading to them assign liability regardless of the work performed. Further analysis suggests juror insensitivity to our reliance manipulations may reflect a strict liability perspective (consistent with prior work by Charron and Lowe (2008)); while judges consider other factors when making liability assessments.
- Arel, B.; Beaudoin, C. A.; Cianci, A. - "The Impact of Ethical Leadership, the Internal Audit Function, and moral intensity on a financial reporting decision" (Refereed)
- Journal of Business Ethics
- 2012 - v. 109, no. 3, pp. 351-366
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Abstract: Two elements of corporate governance-the strength of ethical executive leadership and the internal audit function (IAF hereafter)-provide guidance to accounting managers making decisions involving uncertainty. We examine the joint effect of these two factors, manipulated at two levels (strong, weak), in an experiment in which accounting professionals decide whether to book a questionable journal entry (i.e., a journal entry for which a reasonable business case can be made but there is no supporting documentation). We find that ethical leadership and the IAF interact to determine the likelihood that accountants book the entry. Specifically, accountants are less likely to book a questionable journal entry when there is a weak ethical leader and a strong IAF compared to all other conditions. These results suggest that the IAF has a different impact on financial reporting decisions depending on the ethicalness of executive leadership and that a strong IAF may have certain consequences (such as decreasing the likelihood of booking an undocumented journal entry) when combined with weak ethical leadership. We also find that the interactive effect of ethical leadership and the IAF on an accountant's decision is fully mediated by his/her perception of the moral intensity of the issue. Thus, accountants, who perceive greater moral intensity associated with booking the entry, are less willing to do so.
- Arel, B. - "The Influence of Judges??? Attitudes on Liability Assessments Related to Failed Audits " (Refereed)
- Advances in Accounting
- 2012 - v. 28, no. 2, pp. 201-208
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Abstract: This study provides evidence on how audit firms' decisions to use offshore (outsourced) auditors or to assign on-site (local) auditors extensive overtime affect judges' evaluation of auditor legal liability I conduct a behavioral experiment in which actual judges responded to a hypothetical audit lawsuit. The results suggest auditors may be penalized during the litigation process depending on the extent of overtime or off-shoring and judges' attitude toward the public accounting profession. Judges with a positive attitude toward public accounting
assessed more liability for an audit firm that used offshore (outsourced) auditors than for the use of extensive overtime for on-site auditors or a control condition. However, judges with a negative attitude toward the auditing profession assessed higher liability for auditors except when on-site auditors bore significant overtime in the final weeks of the audit.
- Arel, B.; Tomas III, M. J. - "The NBA draft: A put option analogy" (Refereed)
- Journal of Sports Economics
- 2012 - v. 13, no. 3, pp. 279-305.
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Abstract: The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a fixed salary schedule which allows us to examine this labor market to understand the incentives for players to enter the draft. Previous studies have focused on labor as a choice from the team???s perspective. Early entry into the NBA draft is similar to the decision to exercise an American style put option early; the draftee sells his remaining time in college sells his labor early. Using a combination of mock draft and actual draft data we find early exercise to be rational for all class ranks; though the early exercise boundary is considerably different for freshmen and juniors.
- Arel, B.; Hughes, S. B.; Sander, J. F. - "The personal financial reporting project: A student-based comprehensive learning project" (Refereed)
- Issues in Accounting Education
- 2011 - v. 26, no. 4, pp. 777-796
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Abstract: The Personal Financial Reporting Project is designed to help students better understand the basics of financial reporting by applying class concepts to their own financial situations. Through a series of monthly assignments completed over a two or three???month period, students identify their personal assets and liabilities, determine which of these are included within a balance sheet, develop an accounting system to track changes to their assets and liabilities and recognize revenue and expenses, prepare financial statements, and develop significant accounting policies. After the second assignment, each subsequent assignment builds on the prior part. As such, students must correct errors in the earlier parts to accurately finish the next assignment. The complete project is made up of five parts included in the following instructions; during some semesters the project was condensed to include only parts two through four. The latter approach may be very appropriate for programs on the quarter system. Students report the project is effective in making accounting concepts more understandable, improves their ability to prepare accounting reports, helps them understand the articulation concept and provides them with additional insight into their personal financial situation. The project motivates both top???tier students and those who do not perform as well on exams and quizzes.
- Arel, B. - "The Influence of Litigation Risk and Internal Audit Source on Reliance Decisions" (Refereed)
- Advances in Accounting
- 2010 - no. 26, pp. 170-176
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Abstract: External auditor reliance on the work of internal auditors in an integrated audit of the financial statements and internal control is an important audit planning procedure that can impact audit efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to examine how perceived auditor litigation risk and internal audit source affect external auditors??? reliance decisions in an integrated audit environment under varying levels of risk of material misstatement. In an experimental study using 89 practicing Big 4 auditors, this study finds that auditors who perceive low litigation risk from placing reliance on the work of internal auditors will rely more on outsourced internal auditors than in-house internal auditors. The results also show that auditors??? reliance decisions are sensitive to the level of account risk consistent with the risk-based approach to the integrated audit encouraged by the PCAOB.
- O'Donnell, E.; Kaplan, S.; Arel, B. - "The Influence of Auditor Experience on the Persuasiveness of Information Provided by Management" (Refereed)
- Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory
- 2008
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Abstract: In this paper, we test whether experience limits auditors' reliance on management-provided information when that information is more favorable than an objective benchmark. In an experiment, we find that experience as an audit senior and the favorableness of management information interact to influence auditor assessments of the reliability of internal controls. While auditors with low levels of experience at the senior rank give more favorable assessments when management's assessment is favorable, high experience senior auditors' judgments are not influenced by management's assessment. We conclude that as auditors gain experience, they also gain persuasion knowledge, which allows them to deflect management's persuasion attempts.
- Arel, B.; Pany, K.; Brody, R. - "Findings on the Effects of Audit Firm Rotation on the Audit Process Under Varying Strengths of Corporate Governance" (Refereed)
- Advances in Accounting
- 2006 - v. 22-2006, pp. 1-27
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Abstract: While performing an annual audit of a client's financial statements, an audit firm's staff identified what seems to be a material misstatement. Two discussions with the client have led to an impasse in that the client refuses to record what the auditor regards as a necessary adjustment. Our experimental study analyzes whether the likelihood of public accountants modifying their audit report for this departure from generally accepted accounting principles is affected by whether audit firm rotation is about to occur (no rotation v. rotation) under each of the two levels of corporate governance (weak v. strong). Our subjects include 105 CPA firm employees and partners who have an average experience level slightly less than 14 years. Results that auditors in the rotation condition are more likely to modify their audit report as contrasted to those in a situation in which a continuing relationship is expected.
Journal Article, Professional Journal
- Arel, B.; Pany, K.; Brody, R. - "Audit Firm Rotation and Audit Quality" (Refereed)
- The CPA Journal
- 2005 - v. 75.1, pp. p.36(4)
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Abstract: The major financial reporting failures at Enron and WorldCom, as well as apparent failures at Qwest, Tyco, Adelphia, and others, led to the financial reporting reforms contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOA). SOA's reforms directly related to auditors include the establishment of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), increased audit committee responsibilities, and mandatory rotation of lead and reviewing audit partners after five consecutive years on an engagement.
