Research

My involvement in research began well before my career in academia. As a minister, professional musician, church music director, piano instructor, piano technician, and president and general manager of a not-for-profit arts organization, I carried out extensive examinations of the germane literature in various fields. The wide range of topics included: (1) musical repertoire, (2) music history, (3) pedagogical techniques, (4) digital music production, (5) the history of piano technology, and (6) small-business management. Additionally, I engaged in survey-based research regarding audience attitudes and preferences, affecting strategic and artistic planning initiatives.

Before and since my involvement in academic research, the methodologies and types of research I used varied by purpose, available data sources, and the intended audience. I have always been intrigued by meta-analyses of extensive literature sources and used that approach in mission-driven, non-academic and scholarly academic ventures. Statistical analysis of survey data formed the basis of several projects, over the years, including the in-depth assessment of the relationships between entrepreneurs and social media contained in my 2016 doctoral dissertation. A recent project on natural-language processing (NLP), a text-analysis process currently applied in the accounting, auditing, finance, and legal domains, involved the analysis of 266 academic sources. Currently, I am working on an analysis of over 800 academic sources related to accounting pedagogy.

My research interests evolved, over time, and they continue to change, due to my role as the Director of Accounting Programs and a Lecturer at the University at Albany. Below, I provide a topical list of my Research (published and unpublished) and publications (completed and in progress), to date.

Entrepreneurs & Entrepreneurship

1. “Proactive Entrepreneurs: Who Are They and How are They Different?” (Van Ness, Seifert, Marler, Wales, & Hughes, 2019)

2 “Are Entrepreneurs Different” (Van Ness, Seifert, Marler, Wales, & Hughes, 2018)

3. “Proactive Entrepreneurs: An Empirical Investigation into Unique Characteristics” (Van Ness, Seifert, Marler, & Hughes, 2016)

4. “Entrepreneurship in a Web 2.0 World: Factors influencing Intentions to Adopt Web 2.0 Social Media In U.S. Entrepreneurial Activities” (2016)

5. “An Examination of U.S. Micro-Business Owners’ Tablet-Adoption Intentions” (2014)

6. “Optimizing the Information Space for Micro-Business Owners’ Financial Decision-Making” (2012)

7. “Starting Your Own Business – Accounting and Tax Information for Artist-Entrepreneurs” (2010)

Accounting & Auditing

1. “Tracking Corporate Culture: Using Text Analysis to Track Non-Financial Disclosures in Corporate Filings” (in progress)

2. “Natural Language Processing in Accounting, Auditing and Finance: A Synthesis of the Literature with a Roadmap for Future Research” (Fisher, Garnsey, & Hughes, 2016)

3. “Manifestations of the Common Law of Property in the U.S. Tax Code” (2009)

4. “Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 159: A Critical Analysis” (2008)

5. “Use of Financial & Non-Financial Performance Measures in Determining Executive Compensation” (2008)

6. “Commercial Bank Audits: Addressing Mortgage-Related Risks Amidst the Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis” (2007)

Accounting Pedagogy

1. “Introducing Textual Analysis into the Accounting Classroom” (2019)

2. “Textual Analytics for Accounting and Auditing” (2019)

3. “The Challenge of Transitioning from Student to a Professional CPA” (2017)

4. “Managing Your Money” & “Starting Your Own Business” (2015)

5. “The Value of an Accounting Career” (2011)

6. “Financial Accounting Proprietorship Case Simulation (FAPCS) – An Experiential Approach to Accounting Instruction” (2010)

Ethics & Motivation

1. “Corporate Financial Fraud, Managerial Discretion, and The Corporate Board Factor” (Crayne, Van Ness, Riccardi, Hughes, & Downey, 2019)

2. “Humanistic Management and the Value of Mentoring” (2017)

3. “Building the Life You Want – Overcoming Challenges” (2016)

4. “Creating Effective Org Culture in Startups” (2005)