ChatGPT, a language-learning model chatbot, has garnered considerable attention for its ability to respond to users’ questions. Using data from 14 countries and 186 institutions, we compare ChatGPT and student performance for 28,085 questions from accounting assessments and textbook test banks. As of January 2023, ChatGPT provides correct answers for 56.5 percent of questions and partially correct answers for an additional 9.4 percent of questions. When considering point values for questions, students significantly outperform ChatGPT with a 76.7 percent average on assessments compared to 47.5 percent for ChatGPT if no partial credit is awarded and 56.5 percent if partial credit is awarded. Still, ChatGPT performs better than the student average for 15.8 percent of assessments when we include partial credit. We provide evidence of how ChatGPT performs on different question types, accounting topics, class levels, open/closed assessments, and test bank questions. We also discuss implications for accounting education and research.
The U.S. government, through federal granting agencies (grantors), awards grants to state/local governments and nonprofit organizations (grantees) to meet national objectives. Since its initial legislation in 1984, the single audit has been used as a mechanism for ensuring accountability with these federal grants. Despite the consistent goal of accountability, concerns with single audit quality (i.e., whether audits reach appropriate conclusions) persist. In this historical evaluation of the single audit, we examine the major legislative and administrative developments associated with the single audit including (1) Single Audit Act of 1984, (2) Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996, (3) National Single Audit Sampling Project in 2007, (4) Improper Payments Initiative in 2009, and (5) administrative consolidation of all single audit circulars with Uniform Guidance issued in 2013. Understanding these developments should be helpful to researchers and policymakers in directing studies designed to better understand and improve single audit quality.
Throughout the history of the United States income tax code, Congress has struggled with equitable treatment of married taxpayers. In the early years, married taxpayers dealt with uncertainty regarding the liability they assumed depending upon whether they filed one single return together, or two separate returns. Congress ultimately concluded that married taxpayers who filed together should incur joint and several liability. In the meantime, married taxpayers who filed separately eventually found themselves losing out on several tax benefits simply by virtue of their filing status. Yet, many married taxpayers file separately for compelling non-tax reasons. The following legal analysis of tax liability issues faced by married taxpayers begins with a brief history of the evolution of the income tax laws as they applied to married taxpayers, with focus on congressional intent behind joint and several liability, and the preclusion of several tax benefits for married taxpayers who filed separately. The analysis will indicate areas in the tax law that should be refined in order to enhance equity in the law for married taxpayers. Finally, a review of state tax policies will reveal possibilities for proposals for enhanced equity, including suggestions for greater transparency regarding joint and several liability, and opportunities for extending valuable tax benefits to married taxpayers who file separately.
In the modern era of social media, users frequently promote their acts of generosity. Included in these acts of generosity are tips to restaurant servers that exceed customary amounts. Due to the extraordinary amounts of the transfers, the proper tax treatment as a “gift” or a “tip” is called into question. In Commissioner v. Duberstein, the Supreme Court addressed gifts versus taxable transfers but did not provide a clear test for taxpayers. In the sixty years since Duberstein, Congress has yet to address the call of Duberstein to create an appropriate test for gift treatment. In this paper, we analyze prior law on gifts and tips. Next, we apply the law to scenarios based on current events. Finally, we recommend that Congress address transfers where the appropriate treatment as a "gift" or a "tip" is in question.
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