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State of Technology Usage in Smaller Public Accounting Firms in 2025
No full textPrior research gives significant attention to technology usage of large public accounting firms, particularly the Big 4. However, limited evidence exists on the smaller public accounting firms, which constitute a majority of the public accounting field. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with eight highly experienced professionals of smaller accounting firms. Findings reveal that firm size does not necessarily predict technological sophistication. Rather, individual leadership, including a single partner, emerges as a critical driver towards technological advancement. AI was primarily used for administrative tasks and, as of yet, the return on investment has been unclear. Despite this, all interviewees anticipate substantial growth in AI usage within the next five years. Interviewees also express concerns about training new staff to ensure they possess the skills and knowledge needed, especially as technology increasingly automates tasks that once served as foundational learning experiences. The findings advance understanding of technology practices among smaller accounting firms, including the variation in practice
The Criminal Responsibility of Russia for War Crimes in the Russo-Ukrainian War
No full textThis Honors Capstone Thesis serves as an independent research study to verify the authenticity of allegations of Russian war crimes and violations of international humanitarian and criminal law in Russian conduct during the Russo-Ukrainian War. This research study primarily focuses on Russian war crimes and violations of international law that occurred after the beginning of the full-scale war on February 24, 2022, while acknowledging that allegations of similar violations have been occurring since 2014. This Honors Capstone Thesis uses international law sources such as the Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and references precedents from institutions such as the International Court of Justice to establish jurisprudence and prior procedural history. The law and the precedents established by the Court is then compared to Russia\u27s conduct in Ukraine to determine accountability for Russian violations of International Law
Modeling Private Debt Using U.S. Consumer Expenditure Data
No full textThis project models private household debt among U.S. consumers using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) between 2013 and 2023. The analysis focuses on identifying how demographic and economic characteristics, such as income, housing expenditures, education, and occupation, relate to non-mortgage “other” loan balances. After initial model development produced poor residual behavior due to zero-inflation from imputed debt values, the analysis was refined to include only households reporting verifiable debt. Multiple modeling techniques, including AIC-based variable selection and Lasso regularization, were compared under a five-fold cross-validation framework. The Lasso model achieved superior predictive accuracy (RMSE = 1.55, MAE = 1.18), while the AIC model provided greater explanatory depth and slightly better residual diagnostics. In this restricted sample of debt-reporting households, housing outlays, education, occupation, housing tenure, and several interactions with age and year emerged as consistent predictors of other-loan balances. Both models demonstrate statistically sound behavior and support cautious inference about the demographic and financial factors associated with private consumer debt
Reducing Acute Care Visits in Oncology: A Pilot Quality Improvement Project
No full textAbstract
Background: Patients receiving high-toxicity chemotherapy are at risk for post-infusion complications, which can result in unplanned hospital visits or admissions. Structured post-infusion follow-up may improve symptom management and reduce these events.
Local Problem: At North Region hospital, the 30-day post-infusion revisit rate was 31%, substantially exceeding the national average of 14.7%. A pilot program launched in 2021 reduced hospital visits by 7%; however, following its discontinuation due to staffing shortages and inadequate data collection, the rate subsequently increased, underscoring the need for sustainable interventions.
Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted in two, ten weeks phases. Phase 1 included a standard post-infusion office visit within seven days, while Phase 2 incorporated structured post-infusion follow-up call using the LACE Index for risk stratification and a standardized symptom assessment questionnaire. Hospital visits and admissions were tracked manually and through the OP35 quality measure.
Interventions: Phase 1 implemented a seven-day post-infusion visit. Phase 2 added a three-day follow-up phone call with the LACE Index and internal oncology department questionnaire to identify high-risk patients for urgent appointments prior to 7-day post infusion visit.
Results: Hospital visits remained low post-intervention, while hospital admissions increased, and follow-up process adherence was moderate with variability for high-risk patients.
Conclusion: Structured post-infusion follow-up is feasible and may enhance early symptom detection. Future projects should expand to include all chemotherapy regimens and integrate automated alerts to improve workflow adherence and sustainability