The Capstone Editing Research Scholarship for Honours Students
Capstone Editing is thrilled to announce that the winner of the 2021 Research Scholarship for Honours Students is Shimul Chakraborty from Monash University.
Ms Chakraborty’s thesis, in the field of accounting, is entitled ‘Corporate Sexual Equality and its Effects on the Financial Reporting Quality of US Firms’.
A mother of two from Bangladesh, Ms Chakraborty has already come a long way towards achieving her educational goals. She plans to undertake a PhD after the successful completion of her honours.
Abstract
The research study empirically investigates whether US firms’ adoption of workplace diversity policies based on sexual orientation and gender identity (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning [LGBTQ] identities) affect the quality of financial reporting. Historically, there has been long-standing discrimination against the LGBTQ community, and discrimination against this marginalised community has become even more destructive since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study posits that a firm’s commitment to the rights of the LGBTQ community influences the quality of the firm’s financial reporting by decreasing the number of restatements and ensuring fewer deficiencies in internal control mechanisms.