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A recent trend in organizations is to motivate employees with goal-based prosocial rewards, whereby employees must donate their rewards to charities upon goal attainment. We examine the motivational effects of goal-based prosocial rewards versus cash rewards under different levels of goal difficulty. We develop our hypotheses based on affective valuation theory, which posits that when valuing uncertain outcomes by affect rather than calculation, individuals are largely insensitive to changes in probability of the outcomes, including probability of goal attainment.

In 2021, the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) presented the Young Alumni Award to Nilofer Ahmed, who completed her Master of Accounting degree in 2012. Ahmed’s career has merged a foundation in accounting and finance with an education in business and entrepreneurship, along with her passion for food in her current position as senior director of business and consumer strategy at Motif FoodWorks.

Using 9,801 director appointments during 2003-2014, we document the dramatic impact of connections - 69% of new directors have professional ties to incumbent boards, a group representing 13% of all potential candidates.

Each year, the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) recognizes and acknowledges our distinguished alumni for the positive impact they have made on the profession, the School and the community. The 2021 School of Accounting and Finance Alumni Achievement Award recipient is Benjie Thomas, who studied in the BA/Chartered Accountancy program and graduated in 1998.

As the world moves into a new norm, the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) is training future tax professionals who have competitive skillsets, impressive networks, and real-world knowledge of the field of taxation. In 2014, Professors Julie Robson and Jim Barnett founded the Young Tax Professionals (YTP), a for-credit program, that exposes students to the developments and career opportunities in tax. The program also acts as a network that connects students with tax faculty, alumni, and full-time tax professionals.

Ahead of Father’s Day on June 19, the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) is telling the story of a family that shares a strong bond with UWaterloo. Ashi Mathur (MAcc ’93), now president of Marlin Spring began his career studying in the School of Accounting and Finance, and now, his sons Deven and Neel are enrolled in the AFM program and are expected to graduate in 2023 and 2025.

Many countries have imposed tax policies that limit the deductibility of interest costs, creating a plausibly exogenous increase in the net cost of borrowing. The limits are based on financial accounting numbers, adding a new implication to managers’ choices. Firms in these countries are also expected to rely less on debt financing and face weaker demand for conservative financial reporting from creditors as compared to firms in other countries.

The Effect of Relative Performance Information and Individual Performance Incentives on Knowledge Sharing

COVID-19 has disrupted financial statement auditing globally and impacted group dynamics in an industry vital to the health of the economy, according to a new study.

Ahead of Mother’s Day on May 8, the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) is sharing the story of a mother and son who graduated from the same university and program, 28 years apart. When Winnie Leung graduated from the MAcc program in 1993, the top song on the radio was I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, and in 2021, when her son Aaron Leung graduated, the top song on Spotify was Drivers License by Olivia Rodrigo. Music, fashion, and technology changed during that time, but the value of a SAF degree remained constant.