Brian Dowis
Professor | Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA, UNITED STATES
Professor Dowis research interests include behavioral and archival taxation
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Biography
Before becoming a full-time faculty member teaching accounting and taxation at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, Brian worked for Ernst & Young in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he earned his CPA. His research interests include behavioral and archival taxation. At Georgia Southern, Brian teaches taxation.
Areas of Expertise (4)
Archival Taxation
Accounting
Taxation
Behavioral Taxation
Accomplishments (3)
KPMG Outstanding Dissertation Award
Awarded by the Gender Issues and Worklife Balance (GIWB) Section of the American Accounting Association
Excellence Fund Award
Michael W. Skinner School of Accountancy
Teacher of the Year Award
2014 - 2015 Louisiana Tech University Student Choice Award
Education (3)
Louisiana Tech University: Doctor of Business Administration, Accounting Major 2015
Clemson University: Masters of Professional Accountancy, Tax Concentration 2007
Coastal Carolina University: B.S., Accounting 2006
Affiliations (3)
- Certified Public Accountant in North Carolina – North Carolina Board of CPA Examiners
- Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants
- American Accounting Association
Links (3)
Articles (3)
An Empirical Assessment of Employee vs Independent Contractor Status in Taxation and the Effects of Judges’ Gender, Political Affiliation, and Industry on Those Decisions
Advances in Accounting Behavioral ResearchTed D Englebrecht, W Brian Dowis
2018 Worker classification continues to be a highly litigated area of taxation. That is, the status of a worker as an employee or independent contractor remains a topic closely scrutinized by the Internal Revenue Service. This study examines factors that the judiciary deems relevant in ruling whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. A backward stepwise logistic regression model is implemented to categorize the factors that best predict the court’s decision on whether a worker is either an employee or independent contractor pursuant to the factors in Revenue Ruling 87-41 (1987-1 CB 296), judge gender, and political affiliation. The results indicate three factors (supervision/instructions, continuing relationship, and the right to discharge) are capable of accurately predicting 93 percent of the decisions made by the US Tax Court. Other findings support notable statistical differences between male and female judges rendering decisions and reaching conclusions. Also, there is a statistically significant difference based on the type of industry. Political affiliation appears to have no significant impact on judicial rulings.
An Empirical Assist To Determine Whether An Activity Is Engaged In For A Profit
Journal of Applied Business ResearchTed D Englebrecht, W Brian Dowis, Justin S Cox
2017 Taxpayers engage in activities for both tax and nontax reasons. Some of these undertakings are geared to earn a profit. Other activities provide personal pleasure and recreation. Regardless of the activity type, expenses are incurred and can be substantial. Depending on the type of engagement, profit may or may not be achieved. Naturally, many of these pursuits are undertaken for a number of consecutive years. Because of the tax benefits these activities possess, this issue remains highly litigated and closely scrutinized by the Internal Revenue Service. This study investigates the guidance delineated by the Service and creates a model of the significant variables that affect the judiciary’s decision-making. Backwards stepwise logistic regression is used to create the model. Chi-square is also used to determine statistical significance between the decision rendered and judge’s gender. Also, political affiliation of the judge is examined. The one variable (manner in which the taxpayer carries on an activity) model created correctly classifies 96.3% of the decisions made in the US Tax Court. Additionally, a statistically significant difference is found between male and female judges. However, no difference is found based on the political affiliation of the judge.
Online homework managers and intelligent tutoring systems: A study of their impact on student learning in the introductory financial accounting classroom
Issues in Accounting EducationWilliam Hahn, Chris Fairchild, William B Dowis
2013 The online homework manager (OHM) and the intelligent tutoring system (ITS) are two supplemental teaching tools available for accounting educators' use in the introductory financial accounting course. While research related to these systems is limited, prior studies find a tenuous performance advantage related to their use. To advance the literature in this area, this paper evaluates the performance benefit related to an OHM and an ITS, each employed independently as an additional study aid during the first course unit in one of two sections of the introductory financial accounting course. A third section used paper-and-pencil only and served as a control group. Results of tests on several performance measures did not identify a learning advantage associated with either the OHM or the ITS. Nor was a learning advantage identified when this study's results were compared to exam results from 14 previous semesters. Implications for accounting educators and future research directions are discussed.
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