Purpose – The setting of private finance companies failing in New Zealand during 2006-12 was characterised by weaker corporate governance and enforcement of securities law. This paper explores audit failure in this setting and examines whether auditors erred in their audits of the failed...

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) constituents expressed concerns about the cost of the impairment-only approach for goodwill accounting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). Considering these concerns, the IASB is now reviewing the approach. Motivated by...

A major concern with the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is the accounting discretion allowed under the IFRS, and its potential opportunistic use by managers. We examine the role of corporate governance in the accounting discretion inherent in goodwill impairment...

I explore the incidence, amounts, disclosure and potential sources of bargain purchase gains reported by an Australian sample of firms during 2013-15. I find that 7.58% of the acquirers reported bargain purchase gains during this period. The median gain as a percentage of consideration...

This study examines the behaviour of earnings, accruals and impairment losses of failed finance companies in New Zealand. It draws on conservatism in the development of research hypotheses about accounting variables that are likely to contain clues to future failures of finance companies. The...

This study examines the impact of improvements in institutional oversight specifically for compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on accrual quality in Europe. The sample comprises 9339 firm-year observations from a treatment sample of three European countries that...

Purpose – Bangladesh is an emerging economy and international audit firms operate there through affiliated local audit firms. The Bangladesh audit market can be characterized as an intensely competitive small audit market with relatively poor demand for high‐audit quality. In addition,...

The impact of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the accounts and the quality of earnings of New Zealand firms is examined. Our analysis of IFRS adjustments for the last period under pre-IFRS NZ Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) reveals that...