We develop and test a model that links internal control over financial reporting (ICOFR) disclosures to users' confidence in the standard audit report (SAR) on the financial statements. The model suggests that users' confidence in the SAR is determined by the consistency of the message conveyed...

We examine the joint effects of the reporting threshold (more than remote versus reasonably possible) and type of control deficiency (entity level versus account specific) described in the adverse report on internal controls on equity analysts' evaluation of the reliability of a company's future...

We examine internal auditors' fraud risk decisions in response to variations in audit committee quality and management performance incentives. Using an experimental approach, we find that internal auditors serving in a either a self-assessment role or a due diligence role were sensitive to...

We synthesize the literature on auditors' evaluation of, and reporting on, internal control over financial reporting (ICOFR), as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The purpose of the synthesis is (1) to provide information on how and how well auditors perform the task, which serves as feedback...

The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 prohibited auditing firms from providing certain non-audit services to audit clients and left open the possibility that other currently non-prohibited services could also be banned. This prohibition hinges, in part, on regulatory concerns that auditors were willing...

Professional standards direct auditors to consult with forensic specialists to enhance the quality of fraud decisions. However, research underlying this prescription is limited. We address this gap by examining the effect of forensic expertise and time pressure on fraud cue identification and...

Theory can have profound effects on practice, some intended and desirable, others unintended and undesirable. That's the story of the influence the field of law and economics has had on the domain of law and accounting. That influence comes primarily from agency theory and modern finance theory,...

Unprecedented interest in financial regulation reform accompanies the nearly-unprecedented scale of financial calamity facing the world. Dozens of elaborate reform proposals are in circulation, most determined to revolutionize financial regulation. No doubt, the crisis makes reevaluation...

When evaluating how to proceed against a corporate investigative target, law enforcement authorities often ignore the target's governance arrangements, while subsequently negotiating or imposing governance requirements, especially in deferred prosecution agreements. Ignoring governance...

Could a preemptive federal incorporation law today assume the enabling character of traditional state corporation law, instead of the mandatory flavor typical of much federal securities regulation? Does global competition mean that the US should both preempt state corporation law and adopt a...