The several accounting scandals that have occurred recently in the USA suggest the importance of well-functioning audit committees. This study examines how the characteristics of audit committees – independence, competency and activity – are related to earnings management. The data...

This study investigates whether and how the information values of reported earnings and their components changed around the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998. Regression analyses on a sample of 10,406 firm-years from nine Asian countries from 1995 to 2000 reveal the following. First, the...

type="main" xml:id="acfi12011-abs-0001" <title type="main">Abstract</title> <p>Prior studies document a negative association between Big 4 auditor choice and the implied cost of equity capital, suggesting that Big 4 auditors mitigate information asymmetry (IA) between shareholders and managers. This study extends this line...</p>