We provide evidence of the impact of Auditing Standard No. 2 (“AS 2”), issued pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SarBox”), on the outcome of auditors in financial reporting litigation. Specifically, we focus on the existence of financial restatements and how and why they...

Imagine if we stopped deciding basketball games by baskets alone. Instead, victory would be determined by a combination of baskets, rebounds, steals, and fouls. Each of these is universally acknowledged as a critical component of the game. Why not reward them directly instead of indirectly, by...

We provide a comprehensive overview of shareholder litigation against auditors since the passage of the PSLRA. The number of lawsuits per year has declined, dismissals have increased, and settlements in recent years have declined. Our study asks why. Because we find that the likelihood an...

When a short seller sells shares on day t (trade date) but fails to deliver those shares on day t+3 (settlement date), non-existent (electronic) shares are in circulation. Corporate executives and regulators often contend that high “fail-to-deliver” (FTD) levels indicate that short sellers...

We examine two distinct forms of information bundling that can occur when a firm releases a restatement: “positive bundling,” the release of good news with the restatement, and “negative bundling,” the release of additional bad news. We use a triple differences testing approach to...

Despite abundant empirical evidence of informed trading ahead of major corporate events, no such evidence has been reported in the case of corporate spinoff (SP) announcements. This is surprising, as SP announcements are unexpected, and are also associated with a positive price jump in the...

This book traces the origin of the distinctly American insider trading prohibition, while also detailing the eye-catching recoveries thereunder. Relevant administrative decisions, Congressional inaction, and judicial innovations are all analyzed. Oral arguments, policy speeches, and, of course,...