Audits by private, third-party auditors are frequently mandated to ensure compliance with regulations (e.g., accounting or environmental standards). We examine how such mandates shape the market for audits. In our empirical examination, we focus on one of the oldest and most prominent audit...

The objective of the research is to identify differences between two group of firms, fraud and non fraud firms. Fraud is of particular interest here because the implication is massive, the effect to the company, staff and creditors. The research intends to look at any differences with regard to...

The objective of this research is to investigate the fraud firms' characteristics in two ways; 3 years prior and after, the fraud occurrences. The characteristics comprise of the firms' audit committee size, audit committee independence, board's size, independent directors, block holders, cash...

The paper specifically examines the post fraud firms' characteristics for over 3 years after fraud had occurred. Selections of companies were made from Securities Commissions' enforcement actions released between the years 2000 until 2008. A matched pair sampling was made with the control group,...

This paper studies whether and how Big-4 firms provide higher quality audits than non-Big-4 firms. Specifically, we first examine a Big-4 effect and then explore three sources of the Big-4 effect. To test the Big-4 effect, we use a unique dataset of individual audit partners for a large sample...

We investigate the audit fee response to CEO behavioral integrity (BI). BI refers to the perceived congruence between an individual's words and deeds (Simons 2002). Because low word-deed congruence should result in more explanations when communicating, we use variation in explanations beyond...

This paper studies whether and how Big-4 firms provide higher quality audits than non-Big-4 firms. Specifically, we first examine a Big-4 effect and then explore three sources of the Big-4 effect. To test the Big-4 effect, we use a unique dataset of individual audit partners for a large sample...

Using proprietary data, we analyze how a variety of audit composition and team characteristics are associated with audit effectiveness and efficiency. We find that more time allocated prior to the final phase of the audit is associated with more effective audits. We also decompose the time...

This study tests whether an association exists between the geographic location of industry sector leaders in an auditing firm and differences in audit pricing for that same auditing firm's industry clients. Using organizational learning theory and human capital theory, we predict that the...

The CPA exam provides an evaluation of auditors' professional competence in the early stages of their careers. Using Swedish data, this paper shows that:i) auditors at Big 4 firms are younger when they take the exam, ii) younger auditors and auditors at Big 4 firms perform better in the exam,...