This paper formalizes a two-step representation of accounting measurement and uses it to formalize a general rationale for conservatism as a measurement principle. A transaction's economic substance manifests itself in characteristics of the transaction, and an accounting rule is a mapping from...

The position of an internal audit function as a “servant of two masters” (i.e. management and the audit committee) may lead to a conflict of priorities. In this setting, the tone at the top set by the Chief Audit Executive (CAE) plays a critical role in balancing the potentially competing...

We characterize the corporate governance system as a portfolio of external and internal governance procedures that addresses firm-specific governance problems. External governance consists of statutory and contractual provisions that determine the costs of active shareholder participation in the...

This paper provides evidence why Emerging Economies should not follow US and UK audit practices that have introduced untenable conflicts of interests and muddled corporate governance practices. The US 1933 law that required corporations to appoint an auditor was based on the prospectus...

This paper considers how auditing practices became muddled in the US and the UK to create muddled corporate governance principles. The US 1933 law that required corporations to appoint an auditor was based on the prospectus provisions in the UK 1929 Companies Act to protect investors from fraud....

The possibility to choose between two alternative corporate governance systems (i. e. one-tier and two-tier board) was introduced in Italy by the Corporate Law Reform at the beginning of 2004. This reform, which provides for the adoption of a one- or a two-tier board for both listed and unlisted...

The possibility to choose between two alternative corporate governance systems (i. e. one-tier and two-tier board) was introduced in Italy by the Corporate Law Reform at the beginning of 2004. This reform, which provides for the adoption of a one- or a two-tier board for both listed and unlisted...

This paper examines the relationship between the quality of disclosure in companies' 10-K filings and the risk of securities class action litigation. I use a dataset containing 10-K documents filed electronically with the SEC in the period 1996-2005. Using two content analysis software programs...

Criminal prosecution of financial reporting-related corporate misconduct is generally acknowledged to be sometimes warranted. The decision to seek an indictment of Arthur Andersen remains controversial, however. Eisenberg and Macey (2004) posit that because the resulting increased concentration...