Using an international sample of firms from 31 countries, we study the relation between auditor quality and corporate tax aggressiveness. Using an indicator variable for tax aggressiveness when the firm's corporate tax avoidance measure is within the top quintile of each country-industry...

Using an international sample of firms from 32 countries, we study the relation between media independence and corporate tax aggressiveness. We measure media independence by the extent of private ownership and competition in the media industry. Using an indicator variable for tax aggressiveness...

We study the effects of country-level accounting enforcement on earnings quality of banks and whether bank regulation substitutes or complements the effect of accounting enforcement on bank earnings quality. We also examine whether the influence of accounting enforcement on bank earnings quality...

Our objective is to test-bed the new Expected Credit Loss (ECL) and Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) models for bank credit loss accounting to identify the potential consequences of their implementation. In particular, whether and how ECL and CECL approaches could lead to divergence in credit...

This paper explores the influence of geographic, social and cultural proximity of independent directors on reducing Chinese listed firms' fraudulent and noncompliant practices. Our choice of using local versus non-local independent directors as a focus of study is motivated by the relevance of...

We examine auditor independence in the banking industry by analyzing the relation between fees paid to the auditors and the extent of earnings management through loan loss provisions (LLP). We also examine whether this relation differs across large banks whose managements are required under the...

We examine the relation between auditor reputation and earnings management in banks using a sample of banks from 29 countries. In particular, we examine the implications of two aspects of auditor reputation, auditor type and auditor industry specialization, for earnings management in banks. We...

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA) of 1991 was designed, among other things, to introduce risk-based deposit insurance, increase capital requirements, and improve banks' internal controls. Of particular interest in this study are the requirements for annual audit...

Using an international sample of banks and country-level measures for several dimensions of religion, we study how differences in religiosity across countries affect earnings management. Given that religiosity is a major source of morality and ethical behavior, it may reduce excessive risk...

We study whether bank managers' use their discretion in estimating the allowance for loan losses (ALL) for efficiency or for opportunistic reasons. We do so by examining whether the use of this discretion relates to bank stability and bank risk taking, or whether it relates to earnings...