Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires managers to assess, and their auditors to express an opinion on, the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR). Policymakers expect the ICFR audits to enhance the credibility of firms' financial statements. Prior research...

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires firms to assess the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting and auditors to express an opinion on the effectiveness of such internal controls. We examine whether the first-time inclusion of additional audited information in...