This paper provides a theoretical perspective on the effect of enforcement on auditor behavior and overall financial reporting quality. Therefore, we consider auditor conservatism as a strategy towards uncertainty, which might arise in highly discretionary accounting areas during the audit...

A widely held assumption in policy making and empirical research is that increasing the strength of public enforcement improves financial reporting quality and audit quality. This paper provides a more nuanced view. In a model with a manager who can manage earnings, a strategic auditor, and an...

Prior research documents positive effects of PCAOB oversight on reporting and audit quality. However, to gain a clear understanding of the net benefits of regulation, it is important to also investigate corresponding costs. To this end, we investigate the relation between PCAOB inspection...

Theory from organizations and economics research posits that in an inter-organizational relationship, both parties invest in relationship-specific knowledge, which in turn facilitates the effectiveness of the relationship while strengthening the attachment between the parties. In complex...

This paper examines whether African banks audited by a Big 4 auditor use loan loss provisions for earnings management purposes before, during and after the global financial crisis. It focuses on income smoothing as a type of earnings management. Using bank data from 21 African countries from...

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...

This paper examines whether former auditors on the audit committee constrain earnings management in the banking industry. Given the complexity and the size of banking organizations, it can be argued that the audit committees of large banks should possess a higher level of financial expertise...

Using publicly available data from annual reports, we find that SEC rule changes (33-8128 and 33-8644) that impose time pressure on the audits of registered firms have a negative impact on earnings quality, which we interpret as evidence of lower audit quality. Consistent with our predictions,...

We investigate the way auditor characteristics (i.e., reputation and industry specialization) interact on the consequences of mandatory IFRS adoption in Europe in terms of accounting conservatism. Indeed, a mandatory adoption setting may control for firm-level reporting incentives when gauging...

Using publicly available data from annual reports, we find that SEC rule changes (33-8128 and 33-8644) that impose time pressure on the audits of registered firms have a negative impact on earnings quality, which we interpret as evidence of lower audit quality. Consistent with our predictions,...