This study examines the interaction of audit firm characteristics with two core earnings management tools: classification shifting (CS) and core accruals management (CACM). CS occurs when management intentionally misclassifies recurring operational expenses as special items to inflate...

This paper examines the association between abnormally long audit report lag and future stock price crash. Audit report lag is defined as the period between a company's fiscal year end and the audit report date, and is informative about audit efficiency. Although a substantial body of literature...

We examine the association between Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection reports and a firm's cost of equity capital, measured using seasoned equity offering (SEO) discounting. SEO discounting occurs when the offer price is lower than the prior day's market price of the...

Responsive regulation (RR) theory posits that effective regulators enforce compliance by escalating penalties only if persuasion fails, otherwise risking formation of a culture of resentment. Using RR theory as a lens, we examine the interactions between large audit firms and the PCAOB during...

Advanced audit data analytics tools allow auditors to analyze the entire population of accessible client transactions. Though this approach has measurable benefits for audit efficiency and effectiveness, auditors caution that it does not incrementally increase the level of assurance expressed...

We examine the effect of Big 4 auditors on management's use of optimistic language in audited financial statement disclosures. While regulators and practitioners consider the audit of disclosures to be increasingly important, empirical evidence of an auditor's effect on management's qualitative...

We investigate whether and how a “critical audit matter” (CAM) disclosure affects managers' real operating decisions in two contexts (issuing a loan that decreases versus increases the average risk profile of loan portfolios, or choosing to hedge versus speculate on commodity risk). We...

Motivated by the ambiguity of auditor dismissals and dismissal disclosures, this study informs about an alternative signal – the timing of the dismissal – for inferring the causes and implications of dismissals. Dividing the reporting year into four periods when dismissals can occur, we find...

We examine whether internal auditing provides value to organizations by reducing risk. We compare the changes in risks between audited business units and matched non-audited units within the same company. This design allows us to isolate the importance of an internal audit while holding constant...

Studies show that incumbents reduce prices in response to higher entry threats in consumer industries. We provide new insights on the importance of an incumbent firm's reputation to the limit-pricing decision by examining a professional service industry where the supplier's reputation serves as...