The finance literature offers two competing possibilities on how investors respond to the quality of public financial statements in their pricing decisions. They could collect either (a) more private information to benefit from lower information collection cost or (b) less private information...

We examine whether corporate pension plans of client firms (hereafter, clients) influence auditors' decisions on audit pricing for the clients in the U.S. We find that, on average, auditors charge higher fees for auditing financial statements of client firms sponsoring defined benefits (DB)...

We examine the impact of social ties between mutual fund managers and auditors of public firms on mutual fund stockholdings. We find that mutual funds whose managers are socially connected with firm auditors hold more shares of these firms. In cross-sectional results consistent with...

We analyze the impact of cross-audits between companies and mutual funds on auditors' reporting decisions. We document that companies are more likely to receive favorable audit opinions when they appoint the same auditor as their mutual fund blockholders. In cross-sectional evidence consistent...

We find that mutual funds whose managers are socially connected with firm auditors hold more shares of these firms and generate superior portfolio returns. Cross-sectional results reveal that the relation between social connections and mutual fund stockholdings is more pronounced: when the...