This paper investigates remediation of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 material weaknesses (MWs). Prior research examines full remediation of all MWs or broad categories thereof. We build on these studies by investigating remediation of specific types of MW, thus measuring progress in improving...

This study examines the decisions of firms to voluntarily disclose tax fees paid to their external auditors. Although the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began requiring public companies to disclose fees paid to auditors in 2000, separate disclosure of tax service fees as a component of...

This paper examines the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) Section 404 disclosures regarding internal controls over financial reporting on investors' information systems (IS) reliability assessments and stock price predictions. Prior research shows that Section 404 disclosures signal...

Previous research in non-audit contexts suggests that managers design budgets based on prior performance relative to budget targets, and that this quot;ratchetingquot; response can be asymmetrical (i.e., greater increase in target following good performance than the decrease in target following...

This study investigates auditor-provided tax services from 2000 to 2002, during which fees paid to auditors for nonaudit services (NAS) were disclosed, but separate disclosure of tax service fees was voluntary. We examine changes in the market for tax NAS in 2002, as Congress debated possible...

This paper investigates how clients' choices regarding whether or not to engage in competitive bidding affect a bidding firm's decisions about planned engagement effort and pricing. Specifically, we investigate whether competitive bidding is associated with higher planned engagement effort and...

This paper investigates auditors' assessments of earnings manipulation risk and corporate governance risk, and their planning and pricing decisions in the presence of these identified risks. To conduct this investigation, we use engagement partners' assessments of their existing clients made...

This study examines how client risk factors and the provision of additional services affect engagement planning and bid pricing for a set of initial engagement proposals that a single firm submitted to its prospective clients in 1997-1998. The paper finds little effect of risk on planned...

We examine client acceptance and client continuance decisions of a large audit firm to provide empirical evidence on the extent and nature of risk avoidance that the firm uses to purposefully manage its client portfolio. Our results support several key new inferences regarding audit firm...

This paper examines whether risk-management strategies (specifically, the use of specialist personnel and higher billing rates) moderate the effect of risk on client acceptance decisions, thereby assisting auditors in bringing prospective client relationships to acceptable risk/return levels. We...