In this paper, we investigate the timeliness of and stock price reaction to a sample of Form 8-K reports filed in 1993 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under current SEC regulations, a Form 8-K must be filed within 5 to 15 days after the occurrence of certain events, such as a...

We respond to calls for research into the effect of the decline in the number of Big N firms on market power and consequential impact on competition (U.S. Department of Treasury 2008; European Commission 2010; U.K. House of Lords 2011) by analyzing the change in Big N audit fee premium over the Big 6,...

We examine the relation between auditor tenure and a firm's ability to use discretionary accruals to meet or beat analysts' earnings forecasts. Regulators have long expressed concern over the use of earnings management to attain earnings targets. These concerns are compounded by lingering...

This paper identifies widespread noncompliance with SEC regulations requiring prompt disclosure of auditor changes and investigates whether late filers and their auditors simply lack SEC expertise or have other reasons to delay reporting the auditor change. Some direct evidence in support of a...

This paper examines audit report lags and earnings announcement lags for a sample of firms that switched auditors. We investigate whether audit report and earnings announcement lags are associated with the timing of auditor changes in relation to firms' fiscal year-ends. It is hypothesized that...