This article discusses the significance of external auditor. Companies searching for financial and accounting talent to join their senior executive teams often lure partners and other professional staff away from accounting firms that perform their annual audits. Livent Inc., the Toronto-based...

During the first year of the SOX Section 404 reporting requirements (effective November 15, 2004), many adverse Section 404 audit reports were a "surprise'' in that management had not previously warned investors of the internal control deficiencies (ICDs) in SEC filings under Section 302...

One of the critical elements of internal control over financial reporting is an effectively functioning audit committee. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) defines an audit committee as " committee (or equivalent body) established by and amongst the board of directors of an issuer for the...

We examine 316 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection reports issued to smaller CPA firms (100 or fewer issuer clients) through July 2006. We find that 60 percent of the inspected firms have audit deficiencies. Firms with audit deficiencies are smaller, have a larger number...

Partner compensation plans in large accounting firms tend to emphasize either local office profits or worldwide firm profits ("small-pool" or "large-pool" firms, respectively) (Trompeter 1994). Some have expressed concern over possible impairment of auditor independence when a small-pool...

This paper examines the relations between three board characteristics (independence, diligence, and expertise) and Big 6 audit fees for Fortune 1000 companies. To protect its reputation capital, avoid legal liability, and promote shareholder interests, a more independent, diligent, and expert...

We examine changes in internal auditing during the time of the Enron and WorldCom disasters and the related legislative and media focus on internal control and corporate governance. Data gathered from 271 mid-sized US public companies reveal that internal audit budgets, staffing levels, meetings...

This study examines whether client satisfaction can help explain cross-sectional variation in Big 6 audit fees paid by Fortune 1000 clients. After controlling for other factors related to audit fees (including audit quality attributes), client satisfaction with the audit team is positively...

In response to recent criticisms of audit committee performance, new SEC and stock exchange rules require companies to prepare an audit committee charter and to publish the charter in their proxy statement at least once every three years. Audit committees also must disclose how they discharged...

A study's purpose was to investigate the relationship among client satisfaction, attributes of audit quality, auditor change, and controller work experience. To address this purpose, controllers of Fortune 1000 companies were asked to evaluate their existing auditor on each of 12 dimensions of...