Using the executive stock option (ESO) backdating scandal as a backdrop, this paper examines whether compensation committees can effectively set executive compensation contracts in the presence of a founding CEO. Analyzing a sample of firms accused of backdating ESO grant dates and a control...

We revisit the client importance and auditor independence debate and investigate whether investors' perceptions of the auditor's economic dependence has changed since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Client importance is measured as the proportion of client non-audit service...

This study examines whether recent auditor downgrade activity is associated with subsequent changes in clients' discretionary accruals. The market for audit services has undergone dramatic change in recent years, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of clients realigning to smaller...

A prime objective of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and recent changes to stock exchange listing standards is to improve the quality of financial reporting. We examine the associations between audit committee financial expertise and alternate corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management. We...