In this paper we investigate the relation between audit committee quality, auditor independence, and the disclosure of internal control weaknesses after the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We begin with a sample of firms with internal control weaknesses and, based on industry, size, and...

In this paper, we study a broad sample of Andersen clients and investigate whether the decline in Andersen's reputation, due to its criminal indictment on March 14, 2002, adversely impacted the market's perception of its audit quality. Because these reputational concerns are more of an issue if...

We predict that managers of firms in countries where languages do not require speakers to grammatically mark future events perceive future consequences of earnings management to be more imminent, and therefore they are less likely to engage in earnings management. Using data from 38 countries,...

We investigate the relationship between auditor brand name, industry specialization, and earnings management as measured by discretionary accruals for a sample of listed companies in Taiwan, where the litigation risk against auditors is much less than the risk in the USA. We find that the use of...

Purpose – This paper investigates the relationship between audit quality (as measured by auditor size and industry specialization) and earnings management (as measured by unexpected accruals) for Taiwan IPO firms.Design/methodology/approach – First uses unexpected accruals in the modified...

This paper documents stock market responses to the arrest of Shanghai's top leader by the Chinese central government in September 2006. The effects of personal-level and organizational-level connections to the local state are found to be negative and insignificant, respectively, on cumulative...

Purpose – To investigate the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) and the requirements of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX) on audit committee alignment.Design/methodology/approach – Using a unique set of hand collected data on audit committees for a sample of 129 firms during...

This study investigates how discretionary accruals affect earnings valuation (or price-earnings multiples) to provide indirect evidence on whether managers use their discretion over accruals to communicate their private information or to obtain private benefits. The results indicate that...

In this study, we examine whether audit committee accounting expertise helps to promote audit quality by motivating auditors to conduct diligent internal control audits and make appropriate internal control assessments because audit committee accounting expertise safeguards auditors from...

We predict that managers of firms in countries where languages do not require speakers to grammatically mark future events perceive future consequences of earnings management to be more imminent, and therefore, they are less likely to engage in earnings management. Using data from 38 countries...