Whilst the benefits and potentials of the dual roles assumed by external auditors are emphasized, as well as the need to ensure that safeguards operating to guard against a compromise of objectivity and independence are in place, this paper also highlights the fact that even though such dual...

Advanced audit data analytics tools allow auditors to analyze the entire population of accessible client transactions. Though this approach has measurable benefits for audit efficiency and effectiveness, auditors caution that it does not incrementally increase the level of assurance expressed...

We examine whether public disclosure of Deloitte 2007 PCAOB Part II report, which identifies quality control deficiencies related to audits of income tax accounts, affects Deloitte's auditor-provided tax services (APTS). Using a difference-in-differences model, we document a 17 percent lower...

This study investigates the influence of management over auditor selection decisions during a period in which audit committees have “direct responsibility” for auditor selection. We find that contrary to the intent of SOX, management appears to retain significant influence over auditor...

Are high audit fees a signal that the auditor exerted more effort or a signal that the auditor may be losing her independence? Prior literature offers conflicting evidence. In this paper, we re-examine the issue on a sample of clients who have both the incentive and the ability to use...

We test whether PCAOB inspections help remediate auditors' deficiencies in detecting and reporting material internal control weaknesses. After PCAOB inspectors report higher rates of internal control audit deficiencies, we find that auditors respond by increasing their issuance of adverse...

We provide evidence that distinguishes between competing production cost-based explanations of how to interpret unusually high (or low) audit fees and their expected relation with accounting quality. Abnormally high or low fees are typically proxied by the residuals obtained from fee models....

We propose that auditor-provided tax services (tax NAS) improve internal control quality by accelerating audit firm awareness of transactions material to the financial statements. Using data from 2004 to 2012, we find robust evidence that companies purchasing tax NAS are significantly less...