We examine the association between the existence and the magnitude of a fraudulent event that overstated earnings, non-fraudulent restatements of financial statements, and nine competing models of discretionary accruals, accrual estimation errors (Dechow and Dichev 2002 and McNichols 2002), and...

We test whether credit rating analysts consider managerial ability as a credit risk factor and find that higher-ability managers obtain more favorable credit ratings. Controlling for past performance, these results suggest that managerial ability is itself a significant credit rating factor....

Credit rating agencies and auditors are complementary certification agents subject to a conflict of interest inherent in their compensation structure. We examine client firm credit ratings to test alternative hypotheses of abnormal audit fees. We predict and find both cross-sectional and time...

We perform a comprehensive analysis on the relation between a firm's life cycle and its financial reporting quality. Using abnormal accruals, abnormal revenues, restatements, and others, we provide evidence that there is considerable variation in financial reporting quality across the life...

Auditors' low-balling in initial engagements is a longstanding concern for regulators and others. We examine the determinants and consequences of low-balling using more recent data. We provide evidence that auditors are likely to low-ball if they are “Big N” auditors, expect future revenues...

Much of the extant audit research focuses on the impact of excess audit fees paid to the auditors on earnings management. However, there is limited empirical evidence on whether auditors tolerate earnings management when audit fees are low, i.e., below the level of normal fees. Using a large...

One of the important attributes of high quality accounting information is its ability to aid financial statement users in forming expectations about the firm's future earnings. Prior research finds that accounting financial expertise of the audit committee is associated with higher financial...

Recently, some firms have decoupled their audit and tax service providers in an effort to improve the perceived credibility of their financial statements. Many firms, however, continue to rely on their current auditor for tax services. Therefore, we examine whether investors assign a lower...