We examine how accounting disclosures affect users' assessments of management credibility and, in turn, their expectations of the auditor. In a lease obligation setting, our experiment separates the effects of understanding the financial impact of accounting treatment (by manipulating the...

We examine whether analysts anticipate the public disclosure of accounting frauds by studying a sample of companies that have committed fraud as evidenced by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) issuance of an Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release (AAER). We use survival analysis to...

By convention, the quality of an audit is understood to relate to the joint probability that its conduct results in the detection and reporting of material financial statement errors. Early research into this phenomenon suggested a positive relationship between audit firm size and audit quality....

Prior research provides evidence that financial-statement users weight information less heavily in judgment when that information is provided in a less accessible format (e.g., information disclosed in a footnote or less important financial statement rather than being recognized on the income...

We examine whether the properties of bond ratings from certified agencies (designated by the SEC) differ from those of non-certified bond rating agencies. Bond ratings from non-certified agencies are used solely for investment advice. Certified ratings are used by a variety of constituents, many...

Accounting choices have usually been analysed by large-scale empirical research. However, the generality gained from such an approach is at the cost of understanding the rich and complex nature of such choice decisions in real organizations. This article presents the results of an in-depth...

In our study we focus on the determinants of reputation and, in particular, on the relation between the quality of annual report disclosures of companies and their reputation. We try to bring together two strands of literature: the literature on corporate reputation and the literature on...

Auditor-client negotiation about difficult client accounting issues involves both the auditor and the client. On the client side, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) plays a central role in the financial reporting process, yet is rarely the focus of academic study. This paper reports how a sample...

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) mandates management evaluation and independent audits of internal control effectiveness. The mandate is costly to firms but may yield benefits through lower information risk that translates into lower cost of equity. We use unaudited pre-SOX 404 disclosures and SOX...

The main objectives of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are to improve the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosure. Under Section 404 of SOX, an auditor has to report an assessment of a firm's internal controls and attest to management's assessment of the firm's internal control. Material...