This study addresses whether an auditor change (a resignation or a dismissal) mitigates information asymmetry as measured by market liquidity or trading activity. For auditor dismissals our results show no effect on our sample firms' market liquidity or trading activity. By contrast, for auditor...

Current practice regarding materiality in government audits under generally accepted auditing standards varies widely. In this empirical study, we investigate whether government auditors agree on an appropriate base for calculating materiality and what percentages they apply. In a government...

This paper analyzes the relationship between a firm's demand for different quality auditors and opportunities for earnings management.In our model, the firm simultaneously chooses the bias it introduces into its pre-audited earnings and the quality of its auditor. We show that firms that choose...

This study investigates whether companies engage in audit opinion shopping activities by exerting influence over an audit firm's decision to switch the engagement partner (“partner-level opinion shopping”) in the Chinese setting, where the identities of engagement partners are publicly...

Auditors frequently use valuation specialists to help them evaluate fair values, but problems related to specialists' involvement suggest the potential benefits of specialists' involvement are under-realized. I interviewed 28 auditors and 14 valuation specialists to investigate how auditors use...

This study investigates whether companies engage in audit opinion shopping activities by exerting influence over an audit firm's decision to switch the engagement partner (“partner-level opinion shopping”) in the Chinese setting, where the identities of engagement partners are publicly...

Accounting fraud is a global concern representing a significant threat to the financial system stability due to the resulting diminishing of the market confidence and trust of regulatory authorities. Several tricks can be used to commit accounting fraud, hence the need for non-static regulatory...

Auditor resignations are considered more negative signals than auditor dismissals, but firms' self-reported distinction between the two may not offer a complete or reliable representation of the nature of the auditor change. 8-K regulations require the disclosure of the adjournment of an audit...

Despite the intuitive appeal, prior research finds mixed evidence on whether higher audit fees translate to superior audit quality. Under the assumption that product differentiation between auditors is based, in large part, on the level of financial statement assurance, we propose more refined...

Disclosure quality is a matter of great importance in the accounting literature. This study examines the effect of audit fees, audit firm size and audit opinion on the quality of disclosures. It focuses on a sample of low-quality financial statements in Jordan that have been reported as breaches...