The disclosure of non-GAAP (pro forma) earnings numbers by managers in the post-SOX era continues to attract attention from regulators, media, and researchers. However, there is limited empirical evidence on how auditors view clients that emphasize pro forma earnings over GAAP earnings. We study...

Prior studies document that firms having material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting adjust more discretionary accruals in financial reporting process than other firms. This study examines the influence of industry-specialist audits on accrual management behavior of firms...

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...

This paper investigates remediation of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 material weaknesses (MWs). Prior research examines full remediation of all MWs or broad categories thereof. We build on these studies by investigating remediation of specific types of MW, thus measuring progress in improving...

In recent years, companies have begun to voluntarily disclose alternative measures of CEO compensation. These figures differ — sometimes significantly — from those reported in the summary compensation tables of the annual proxy. The motivation to report this information, however, is not...

The aim of this paper is to present some considerations about the (market) reality and the accounting. The considerations are some kind of a discussion, how accounting systems are linked by the feedback mechanism with managers. Various aspects of modern markets are presented. In particular, the...

In this paper, we present a review of tax research in accounting. We outline U.S. GAAP accounting rules for the following four income tax notes and survey the area of research literature dealing with the information content provided by U.S. GAAP: (1) unrecognized tax benefits, (2) valuation...

Since 2010 a number of firms have voluntarily adopted mark-to-market (MTM) accounting for the actuarial gains and losses associated with their defined benefit pension plans. While pension accounting rules have allowed such a choice since 1986, only recently have firms begun to exercise that...

Managers almost always define non-GAAP earnings to exclude the effects of acquisition and restructuring expenses, the amortization of intangibles, and impairments. I find that managers with a history of reporting non-GAAP earnings act as if they place lower weight on these excluded expenses when...

This paper constructs a one-period model of a reporting game where the manager is risk neutral and the asset market is perfectly competitive. The manager chooses the level of the accounting earnings to report to the market in order to influence the market value of the firm. The reported earnings...