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...

The high-profile scandals of the late 1990s have transformed the corporate governance landscape and increased the oversight duties of independent directors. New mandates, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, have had substantial effects on corporate boards. For one thing, they dramatically...

We propose a measure of the advising capacity of corporate boards that focuses on the distribution of committee assignments. We then study the characteristics and impact of directors dedicated to providing strategic counsel to top management. We find that advisory directors possess professional...

This paper investigates the common, yet previously opaque, practice of using foreign audit firms (component auditors) to conduct portions of audit work for U.S. public companies. U.S. regulators have expressed concern for the transparency and quality of audits using component auditors. Employing...

The mandatory retirement age within U.S. audit firms ranges from 55 to 62, which has resulted in both controversy and legal scrutiny. The potential cost of requiring partners to retire at an age that is far younger than in other countries and related professions is the loss of their connections,...

We use new data to examine auditor response to negative media coverage of client environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. This coverage can be indicative of an increased risk of material misstatement, which is an important assessment in client retention and pricing decisions....

Limited data availability on the internal audit function (IAF) has constrained research on the topic. This study uses unique, manually collected data from LinkedIn on internal audit personnel that overcomes certain limitations of previous survey-based data. Using this longitudinal data, we test...

Voting in directors' elections is one of few mechanisms by which shareholders can influence corporate governance choices. We study elections of directors who serve on the audit committee (AC), a topic receiving little attention in past work. Our results show that AC members, especially those who...