In this paper, we examine the relation between auditor litigation risk and abnormal accruals over the 1989-2007 time period. We address potential endogeneity in prior studies by jointly modeling abnormal accruals and litigation risk in a simultaneous equation system. Our findings suggest that...

Prior research suggests that Big 4 auditors provide higher quality audits by virtue of their large size. Still, the recent reforms mandated by the Sarbanes Oxley Act – by increasing client and auditor incentives for accurate reporting – may have narrowed audit quality differences across...

This study investigates the use of discretion by oil and gas companies in reporting financial performance and oil and gas reserve estimates during times of high political scrutiny resulting from increases in energy prices. Hypotheses tested in prior literature state that companies facing the...

Prior to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.121 (SFAS No.121): Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Long-Lived Assets to Be Disposed Of, managers had substantial discretion concerning the amount and timing of reporting writedowns of long-lived assets. Moreover, the...

The focus of the study is on financial reporting for non-U.S. firms registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) but using International Accounting Standards (IAS). This study addresses two issues, (1) whether the comparability of financial reporting among firms using IAS in credit...

Prior research suggests an asymmetric relation between CEO cash compensation and firm performance as measured by market-adjusted stock returns. As discussed by Leone et al. (2006), the underlying rationale for this asymmetry is the difficulty in the ex post settling- up of cash compensation. We...

We examine the impact of the initial PCAOB international inspection in a country on the Big 4/non-Big 4 audit quality differential (the so-called Big N effect) for non-US-listed foreign public companies. Our findings point to the initial PCAOB international inspection narrowing the Big N effect...

Common ownership (i.e., financial institutions’ block holding of stock in industry rivals) and its implications for investors are matters of current interest and debate (SEC 2018). Motivated by this debate and the salience of common ownership, we investigate whether and how auditors price...

We investigate whether the level of ownership by institutional shareholders with a long-term horizon is associated with firms’ tax avoidance activities. In theory, tax avoidance increases firm value through tax savings; however, institutions with long-term investment horizons are likely to...

Using 1990 through 2013 data of U.S. firms with foreign operations, we show that (1) the serial correlation of analyst forecast errors increases to the degree that firms diversify internationally, (2) post-earnings-announcement drift (PEAD) based on analyst forecast errors increases to the...