Using a comprehensive database of U.S. internal auditor job postings, we find that firms are 9.6% more likely to post an internal auditor job after the revelation of accounting and operational failures. Also, the demand for internal auditors is stronger when a failure is more severe. Among firms...

This study investigates whether Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspections of foreign auditors affect global financial reporting comparability. Foreign auditors may adjust audit methodologies to address PCAOB inspection findings, which could affect financial reporting of local...

We identify 40 high-profile audit-related negative events involving the Big 4 audit firms from 2008-2017. Auditors experiencing negative events are more (less) likely to lose (gain) clients the following year. This effect is driven by switches to other Big 4 and disappears after two years, and...

We explore the effect of corporate opacity on the relation between staggered boards and firm value. We find that through mitigating takeover pressure, staggered boards become increasingly beneficial to firm value as opacity increases. In addition, we document that staggered boards reduce value...

We examine the effect IFRS adoption has had on audit effort and the effectiveness of greater audit effort on constraining earnings management. While prior studies have examined the costs of IFRS adoption, it is unclear whether IFRS adoption affects audit effort and whether extra audit effort...

Recent studies indicate dividends are associated with higher quality earnings. Our study extends the literature by examining whether dividends' information is associated with auditors' assessment of their clients' earnings quality. Our results show that auditors charge lower fees to...

This study examines the extent to which audit clients successfully engage in internal control opinion shopping activities and whether audit market competition appears to facilitate those activities. Regulators have long been concerned about the impact of both audit market competition and opinion...

We study the effects of the Dodd-Frank Act (“Dodd-Frank”) on determinants of credit ratings. We predict that the increase in regulatory oversight and litigation risk prompted by Dodd-Frank, as well as requirements for improved disclosures and governance, motivated credit rating agencies...

Increased audit regulation, coupled with practitioner reports of “hyper-acquisitive” behavior among smaller firms, creates a dynamic environment in which to assess changes in the U.S. audit market. Against this backdrop, we examine the consequences of small audit firm mergers on audit...

This study investigates whether the agency conflicts inherent in a dual class ownership structure are associated with the level of firms' tax avoidance. Dual class ownership presents a unique agency problem because insiders' voting rights (i.e., insiders' ability to control the firm) exceed...