The issue of whether auditor-provided nonaudit services enhance or exacerbate financial reporting quality has been intensely debated among the regulators, auditors, investors, academic researchers, and the media. In 2006, the SEC approved the rules proposed by the PCAOB limiting the tax services...

The issue of whether audit pricing reflects the risk of corporate governance failure is of fundamental interest to auditors, managers, and others. Auditors are expected to price corporate governance risk because it relates to the control risk and thus, the overall audit risk. This study examines...

Credit rating agencies and auditors are complementary certification agents subject to a conflict of interest inherent in their compensation structure. We examine client firm credit ratings to test alternative hypotheses of abnormal audit fees. We predict and find both cross-sectional and time...

Auditors' low-balling in initial engagements is a longstanding concern for regulators and others. We examine the determinants and consequences of low-balling using more recent data. We provide evidence that auditors are likely to low-ball if they are “Big N” auditors, expect future revenues...

Much of the extant audit research focuses on the impact of excess audit fees paid to the auditors on earnings management. However, there is limited empirical evidence on whether auditors tolerate earnings management when audit fees are low, i.e., below the level of normal fees. Using a large...

Recently, some firms have decoupled their audit and tax service providers in an effort to improve the perceived credibility of their financial statements. Many firms, however, continue to rely on their current auditor for tax services. Therefore, we examine whether investors assign a lower...