The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 prohibited auditing firms from providing certain non-audit services to audit clients and left open the possibility that other currently non-prohibited services could also be banned. This prohibition hinges, in part, on regulatory concerns that auditors were willing...

This paper investigates whether firm ownership structure alters the likelihood of auditor resignations and the associated stock market reaction in the U.S. over the period 2004-2008. Relying on prior research, we posit that family ownership aligns family members’ interests with those of...