Market reactions to the internal control reporting presentation format: combined vs separate audit reports

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeesoo (Sally) Chung ◽  
Sudha Krishnan ◽  
John Lauck ◽  
Jinyoung Wynn
Keyword(s):  
Internal Control ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Presentation Format ◽  
Market Reactions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Statement Audit ◽  
Material Weaknesses ◽  
Audit Reports

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether the stock market reacts to presentation options available to auditors under AS 2 (providing separate financial statement audit and internal control over financial reporting [ICOFR] audit reports, or presenting a combined report with both audit opinions). Design/methodology/approachDrawing on psychology theory, the authors hypothesize that presenting material weaknesses in ICOFR with an unqualified financial statement audit in a combined report effectively dilutes the weight placed on the material weaknesses perceived by investors. The authors further hypothesize the presentation format effect to vary by type of material weaknesses since some material weaknesses are considered more serious than others. The authors examine ICOFR and audit reporting and cumulative abnormal return data from 2007 to 2017 using two-stage least squares regression analysis. FindingsThe results show that a combined report of ineffective ICOFR and unqualified financial statement audit reduces the negative impact of material weakness disclosures on stock price reactions, but only when the weaknesses involve more serious entity-wide controls, as opposed to controls over specific accounts. Practical implicationsThe findings help inform preparers, auditors, regulators and investors about the potentially unintended consequences of reporting format choice. Originality/valueThe findings contribute to the literature on internal control disclosures by demonstrating that market reactions to these disclosures depend not only on the types of material weaknesses disclosed but also on their presentation format.

The Unintended Consequences of Material Weakness Reporting on Auditors' Acceptance of Aggressive Client Reporting

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 51-72
Author(s):  
Tim D. Bauer ◽  
Anthony C. Bucaro ◽  
Cassandra Estep
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Unintended Consequence ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Material Weakness ◽  
Material Weaknesses ◽  
Licensing Effects ◽  
Potential Remedy

ABSTRACT Regulators are concerned that auditors do not sufficiently identify and report material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). However, psychological licensing theory suggests reporting material weaknesses could have unintended consequences for acceptance of aggressive client financial reporting. In an experiment, we predict and find auditors accept more aggressive client reporting after they report a material weakness in ICFR than after they report no material weakness. We provide evidence licensing underlies this effect. In a second experiment, we investigate the efficacy of an intervention to reduce the identified licensing effects by prompting an audit quality goal. We find this prompt mitigates the unintended consequence when auditors report a material weakness. While regulators are concerned companies are undeservedly receiving clean ICFR audit opinions, our findings indicate adverse ICFR opinions may lead auditors to give companies undeservedly clean financial statement opinions. We provide a potential remedy to this unintended consequence.

The effect of the imposition of a public reprimand on the stock price of companies in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emie Famieza Zainudin ◽  
Hafiza Aishah Hashim ◽  
Shahnaz Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Stock Prices ◽  
Stock Price ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Abnormal Returns ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Market Model ◽  
Market Reactions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
A Company

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of the imposition of public reprimands on the underlying stock prices of companies in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach Data on 148 companies that received public reprimands during the period from 2007 to 2013 were collected from the Bursa Malaysia website to analyse the market reactions to the imposition of public reprimands. Findings Based on a market model of abnormal returns, the empirical result showed that the imposition of a public reprimand had a negative impact on a company’s stock price. Moreover, when a market model of average abnormal returns (AAR) was used, the result indicated that companies that had received a public reprimand had a negative AAR value. Research limitations/implications The findings from this study have implications for shareholders in making their investment decisions because they can switch their investments to other companies and markets after a company in which they are interested or have made an investment has received a public reprimand. Originality/value There is limited research on the imposition of public reprimands and the effect that it has on companies in developing countries. Hence, this study contributes to research in this area by providing evidence on the effect of public reprimand on stock price reactions in the context of a developing country, namely, Malaysia.

The patterns of the numbers used in occupational fraud schemes

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 606-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Nigrini
Keyword(s):  
Internal Control ◽  
Classification Scheme ◽  
Fraud Detection ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Court Records ◽  
Occupational Fraud ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to classify the numbers used in recent financial statement, corruption and asset misappropriation fraud schemes in such a way that these classes can be used to design effective proactive analytics-based fraud detection tests. Design/methodology/approach The data sources for the classification scheme include the court records of fraud prosecutions, investigative reports and research papers related to fraud cases. Findings Fraudulent numbers are most often amounts that are round, have a strong period-over-period growth, are just above or below internal control thresholds or other targets, are deviations from Benford’s Law, are purposeful duplicates of authentic transactions, are outliers due to being excessively large and are excessively rounded up or down. The study includes several examples of fraudulent numbers. Research limitations/implications The fraudulent number types are based on a sample of fraud-related court documents, and the sample might not be representative of the population of detected and undetected frauds. Further research is needed into the detection of corruption/bribery schemes. Practical implications The results are important for auditors and forensic accountants running proactive fraud detection tests. The discussions emphasize that the analysis should include refining and rerunning the tests, and then using groupings and filtering to deal with false positives. The importance of an effective audit of the notable transactions is stressed in the concluding section. Originality/value The study is an original in-depth coverage of the patterns found in fraudulent numbers. The discussion sections review implementation issues and considerations for future research.

Observed effectiveness of the COSO 2013 framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-45
Author(s):  
Ifeoma Udeh
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Control Process ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Section 404 ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sarbanes Oxley ◽  
Material Weaknesses ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of the Committee of Sponsoring Organization’s 2013 Framework, by investigating how the number of auditor-reported material weaknesses compares for Early-, Timely- and Late-adopters of the framework, and how the number of auditor-reported material weaknesses changed for Early- and Timely-adopters following their adoption of the framework. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses regression analyses based on a sample of US firms subject to Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404(b). Findings Timely-adopters of the 2013 Framework continued to exhibit fewer instances of auditor-reported material weaknesses than Late-adopters, even though they had a marginal increase in the number of auditor-reported material weaknesses, in the post-2013 Framework period. Practical implications The findings suggest that the effectiveness of the 2013 Framework may lie in the iterative nature of the internal control process, and as firms remedy deficiencies they or their auditors identify, they will continuously improve the effectiveness of their internal control systems. Originality/value Unlike existing literature, this paper uses data from the pre-2013 Framework, transition and post-2013 Framework periods to examine changes in the number of auditor-reported material weaknesses, thus differentiating between Early-, Timely- and Late-adopters of the 2013 Framework. It also shows the effect of adopting the 2013 Framework on the number of auditor-reported material weaknesses.

scholarly journals PEMERINTAH KABUPATEN MUSI RAWAS PROVINSI SUMATERA SELATAN BERDASARKAN HASIL PEMERIKSAAN BPK-RI ATAS LAPORAN KEUANGAN PEMERINTAH DAERAH TAHUN 2015

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 885
Author(s):  
Tevi Leviany
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
Financial Accountability ◽  
Internal Control System ◽  
Audit Reports

Abstract. The Audit Board of The Republic Indonesia in implementing audit on Local Government Financial Reports  to assess the accountability of regional financial not only gave assessment on the qualification of audit report in forms of auditors’ opinion but also inside the audit of Local Government Financial Reports. The auditors also assess the effectiveness of internal control system which applied in regional government and compliance towards the laws. The problem was the weakness of financial accountability that occurred in government of Kabupaten Musi Rawas Provinsi Sumatera Selatan year 2015 acquired Qualified Opinion. The purpose of this research was to do deeper analysis towards Audit Reports on Regional Government Financial Statement of Kabupaten Musi Rawas by using content analysis to get complete description of Regional Government Financial Statement Accountability condition in Kabupaten Musi Rawas, especially observed from the effectiveness of internal control system. According to the result of analysis, it was concluded that the problem of effectiveness of government internal control of Kabupaten Musi Rawas was most found related with the weakness of Control Environment , Risk Assessment and Monitoring.Keywords: Financial Accountability; Audit Report; Internal Control System Abstrak. BPK – RI dalam pelaksanaan audit atas LKPD (Laporan Keuangan Pemerintah Daerah) untuk menilai akuntabilitas keuangan daerah tidak hanya melalukan penilaian atas kewajaran laporan keuangan dalambentuk pernyataan opini auditor saja, namun  lebih dari itu dalam kerangka audit LKPD tersebut, auditor juga melakukan penilaian atas efektivitas sistem pengendalian intern yang diterapkan pemerintah daerah tersebut serta kepatuhannya terhadap peraturan perundangan yang berlaku. Permasalahan lemahnya akuntabilitas keuangan juga terjadi pada pemerintah kabupaten Musi Rawas Provinsi Sumatera Selatan yang untuk tahun 2015 memperoleh Wajar dengan Pengecualian (Qualified Opinion). Tulisan ini bermaksud melakukan kajian yang lebih mendalam terhadap Laporan Hasil Pemeriksaan (LHP) atas Laporan Keuangan Pemerintahan Daerah  Kabupaten Musi Rawas dengan menggunakan analisis isi untuk memperoleh gambaran yang lebih lengkap mengenai kondisi akuntabilitas keuangan pemerintah Kabupaten Musi Rawas, khususnya dilihat dari sisi efektivitas sistem pengendalian intern. Berdasarkan hasil analisis disimpulkan bahwa permasalahan efektivitas sistem pengendalian intern pemerintah kabupaten Musi Rawas paling banyak dijukmpai terkait kelemahan komponen Lingkungan Pengendalian serta pada komponen Penilaian Resiko dan Pemantauan. Hasil uji F Statistik sebesar 135,06 menunjukan bahwa secara keseluruhan perencanaan pajak berpengaruh terhadap nilai perusahaan, sehingga hipotesis awal Ho penelitian ini.Kata Kunci: Akuntabilitas Keuangan; Hasil Pemeriksaan; Sistem Pengendalian Intern.

scholarly journals Exploring Changing Requirements of Financial Statement Audit Reports via a Morphogenetic Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-55
Author(s):  
Ying Deng ◽  
Graham Bowrey ◽  
Greg Jones
Keyword(s):  
Financial Statement ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Statement Audit ◽  
Audit Regulation ◽  
Financial Audit ◽  
Proposed Regulation ◽  
Audit Reports ◽  
The Impact

There has been an ongoing concern with the quality of financial audit reports issued by registered public accounting firms in relation to financial accountability and transparency of the financial statements. In July 2009 the Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) released a concept paper outlining changes to the requirements of financial audit activities such as the inclusion of the engagement partner’s signature on the financial audit reports. The aim of these new requirements was to improve the accountability of engagement partners as well as enhance the perception of transparency of the audit reports. However, the contribution and effectiveness of these requirements to improve accountability and transparency of audit reports for various stakeholders relying on the audited financial information is questionable. This study explores the impact and effectiveness of changes to auditing regulation and processes through the application of Archer’s (1995) morphogenetic approach which is based on social conditioning, social interaction, and social elaboration where the structural influences provides the environment for agents to differentiate themselves. In addition, this study demonstrates how proposed regulation changes mould the qualities of audit regulation, the profession and the auditor whose perspectives deserved to be noticed from the dominant constituencies structured by the propositions of a morphogenetic analysis.

Repeat offenders: examining cases of multiple years of internal control weaknesses

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-520
Author(s):  
Kathleen Bakarich ◽  
Devon Baranek
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Repeat Offenders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Company ◽  
Material Weaknesses ◽  
General Material ◽  
Current Sample ◽  
One Year

Purpose This study aims to identify characteristics of firms reporting multiple years of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting (MWICFR), labeled “Repeat Offenders”, and examine their characteristics and the types of material weaknesses they report using both broad and COSO-based classification schemes. The analysis compares these firms with firms reporting only one year of MWICFR and examines the differences between Repeat Offenders reporting consecutive and non-consecutive weaknesses. Design/methodology/approach Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted on a sample of 1,793 firm-year observations, split into Repeat Offenders and non-Repeat Offenders, and collected from AuditAnalytics and Compustat from 2007 to 2015. Findings On average, 40% of adverse opinions in ICFR each year can be attributed to Repeat Offenders. Compared to one-time MWICFR firms, Repeat Offenders are significantly more likely to report general material weaknesses and, within the COSO framework, are significantly more likely to report issues with Segregation of Duties and Processes and Procedures. Repeat Offenders reporting consecutive years of MWICFR are significantly more likely to have general weaknesses than non-consecutive Repeat Offenders and are also significantly more likely to report issues with Segregation of Duties and Personnel. Research limitations/implications Prior studies have examined unremediated ICFR issues in the periods immediately following SOX implementation. This study extends this literature with a longer, more current sample period, focusing on both broad and COSO-specific control issues, as well as examining consecutive and non-consecutive MWICFR and firms with more than two years of MWICFR. Originality/value This study underpins recent Securities and Exchange Commission and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board concerns regarding pervasive ICFR issues. This study identifies some of the characteristics of firms associated with weaker ICFR and pinpoints more specific areas within internal controls that frequently lead to adverse opinions.

Market Reactions to Disclosure of Reportable Events

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Scott Whisenant ◽  
Srinivasan Sankaraguruswamy ◽  
K. Raghunandan
Keyword(s):  
Information Content ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Stock Prices ◽  
Stock Price ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Expected Returns ◽  
Differential Information ◽  
Cumulative Abnormal Return ◽  
Market Reactions ◽  
Interim Period

This study investigates the information content of FRR No. 31 reportable events (SEC 1988) communicated by auditors to clients in the two fiscal years and interim period preceding auditor changes. Reportable events identify weaknesses in internal control and problems related to the reliability of management representations and/or financial statement reliability. We examine 1,264 auditor changes (with available stock price data) over the period 1993 to 1996, including 118 companies with reportable events. Our findings suggest that reportable events disclosed in Form 8-K filings of auditor changes are considered by investors to have information content. We find a −2.75 percent (−5.53 percent) cumulative abnormal return over a three-day (seven-day) announcement period surrounding the disclosure of reportable events in Form 8-K filings. The conclusion that reportable events offer useful information to investors is robust to alternative specifications of expected returns and to controls for other disclosures (resignations and disagreements) made when auditor changes occur. Further tests also highlight differential information content among the types of reportable events. Specifically, stock prices act as if investors find reportable events about reliability issues more informative than reportable events about internal control weaknesses.

Dickinson Technologies, Inc.: Assessing Control Environment and Fraud Risk

2003 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. Agoglia ◽  
Kevin F. Brown ◽  
Dennis M. Hanno
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Control Environment ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Fraud Risk ◽  
Financial Statement Audit ◽  
Fraud Risk Assessments

This instructional case provides you an opportunity to perform realistic audit tasks using evidence obtained from an actual company. Through the use of engaging materials, the case helps you to develop an understanding of the control environment concepts presented in SAS No. 78 (AICPA 1995), Consideration of Internal Control in a Financial Statement Audit, and fraud risk assessment presented in SAS No. 99 (AICPA 2002), Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit. This case involves making a series of fraud risk assessments based on company background information and a detailed and realistic control environment questionnaire, which provide you a context that makes the often abstract concepts relating to control environment and fraud risk assessment more concrete.

SOX 404(b) Audits: Evidence from Auditing the Financial Close Process of the Accounting System

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-103
Author(s):  
Diane J. Janvrin ◽  
Maureen Francis Mascha ◽  
Melvin A. Lamboy-Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Audit Process ◽  
Financial Statement Audit ◽  
Multiple Method ◽  
Access Controls

ABSTRACT Auditing Standard No. 5 requires that auditors integrate their evaluation of large issuers' internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) into their financial statement audit process, but the PCAOB warns that auditors may not adequately test related manual and systems internal controls. We use a multiple method approach to examine how auditors evaluate one important component of ICFR, the financial close process, and whether they evaluate it differently when conducting a SOX 404(b) integrated versus a financial statement audit. Interviewees relied heavily on walkthroughs, and tended to perform only cursory reviews of entity-level controls related to the financial close process. In addition, they often failed to test the link between the general ledger and supporting systems, including evaluating related access controls. Financial statement-only auditors were more likely to re-perform key controls than rely on cursory walkthroughs. Auditors performing integrated audits appeared to over-rely on ICFR findings when conducting financial statement audits. Data Availability: Interview data are available from the first author. PCAOB inspection reports are publicly available.

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