Audit Committee Effectiveness and Financial Reporting Quality: Implications for Auditor Independence

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (29) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganesh Krishnamoorthy ◽  
Arnie Wright ◽  
Jeffrey Cohen
2021 ◽  
pp. 0148558X2110155
Author(s):  
Linna Shi ◽  
Siew Hong Teoh ◽  
Jian Zhou

We investigate whether board-interlocked firms via an audit committee (AC) board member exhibit correlated non-audit service (NAS) purchases, and whether financial reporting quality and future firm performance vary with the amount of correlated NAS purchases from the AC interlock. We find that AC interlocked firms have positively correlated total NAS and three NAS subtypes—Tax, Assurance, and Other—in the overall sample period from 2000 to 2016, and in each of the subperiods pre- and post-SOX (Sarbanes–Oxley Act). Firms with a larger NAS component that is explained by the AC interlock tend to exhibit lower financial reporting quality. We also find evidence that firms with higher AC interlocked NAS purchases are associated with lower future performance, although this association exists only in the pre-SOX period. Overall, the evidence suggests that greater NAS purchases among AC interlocked firms can have a detrimental effect on financial reporting quality and auditor independence. While these detrimental effects are concentrated in the pre-SOX period when there were less restrictions on NAS purchases, we find some evidence that the association with lower financial reporting quality persists in the post-SOX period.


2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gopal V. Krishnan ◽  
Gnanakumar Visvanathan ◽  
Wei Yu

ABSTRACT: 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 valuation to firms that continue to use their auditor for tax services. We find that the value-relevance of earnings is increasing in the ratio of tax fees over total fees paid to the auditor. Further, for a sample of firms that switched to other providers of tax services, we find that the value-relevance of earnings is lower in the year of the switch. These findings support the notion that on average, investors perceive the benefits of auditor-provided tax services; i.e., enhanced financial reporting quality due to knowledge spillover to be greater than the costs of auditor-provided tax services; i.e., threat to auditor independence. Our findings have important implications for audit committee chairs, managers, and regulators.


2017 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 187-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seil Kim ◽  
April Klein

ABSTRACT In December 1999, the SEC instituted a new listing standard for NYSE and NASDAQ firms. Listed firms were now required to maintain fully independent audit committees with at least three members. In July 2002, the U.S. Congress legislated these standards through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our research question is whether all investors benefited from the 1999 new rule. Using both an event study and a difference-in-differences methodology, we find no evidence of higher market value or better financial reporting quality resulting from this rule.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurul Nazlia Jamil ◽  
Sherliza Puat Nelson

Financial reporting quality has been under scrutiny especially after the collapse of major companies. The main objective of this study is to investigate the audit committee’s effectiveness on the financial reporting quality among the Malaysian GLCs following the transformation program. In particular, the study examined the impact of audit committee characteristics (independence, size, frequency of meeting and financial expertise) on earnings management in periods prior to and following the transformation program (2003-2009). As of 31 December 2010, there were 33 public-listed companies categorized as Government-Linked Companies (GLC Transformation Policy, 2010) and there were 20 firms that have complete data that resulted in the total number of firm-year observations to 120 for six years (years 2003-2009).  Results show that the magnitude of earnings management as proxy of financial reporting quality is influenced by the audit committee independence. Agency theory was applied to explain audit committee, as a monitoring mechanism as well as reducing agency costs via gaining competitive advantage in knowledge, skills, and expertise towards financial reporting quality. The study is important as it provides additional knowledge about the impact of audit committees effectiveness on reducing the earnings management, and assist practitioners, policymakers and regulators such as Malaysian Institute of Accountants, Securities Commission and government to determine ways to enhance audit committees effectiveness and improve the financial reporting of GLCs, as well as improving the quality of the accounting profession.     


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Alzeban

Purpose This study aims to explore the influence of internal audit (IA) reporting lines and the implementation of IA recommendations (IMPLEMENT) on financial reporting quality (FRQ). Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from the annual reports of 201 UK listed companies, and also from survey questionnaires completed by the chief audit executives working within those companies. Two measures are used as proxies of FRQ: abnormal accruals and accrual quality. Findings Findings indicate that when IA reports directly to the audit committee (AC), there is a significant positive influence upon FRQ. Conversely, when IA reports to the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief financial officer (CFO), there is a negative impact on FRQ. It is further shown by the results that lower income-increasing accruals are evident when there is greater IMPLEMENT, thereby showing an accompanying positive influence on FRQ. Moreover, the results indicate that greater adoption of such recommendations is also associated with internal reporting lines, i.e. when IA reports directly to the AC, FRQ results improved. Originality/value These findings contribute to the literature in the field of IA reporting, by introducing new insights regarding reporting lines and IMPLEMENT, and the influence of these on FRQ, and by establishing those insights through empirical work undertaken in the UK where little research on this issue has been reported.


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