The Global Financial Crisis: U.S. Bankruptcies and Going-Concern Audit Opinions

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marshall A. Geiger ◽  
K. Raghunandan ◽  
William Riccardi

SYNOPSIS This study investigates whether auditors' going-concern modified opinion (GCO) decisions were less likely after the start of the recent “Global Financial Crisis” (GFC). Auditing regulators and the business press had complained that auditors did not provide adequate warning in their reports prior to many companies filing for bankruptcy during the GFC. Accordingly, we examine auditors' GCO opinions for financially stressed clients that subsequently entered into bankruptcy during the period from 2004 to 2010. We find that, after controlling for other factors related to GCOs, the propensity of auditors to issue a GCO prior to bankruptcy significantly increased after the onset of the GFC. Additional tests reveal similar results when we separately examine clients of the Big 4 and non-Big 4 firms, suggesting both sized firms significantly increased the likelihood of issuing a GCO to a subsequently bankrupt client after the start of the GFC. Our results should be of interest to regulators, investors, audit firms, academics, and standard setters as they evaluate U.S. auditor performance during the GFC, and in contemplation of changes to auditing standards as a result of the GFC.

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 302-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Alexeyeva ◽  
Tobias Svanström

Purpose – The paper aims to investigate audit and non-audit fees during the global financial crisis (GFC) in an environment that is relatively sparsely regulated with regard to the provision of non-audit services. Design/methodology/approach – Audit and non-audit fees were studied during pre-GFC (2006-2007), GFC (2008-2009) and post-GFC (2010-2011) periods. Findings – During the GFC, Swedish companies benefited from an increase in sales and total assets, although return on assets decreased. In this setting, the auditors charged higher audit fees compared with the pre-GFC period, despite the absence of increased audit reporting lags. A significant increase in audit fees continued during the post-crisis periods with auditors paying more attention to companies’ leverage and whether they report losses. At the same time, the companies spent less on non-audit services. Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to companies from Sweden, which was less affected by the GFC. Practical implications – GFC auditors are able to charge higher audit fees to public companies including those that are well-performing during financial crises, and they are also able to increase the audit fees in the post-crisis period. This implies that auditors put in extra audit effort to compensate for higher risk, or that they are good at negotiating prices with their clients. However, non-audit fees decreased during the same period, implying that the demand for these services drops under financial instability. Originality/value – The study highlights auditors’ behavior in the liberal economic environment and it studies both audit fees and non-audit fees before GFC, during GFC and after the GFC. The GFC appears to have provided audit firms the opportunity to extract higher audit fees. Our findings are of interest to managers, auditors and regulators.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banu Sultanoglu ◽  
Can Simga Mugan ◽  
Umut Sekerdag ◽  
Adil Oran

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of company characteristics such as the level of financial distress, client size and type of auditor on the propensity to issue modified audit opinions and to assess comparative differences in audit opinions during two significant economic crises in Turkey. Design/methodology/approach Logistic regression model is used to test the incremental contribution of each company characteristic on issuing the type of audit opinion for crisis periods. Additionally, to understand the reasons for differences in audit opinions between two types of crisis periods, the authors adopt Francis and Krishnan’s (2002) approach in which an auditor’s propensity to issue modified opinion may be jointly based on changes in client characteristics and auditor reporting strategies in that period. Findings The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between financial distress and the likelihood of receiving modified opinions in both crisis periods. Additionally, client size affects audit opinions negatively in both periods significantly. Auditors show higher propensity to issue a modified opinion during the domestic than the global financial crisis period, which could be explained by the changes in client characteristics more than their reporting strategy. Practical implications This study provides supportive evidence that the company characteristics including the financial distress can be very useful predictors for the auditors’ decisions while issuing their opinions. Originality/value The findings of different auditor behaviors during crises periods and possible reasons are the main contributions of this study for international and domestic regulators, investors, audit firms, academics and standard setters in emerging economies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercedes Mareque ◽  
Francisco López-Corrales ◽  
Aurea Pedrosa

2013 ◽  
pp. 152-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Senchagov

Due to Russia’s exit from the global financial crisis, the fiscal policy of withdrawing windfall spending has exhausted its potential. It is important to refocus public finance to the real economy and the expansion of domestic demand. For this goal there is sufficient, but not realized financial potential. The increase in fiscal spending in these areas is unlikely to lead to higher inflation, given its actual trend in the past decade relative to M2 monetary aggregate, but will directly affect the investment component of many underdeveloped sectors, as well as the volume of domestic production and consumer demand.


ALQALAM ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Budi Harsanto

The fall of Enron, Lehman Brothers and other major financial institution in the world make researchers conduct various studies about crisis. The research question in this study is, from Islamic economics and business standpoint, why the global financial crisis can happen repeatedly. The purpose is to contribute ideas regarding Islamic viewpoint linked with the global financial crisis. The methodology used is a theoretical-reflective to various article published in academic journals and other intellectual resources with relevant themes. There are lots of analyses on the causes of the crisis. For discussion purposes, the causes divide into two big parts namely ethics and systemic. Ethics contributed to the crisis by greed and moral hazard as a theme that almost always arises in the study of the global financial crisis. Systemic means that the crisis can only be overcome with a major restructuring of the system. Islamic perspective on these two aspect is diametrically different. At ethics side, there is exist direction to obtain blessing in economics and business activities. At systemic side, there is rule of halal and haram and a set of mechanism of economics system such as the concept of ownership that will early prevent the seeds of crisis. Keywords: Islamic economics and business, business ethics, financial crisis 


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-167
Author(s):  
Kevin Garlan

This paper analyses the nexus of the global financial crisis and the remittance markets of Mexico and India, along with introducing new and emerging payment technologies that will help facilitate the growth of remittances worldwide. Overall resiliency is found in most markets but some are impacted differently by economic hardship. With that we also explore the area of emerging payment methods and how they can help nations weather this economic strife. Mobile payments are highlighted as one of the priority areas for the future of transferring monetary funds, and we assess their ability to further facilitate global remittances.


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