Directors' and Officers' Legal Liability Insurance and Internal Control Weaknesses

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guang-Zheng Chen ◽  
Edmund C. Keung
Keyword(s):  
Internal Control ◽  
Legal Liability ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Liability Insurance ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Internal Control Weaknesses ◽  
Directors And Officers ◽  
Personal Liability

ABSTRACT Directors' and officers' (D&O) legal liability insurance releases directors and officers from the threat of litigation and personal liability stemming from their decisions on behalf of the corporation. While researchers have examined some of the determinants of internal control weaknesses, it is not clear whether excess D&O coverage motivates managers to weaken the quality of firms' internal controls. This study examines whether excess D&O coverage affects the effectiveness of internal controls. Based on a sample of Taiwanese listed firms for the period 2008 to 2012, we find that firms with excess D&O coverage exhibit a greater likelihood of internal control weaknesses. This finding is driven primarily by company-level weaknesses rather than by account-level weaknesses. Because the disclosure of D&O insurance may convey additional information about managers' actions, our findings have implications for other emerging markets.

The Effect of Human Resource Investment in Internal Control on the Disclosure of Internal Control Weaknesses

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 169-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Hag Choi ◽  
Sunhwa Choi ◽  
Chris E. Hogan ◽  
Joonil Lee
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Resource Investment ◽  
Reporting Requirement ◽  
Internal Control Weaknesses ◽  
The Individual

SUMMARY This paper investigates the effect of human resource investment in internal control over financial reporting on the disclosure of internal control weaknesses at both the firm and the individual department level. Using a unique reporting requirement for Korean-listed firms, this study uses the ratio of the number of employees involved with the implementation of internal controls (hereafter, IC personnel) to the total number of employees of the firm as a proxy for a firm's human resource investment in internal control. We find that the proportion of IC personnel and the change of the proportion within the firm and several key departments are negatively associated with the disclosure of internal control weaknesses. We also find that a change in IC personnel is positively associated with the likelihood of remediation of the internal control weaknesses. These findings provide valuable insights into the role of human resource investment in determining the strength of a firm's internal controls over financial reporting.

Board Independence and Internal Control Weakness: Evidence from SOX 404 Disclosures

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangyang Chen ◽  
W. Robert Knechel ◽  
Vijaya Bhaskar Marisetty ◽  
Cameron Truong ◽  
Madhu Veeraraghavan
Keyword(s):  
Internal Control ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Negative Relation ◽  
Internal Control Weaknesses ◽  
A Company ◽  
Jel Classifications

SUMMARY In this paper, we investigate whether board independence has an impact on the likelihood that a company reports weaknesses in internal controls. Using a sample of 11,226 firm-year observations spanning the period 2004–2012, we establish several findings. First, we document a negative relation between board independence and the disclosure of internal control weaknesses. We also document that the negative relation is stronger for firms with unitary leadership (combined positions of CEO and chairman) than for firms with dual leadership. Next, we show that board independence is associated with both fewer account-specific and company-level weaknesses. Finally, we show that board independence is associated with timely remediation of internal control weaknesses and that the implementation of Auditing Standard No. 5 in 2007 weakens the effect of board independence on the disclosure of ICW. JEL Classifications: G10; G18.

scholarly journals Peran Integritas Personal sebagai Pemediasi pada Pengaruh Lingkungan Etika Organisasi, Kualitas Pengendalian Internal dan Keadilan Organisasi terhadap Terjadinya Fraud

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustanty Dian Fitria ◽  
Amilin Amilin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Personal Integrity ◽  
Government Accounting

A B S T R A C T Fraud phenomenon occurs in many government institutions. Fraudulent practices in government accounting materially detrimental to the country. Therefore these crimes fall into the category of extraordinary crime. There needs to be an attempt to commit the crime prevention. This study aims to determine the environmental impact organizational ethics, justice organization and the quality of internal controls against fraud with personal integrity intervening either partially or simultaneously. Source of data used in this study was a questionnaire distributed to 160 employees of the Center for Agricultural Land Resources Ministry of Agriculture. Analysis of the data used is the analysis of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results show that the organization’s environmental ethics, justice organization and the quality of internal control occurrence of fraud by an intervening variable of personal integrity. A B S T R A K Fenomena fraud banyak terjadi di institusi pemerintahan. Praktik kecurangan akuntansi di pemerintah merugikan negara secara material. Oleh karenanya kejahatan ini masuk dalam kategori extra ordinary crime. Perlu adanya upaya untuk melakukan pencegahan pada kejahatan ini. Studi ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh lingkungan etika organisasi, keadilan organisasi dan kualitas pengendalian internal terhadap terjadinya fraud dengan intervening integritas personal baik secara parsial maupun simultan. Sumber data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kuesioner yang disebarkan kepada 160 orang pegawai Balai Besar Sumber Daya Lahan Pertanian Kementerian Pertanian. Analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa lingkungan etika organisasi, keadilan organisasi dan kualitas pengendalian internal berpengaruh terhadap terjadinya fraud dengan variabel intervening integritas personal. JEL Classification: H83

Classifying the Contents of Cybersecurity Risk Disclosure through Textual Analysis and Factor Analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arion Cheong ◽  
Kyunghee Yoon ◽  
Soohyun Cho ◽  
Won Gyun No
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Risk Disclosure ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Internal Control Weaknesses ◽  
Risk Disclosures

Cybersecurity has garnered much attention due to the increasing frequency and cost of cybersecurity incidents in recent years and become a significant concern for organizations and governments. Regulators such as the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) have also shown an interest in cybersecurity and the quality of cybersecurity risk disclosures. This paper examines the informativeness of cybersecurity risk disclosures when cybersecurity incidents or related internal control weaknesses are reported. In particular, we propose a quantitative methodology, which is a combination of textual analysis and factor analysis, for classifying cybersecurity risk disclosures into nine factors. Our results show different disclosing patterns among firms depending on whether they had cybersecurity incidents and internal control weaknesses. Further, our analysis indicates that firms disclose control-related factors to mediate the negative effect of disclosing vulnerability-related factors. This study provides various stakeholders, including investors, regulators, and researchers, with insight into the informativeness of cybersecurity risk disclosures.

scholarly journals Internal Control Personnel’s Experience, Internal Control Weaknesses, and ESG Rating

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8645
Author(s):  
Ja Eun Koo ◽  
Eun Sun Ki
Keyword(s):  
Internal Control ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Length Of Service ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Control Quality ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Internal Control Weaknesses ◽  
Accounting Expertise ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive Effect

Effective internal control is expected to have a positive effect on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings, which are an indicator of corporate sustainability, as it ensures improvements in efficiency and effectiveness in operations, reliable reports, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. However, no matter how well an internal control system is designed, internal control quality deteriorates if internal control (IC) personnel do not understand the firm’s business or lack accounting experience. This study first explores the relationship between ESG ratings and internal control weaknesses (ICWs). We then examine two types of career experience of IC personnel—length of service and accounting experience—and their effect on ICWs. We conduct logit regression analyses using the data of 1876 non-financial listed firms in Korea. The results show that ICW firms have low ESG ratings. We also find that the accounting experience of IC personnel is more closely related to ICWs than the length of service. This implies that the accounting expertise of IC personnel may have a greater effect on internal control quality than the understanding of a firm’s business. Overall, our findings provide evidence that firms must have IC personnel with sufficient accounting expertise for sustainable management.

scholarly journals Integration of Internal Control and Financial Statement Audits: Are Two Audits Better than One?

2018 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori Shefchik Bhaskar ◽  
Joseph H. Schroeder ◽  
Marcy L. Shepardson
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Auditor Judgment ◽  
Public Company ◽  
Better Than

ABSTRACT The quality of financial statement (FS) audits integrated with audits of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) depends upon the quality of ICFR information used in, and its integration into, FS audits. Recent research and PCAOB inspections find auditors underreport existing ICFR weaknesses and perform insufficient testing to address identified risks, suggesting integrated audits—in which substantial ICFR testing is required—may result in lower FS audit quality than FS-only audits. We compare a 2007–2013 sample of small U.S. public company firm-years receiving integrated audits (accelerated filers) to firm-years receiving FS-only audits (non-accelerated filers) and find integrated audits are associated with higher likelihood of material misstatements and discretionary accruals, consistent with lower FS audit quality. We also find evidence of (1) auditor judgment-based integration issues, and (2) low-quality ICFR audits harming FS audit quality. Overall, results suggest an important potential consequence of integrated audits is lower FS audit quality. Data Availability: Data are publicly available from the sources identified in the text.

scholarly journals Peran Integritas Personal sebagai Pemediasi pada Pengaruh Lingkungan Etika Organisasi, Kualitas Pengendalian Internal dan Keadilan Organisasi terhadap Terjadinya Fraud

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustanty Dian Fitria ◽  
Amilin Amilin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Personal Integrity ◽  
Government Accounting

A B S T R A C T Fraud phenomenon occurs in many government institutions. Fraudulent practices in government accounting materially detrimental to the country. Therefore these crimes fall into the category of extraordinary crime. There needs to be an attempt to commit the crime prevention. This study aims to determine the environmental impact organizational ethics, justice organization and the quality of internal controls against fraud with personal integrity intervening either partially or simultaneously. Source of data used in this study was a questionnaire distributed to 160 employees of the Center for Agricultural Land Resources Ministry of Agriculture. Analysis of the data used is the analysis of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results show that the organization’s environmental ethics, justice organization and the quality of internal control occurrence of fraud by an intervening variable of personal integrity. A B S T R A K Fenomena fraud banyak terjadi di institusi pemerintahan. Praktik kecurangan akuntansi di pemerintah merugikan negara secara material. Oleh karenanya kejahatan ini masuk dalam kategori extra ordinary crime. Perlu adanya upaya untuk melakukan pencegahan pada kejahatan ini. Studi ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh lingkungan etika organisasi, keadilan organisasi dan kualitas pengendalian internal terhadap terjadinya fraud dengan intervening integritas personal baik secara parsial maupun simultan. Sumber data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kuesioner yang disebarkan kepada 160 orang pegawai Balai Besar Sumber Daya Lahan Pertanian Kementerian Pertanian. Analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa lingkungan etika organisasi, keadilan organisasi dan kualitas pengendalian internal berpengaruh terhadap terjadinya fraud dengan variabel intervening integritas personal. JEL Classification: H83

scholarly journals Material Weaknesses in Tax-Related Internal Controls and Last Chance Earnings Management

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristi A. Gleason ◽  
Morton Pincus ◽  
Sonja Olhoft Rego
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Control Material ◽  
Material Weaknesses ◽  
Implementation Period ◽  
Tax Expense

ABSTRACT We investigate the consequences of tax-related internal control material weaknesses (ICMWs) for financial reporting. We hypothesize that the presence of ineffective controls over the tax function makes earnings management through the income tax accrual (both income increasing and income decreasing) easier to implement relative to firms with effective controls. We also predict that the remediation of tax-related ICMWs has the effect of constraining earnings management through the tax accrual. The results provide support for our predictions. We also find that last chance earnings management via tax-related ICMWs is concentrated in the early years of our sample, during the initial SOX implementation period. Our results suggest that tax-related ICMWs were initially associated with greater tax-expense management but that SOX internal control assessments subsequently improved the quality of financial reporting by reducing opportunities for tax-expense management.

The effect of internal controls on financial reporting quality in Iranian family firms

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Lari Dashtbayaz ◽  
Mahdi Salehi ◽  
Toktam Safdel
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Significant Negative Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between internal controls weakness and financial reporting quality and the effect of family ownership on the mentioned relationship in Iranian listed firms.Design/methodology/approachIn this way, the authors included the number of 139 firms from 2013 to 2017, of which 28 were family firms. The hypotheses are analyzed based on panel data and means comparison.FindingsThe results illustrated that weakness in internal controls has a significant negative relationship with financial reporting quality. In other words, internal controls weakness decreases the quality of financial reporting quality. Moreover, the results showed that being familial does not affect the aforementioned relationship.Originality/valueConsequently, there is no suitable criteria to distinguish family firms and there is a need to take them into serious consideration because very few studies have been conducted focusing on this issue in Iran, as it is considered an argumentative subject to be discussed in the Iranian market.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document