‘Big 4’ influence on audit market

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (54) ◽  
pp. 143-156
Author(s):  
Marta Tache

AbstractThe main purpose of this paper is to determine the impact that Big 4 companies have had after the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) became mandatory on the audit market. Thus, after thorough research of the specialised studies, the impact of the financial reporting based on IFRS is analysed, while considering that Big 4 companies have created a strong monopoly that led to several changes on the audit market. All the companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange that traded premium shares from 2011 to 2019 were analysed. With the use of ANOVA analysis, this paper verifies if the profitability, shareholders’ funds, firm size and the size of the business group influence the choice of the audit firm. Our results confirm that the choice of an audit firm is influenced by the shareholders’ funds, number of employees and the size of the business group. Besides, this paper presents an analysis of the changes that have occurred from 2011–2019 on the audit market of Romania.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 463-472
Author(s):  
Marta Tache

Abstract The main purpose of this article is to determine the impact that Big 4 companies have had after the adoption of IFRS became mandatory and if the level of the fees related to the audit services registered a significant increase. Thus, after a thorough research of the specialized studies, we analyzed the impact of financial reporting according to the International Financial Reporting Standards, determining how the audit fees were influenced and which was the impact of the largest companies targeted in this study. In order to determine the number of companies audited by Big 4, we analyzed all the companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange, during the period 2010-2018, which trade premium shares. It is obvious that the financial reporting according to the International Financial Reporting Standards increases the number of companies audited by Big 4, although there has audit fees with higher values. In the following, we will analyze the changes that have occurred in the audit market of Romania.


2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Joe ◽  
Arnold Wright, and ◽  
Sally Wright

SUMMARY We present evidence on the resolution of proposed audit adjustments during a unique time period, immediately following several U.S. financial scandals and surrounding calls for reforms in auditing and financial reporting, which culminated in the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). During this period, auditors and their clients faced increased scrutiny from investors and regulators. In addition, auditors had to contend with changed incentives, a new external regulator (i.e., the PCAOB), and upcoming annual PCAOB inspections. We extend prior studies by considering a broader range of factors potentially impacting the resolution of proposed adjustments, including the effect of client tenure, strength of internal controls, and repeat adjustments. Data on 458 proposed adjustments are obtained from the working papers of a sample of 163 audit engagements conducted during 2002 by a Big 4 firm. We find that 24.2 percent of proposed adjustments were subsequently waived. The results indicate audit adjustments are more likely to be waived for clients with whom the audit firm has had a longer relationship, although the pattern does not reflect favoring such clients. We also find that adjustments are more likely to be waived for repeat adjustments. Data Availability: Due to a confidentiality agreement with the participating audit firm the data are proprietary.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (34) ◽  
pp. 137-152
Author(s):  
Miguel Angel Laverde Sarmiento ◽  
Jorge Fernando Garcia Carrillo ◽  
Juan Carlos Lezama Palomino ◽  
Alejandra Patiño Jacinto

The aim of this research is to determine whether the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the companies of the financial sector listed on the Colombian Stock Exchange has greater relevance compared to the previous accounting regulatory framework known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in Colombia, for the years 2009 to 2016. Taking into account the concept of valorative relevance that indicates that the accounting information is relevant if it affects the stock price reflected in the capital market exchange. To determine this relationship, an adaptation of the model proposed by Ohlson (1995) is used, because it is the most frequently used to measure relevance. The modifications made to the model were to include accounting variables of financial instruments of assets and liabilities to better measure the impact of the IFRS. On a general level, the conclusion is reached that the valorative relevance of financial companies listed on the stock exchange between 2009 and 2016, does not change due to the application of the IFRS. The results are because the regulation that financial companies that are listed on the stock exchange of Colombia are subject to has contributed to the relevance being maintained before and after the application of the new regulatory framework. however, when carrying out the study of the information taking into account only the variables and taking into account the regulations under the IFRS, they present a greater degree of significance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michail Pazarskis ◽  
Andreas Koutoupis ◽  
George Drogalas ◽  
Konstantinos Tsakiris

In 2002, developments in the global markets during the past decades have highlighted the need for common accounting standards among companies all around the world so as the financial statements to be comparable. From 2005 onwards the Greek Companies listed on the Athens Exchange was an accounting “revolution” of the 21st century, given the difference in philosophy between the Greek GAAP and the International Accounting Standards-IAS (next, IFRS). This study evaluates the implementation of IFRS on the financial statements of Greek publicly listed companies of high and medium capitalization, which are companies that are included in the FTSE 20 and FTSE 40 indexes of the Athens Stock Exchange-ASE, respectively. Also, for those firms we examined the effect of the size of the audit firm. The research was conducted based on the analysis of thirteen ratios. According to our analysis only few of the ratios have changed significantly. Finally, regarding the impact of the size of the audit firm the results reveal controversy with the present bibliography concerning “Big 4” in comparison with “non-Big 4” firms in Greece


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria T. Caban-Garcia ◽  
Haihong He

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact on the comparability of earnings of two important events that occurred in 2005 in the Scandinavian region: the European Union-mandated adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the mergers between the three national exchanges of Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. Our tests follow two approaches. The first approach relies on mean-centered earnings/price multiples following Land and Lang (2002) to determine if the multiples converge in the 2005–2008 period. Our results show that all countries except Finland experienced a lower mean-centered earnings/price ratio in the 2005–2008 period. Additionally, in the 2005–2008 period, the mean-centered earnings/price ratio in Norway deviates from the region's mean more than it deviates from the mean in Finland, Denmark, and Sweden, even after controlling for other firm and country factors. Our second approach uses a firm-year comparability measure (De Franco et al. 2011) calculated during the 2001–2004 and 2005–2008 periods to assess whether comparability increases during the 2005–2008 period. Since the two events in our study are contemporaneous, we use Norway as a benchmark to separate the effect of IFRS from that of harmonized regulation after the merger. The results generally show that comparability is significantly higher during the 2005–2008 period in all countries. Our multivariate tests also confirm that comparability increases (although marginally) for all OMX Nordic Exchange countries, relative to Norway, from the 2001–2004 to the 2005–2008 period. Data Availability: Data are available from public sources indicated in the paper.


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (03) ◽  
pp. 1550019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Forbes ◽  
George Giannopoulos

This paper presents evidence regarding the post-earnings announcement drift (PEAD) anomaly for the Greek market in the years 2000–2006 (covering earnings announcements in the years 2001–2007). The impact of the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards on the size and prevalence of the PEAD anomaly is examined. Unlike recent evidence for the US market we find PEAD to be alive and well, and of growing importance in our Greek sample. It may be the adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) has served to reduce earnings predictability in Greece and thus enhance PEAD in the Athens stock exchange (ASE) market. This contrasts strongly with US evidence that the post-earnings-announcement drift anomaly is now waning as more efficient markets and smarter, fundamentals-based, traders arbitrage its impact on stock prices.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-104
Author(s):  
Ooi Chee Keong ◽  
Lee Siew Pengb ◽  
Lim Wan Lengc

There are two objectives of this study, first,it is to examine and compare the accounting quality in pre-and post-implementations IFRS from the viewpoint of investors. Second ,is to identify the differences in the accounting quality between the shariah compliant and non-shariah compliant companies in pre-and post-implementations of IFRS. Using  2169 firm-year observations from firms listed on the Bursa Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange over the period of 2008  to 2016, the result shows that the implementation of MFRS have reduced the firms’ earnings management. However, this study provides new arguments that Shariah-complaints firms in Malaysia do not necessary have greater incentives to report high-quality reporting based on the investor perspectives.  Our evidence thus help to explains the different impact on IFRS adoption on accounting quality in Malaysia and shariah complaint compnaies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nurunnabi ◽  
Eva K. Jermakowicz ◽  
Han Donker

Purpose The Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) requires that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as endorsed in Saudi Arabia, be used by all listed and unlisted companies. This study aims to provide insight into IFRS implementation problems, based on a survey sent to Saudi Arabian companies listed on Tadawul, the Saudi stock market (i.e. financial hub in the Middle East). Design/methodology/approach The survey focused on the impact that IFRS conversion has had on companies, their accounting and their finance strategies. The benefits and challenges of the adoption of IFRS are analyzed, including matters pertaining to the level of understanding and experience with IFRS, perceptions about the quality of IFRS and the impact of adoption of IFRS on consolidated equity and net income. Findings The survey had a response rate of 72 per cent. The results indicate a majority of respondents support conversion to IFRS as it results in higher quality financial reporting; the most important expected benefits of adopting IFRS include greater reporting transparency and improved comparability with other businesses; other expected benefits include harmonization of internal and external reporting, and increased cross-border investment opportunities; the IFRS process is costly and ties up resources because of its complexity and training needed and companies expect increased volatility in reported financial results that will impact share option plans and/or other incentive plans tied to profits. However, the authors find strong support among preparers of the financial statements for IFRS, as evidenced by higher agreement among respondents to the survey on the benefits of adopting IFRS, rather than on the costs of its adoption. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the likelihood of Saudi Arabian firms that are in favor of adopting IFRS decreases if the audit firm is one of the Big 4. The reason for this negative relationship could be that the cost of transition toward IFRS will be high. Therefore, Saudi Arabian firms will not favor a transition toward IFRS when their audit firm belongs to the Big 4. Most difficult to implement IFRS, as listed by respondents, include those on financial instruments, revenue, leases and employee benefits. Originality/value The authors show how economic and environmental factors play a critical role in the IFRS implementation process. This study should be important to all countries worldwide that are in the process of adopting IFRS.


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Whitworth ◽  
Tamara A. Lambert

SUMMARY: Recent changes in the audit and financial reporting environment have resulted in longer audit report lags and have increased the importance of identifying factors associated with a timely audit. We examine timeliness implications of office-specific attributes of the audit firm. Specifically, we examine whether office-specific industry expertise, office size, and the importance of the client to the local office are associated with audit delay (i.e., the time between fiscal year-end and the audit report date). We explore the sensitivity of our results to various measures and consider the impact of earnings quality. We examine two types of industry expertise and whether the aforementioned audit firm attributes are associated with a propensity to issue an early earnings announcement. We find that office-specific industry expertise is negatively associated with audit delay (for all but the largest quartile of firm offices) while office size and client importance are both positively associated with audit delay; however, the most important clients are associated with a more timely audit. Office-specific industry expertise is positively associated with the propensity to announce earnings substantially early and such expertise garnered via a product-specialist strategy is positively associated with audit delay relative to a low-cost specialist strategy. Our study provides further support for the importance of office-specific characteristics on audit and financial reporting outcomes and provides evidence of the benefit of office-specific industry expertise.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahraa Nasser Ali ◽  
Hakeem Hammood Flayyih

The need for international financial reporting standards (IFRS) emerged due to the increasing degree of interdependence between global capital markets and the need for investors to obtain reliable and honest financial information in expressing economic events, in order to find a common financial language, and this is what IFRS provide. Nevertheless, the research aimed to measure the impact of the adoption of IFRS on the quality of earnings in the Iraqi banks listed in the Iraqi Stock Exchange for a sample of 30 banks. The Beneish model was used to measure the quality of earnings, while Mann-Whitney was used to measure and prove the hypothesis of the research. However, the research reached a set of conclusions, including that although the IFRS should contribute to improving the quality of financial reporting, the adoption of these standards in commercial banks listed in the Iraq Stock Exchange did not contribute to achieving quality in earnings even after adopting those standards. Furthermore, a Beneish model is an important tool for auditors, financial analysts, investors, and creditors who have the ability to understand the financial statements or those who have a reasonable understanding of the nature of those financial statements in measuring the quality of earnings, because it is a simple and easy to implement tool.


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