scholarly journals Auditors’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities: The impact of exposure to litigation risk

Accounting ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 1435-1444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdullah Saad Al-Dhubaibi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Statements ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Litigation Risk ◽  
Certified Public Accountants ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Public Accountants ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of auditors regarding their responsibilities and potential liabilities to third parties in the case of failure to detect fraud/material misstatements and report the findings to the appropriate party. The study proposes that auditors’ perception of their own responsibilities will depend on the level of litigation threat expected by the auditor based on his or her position in the audit firm. The questionnaire was sent to the big 4 audit firms, the global audit firms other than the big 4, and to 189 different sized local audit firms registered with the Saudi Organization of Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA). The findings of this study revealed significant variations among auditors with regards to their perceptions of their own responsibilities and liabilities to financial statements’ users affected by their expected level of exposure to litigation risk.

scholarly journals The adoption of IFRS in publicly listed enterprises of high and medium capitalization and the impact of the size of the audit firm in Greece

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michail Pazarskis ◽  
Andreas Koutoupis ◽  
George Drogalas ◽  
Konstantinos Tsakiris
Keyword(s):  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
The Past ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Athens Stock Exchange ◽  
The Impact

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

The Impact of PCAOB AS5 and the Economic Recession on Client Portfolio Characteristics of the Big 4 Audit Firms

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph H. Schroeder ◽  
Chris E. Hogan
Keyword(s):  
Financial Risk ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Risk Characteristics ◽  
The Impact

SUMMARY We examine the impact of PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 5 (AS5) and the economic recession on risk characteristics and degree of auditor/client misalignment in the publicly traded client portfolios of Big 4 firms. AS5 and the economic recession both likely resulted in an increase in audit firm personnel capacity as well as a decline in current and future revenue prospects, leading to concerns that the Big 4 firms may pursue clients that present greater risk to the portfolio. We find that the overall portfolio in 2009 presents greater financial risk, attributable to the impact of the recession on continuing clients. A net decrease in audit and auditor business risks is also attributable to continuing clients over this period, as increases for new clients are offset by reductions due to departing clients. Overall, the results, which should be of interest to regulators, indicate that Big 4 firms continued to balance their portfolio with risk in mind. Data Availability: Data are publicly available from sources identified in the paper.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Supply Chain CPAs, CSR and Discretionary Accruals

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Li-Lun Liu ◽  
Yu-Ting Huang
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Certified Public Accountants ◽  
Public Response ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

<p>This research explores the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of listed companies in Taiwan by looking at how companies meet their CSR obligations and by exploring how employing supply chain certified public accountants (CSRSCPAs) affects the quality of their earnings. However, despite the benefits stemming from enhanced information corroboration and expertise spillover, CSRSCPAs face the challenge of potential information collusion. It finds that the CSRSCPA has a negative effect on discretionary accruals. Hence, this study looks at supply chain CPAs in the context of the company’s CSR performance to find out the impact of the company’s financial statements. In addition, the results of this study indicate that both a positive earnings quality and a positive public response ensue when the Big 4 audit firms audit CSR companies. Our results show that market participants highly value Big 4 supply chain CPAs with industry experience and that these impressions extend to their evaluation of clients. The inclusion of different supply chain streams reveal that upstream CSRSCPA are more likely than middlestream and downstream CSRSCPA to receive favorable reactions from market participants. This is an indication that market participants are impressed by the specific expertise and knowledge of these professionals.</p>

Should PCAOB Disciplinary Proceedings Be Made Public? Evidence from Sanctions against a Big 4 Auditor

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. P18-P24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Callaway Dee ◽  
Ayalew Lulseged ◽  
Tianming Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Stock Prices ◽  
Stock Price ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Stock Market Reaction ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Price Effects

SUMMARY: In our paper “Client Stock Market Reaction to PCAOB Sanctions against a Big 4 Auditor” (Dee et al. 2011), we examine stock price effects for clients of a Big 4 audit firm when news of sanctions imposed by the PCAOB against the audit firm was made public. These PCAOB penalties were the first against a Big 4 auditor, and they revealed information about quality-control problems at the audit firm that were not publicly known until the sanctions were announced. Our analysis of stock prices suggests that investors in clients of the penalized Big 4 firm reevaluated their perceptions of the quality of the firm's audit work after learning of the sanctions. The negative stock price effects for the firm's clients were consistent with investors inferring that the financial statements were of lower quality. In the paper, we conclude that investors find information about PCAOB sanctions against audit firms to be relevant in assessing audit quality and use that information in setting stock prices for audit firms' clients. This finding has relevance for the debate on the proposed legislation in Congress (H.R. 3503), which would allow the PCAOB to disclose proceedings against auditors before the investigations are concluded. Our results suggest that, although investors may find early disclosure of this information useful, public disclosure of Board disciplinary proceedings before they are completed could unfairly harm an audit firm's reputation if the firm is ultimately vindicated of wrongdoing.

scholarly journals Auditor Style Dan Komparabilitas Laporan Keuangan

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-122
Author(s):  
Riski Wulandari ◽  
Henri Agustin ◽  
Mayar Afriyenti
Keyword(s):  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Accounting Standard ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Internal Working ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Reported Earnings ◽  
Working Rules

Auditor style defined as a unique set of internal working rules for the interpretation and enforcement of accounting standard within the auditor’s clienteles belongs to particular audit firm, especially Big 4 audit firms. As a consequence, financial statements of two companies audited by the same Big 4 auditor, subjected to the same audit style, tend to have comparable earnings which have a more similar accrual, than two companies audited by two different Big 4 auditors with different styles. This research attempts to examine the effect of this auditor style issue on manufacturing financial statement comparability listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange. For five years’ observations, through 2012-2016 this research demonstrated a result with auditor style affects the comparability of reported earnings within a Big 4 auditor’s clientele and found no effect of auditor style on financial statement comparability within a non-Big 4 auditor’s clientele

The impact of non-timely 10-Q filings and audit firm size on audit fees

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 503-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Chiu ◽  
Feiqi Huang ◽  
Yue Liu ◽  
Miklos A. Vasarhelyi
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Audit Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Prior studies suggest that non-timely 10-Q filings indicate higher potential risks than non-timely 10-K filings. Furthermore, larger audit firms tend to be more risk-averse and conservative about reporting. Inspired by these research streams, this paper aims to investigate the influence of non-timely 10-Q filings on audit fees and the impact of audit firm size on this association. Design/methodology/approach The cross-sectional audit fee regression model used in this study is similar to that used in prior audit fee research (Simunic, 1980; Francis et al., 2005; Hay et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2013). The model includes the following five major characteristics that would influence auditors’ fee decisions: auditee size (LNAT), complexity (REIVAT, FOREIGN, SEG), financial condition (LOSS, ROA, GROWTH, ZSCORE), special events (ICW, RESTATE, INITIAL, GC) and auditor type (BIG4). To examine the effect of non-timely 10-Q filings on audit fees, the variable NT10Q is included in the audit fee model. Findings The results indicate that when both non-timely 10-K and non-timely 10-Q filings are included in the regression model, only non-timely 10-Q filings are significantly associated with higher audit fees, suggesting that the presence of non-timely 10-Q filings signals more serious underlying problem than non-timely 10-K filings in the audit fees decision processes. In addition, we find that audit fees for firms audited by Big 4 auditors are 26.4 per cent higher when those firms file non-timely 10-Q reports, whereas there is no significant association between non-timely 10-Q filings and audit fees for firms audited by non-Big 4 auditors. Practical implications As no attention has been paid to the investigation of the impact of non-timely 10-Q filings on audit fees, with the aim of filling the gap of this specific research area, this study examines the association between non-timely 10-Q filings and audit fees and the influence of audit firm size on this association. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is threefold: first, it is the first study to examine the association between non-timely 10-Q filings and audit fees. The results show that non-timely 10-Q filings are a better and earlier indicator of audit risk than non-timely 10-K filings. Second, the results reveal that the relationship between non-timely 10-Q filings and audit fees is affected by audit firm size. Specifically, Big 4 auditors tend to charge higher audit fees in the presence of non-timely 10-Q filings, reflecting that they are more sensitive to audit risk than smaller audit firms are. Third, an examination of the quarterly effect of non-timely 10-Q filings on audit fees indicates a stronger effect from the first quarter’s non-timely 10-Q filings, compared to the second or third quarter.

scholarly journals The impacts of interaction of audit litigation and ownership structure on audit quality

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riyadh Jassim AL Abdullah ◽  
Mawih Kareem AL Ani
Keyword(s):  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Litigation Risk ◽  
Minority Shareholders ◽  
Audit Opinion ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Litigation ◽  
Regression Techniques ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis study examines the impact of the interactions of audit litigation and ownership structure on audit quality by Big 4 and non-Big 4 audit firms in Oman. This study uses modified audit opinion as proxies for audit quality, binary variable for audit litigation and percentage of shares owned by large shareholders and minority shareholders (consisting of Arab [non-GCC] shareholders) for ownership structure. The study uses size, risk, types of activity and ages of the firms as control variables. For the analysis and explanation of results descriptive statistics, correlation, regression techniques and T-test are used. Based on a sample of 107 listed companies on Muscat Securities Market (MSM) for 2013–2017, we find that audit litigation has a significant impact on audit quality for Big 4 audit firms, but not for non-Big 4 audit firms. Also, the results indicate that there is no difference between Big 4 and non-Big 4 audit firms as far as litigation risk is concerned.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Prohibition of Non–Audit Services on the Profitability of Big-4-affiliated Audit Firms in Bangladesh

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Md Jahidur Rahman ◽  
Mo Lai Lan Phllis ◽  
Lam Mo
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Stable Source ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Non Audit Services

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the prohibition of certain non-audit services by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Bangladesh on the profitability of the audit firms which are affiliated with Big-4 international audit firms. This paper is based on personal in-depth interviews with the Big-4-affiliated audit firms. A qualitative approach, in a way which is descriptive and illustrative, is adopted in this research. This research provides evidence for the fact that audit services are the most significant and stable source of income for an audit firm. Although respondents generally admit that non-audit services might be more profitable, they all agree that audit services are indeed the core operations of an audit firm. Findings in this paper reveal a contemporary picture of the auditing profession in Bangladesh and elucidate the impact that the implementation of Corporate Governance Order 2006 has on an audit firm's profitability. This research is the first in-depth study of the impact of the prohibition of non-audit services on the profitability of the Big-4-affiliated audit firms in Bangladesh. Financial reporting regulatory authorities in Bangladesh or other developing countries may find the findings in this paper useful.

The Impact of Partners' Economic Incentives on Audit Quality in Big 4 Partnerships

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Dekeyser ◽  
Ann Gaeremynck ◽  
W. Robert Knechel ◽  
Marleen Willekens
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Client Characteristics ◽  
Financial Situation ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
The Impact

Economic incentives are fundamental for understanding auditor behavior. In this paper, we investigate the association between the extent of partners' fee-based compensation, partners' observable net wealth, and audit quality. Using a sample of Belgian Big 4 audit firms and their predominantly private clients, our results suggest a negative association between audit quality and partner fee-based compensation, and a positive association between audit quality and partner observable net wealth. Moreover, our results show that the latter association is most significant when a partner is carrying a lot of debt, which indicates that a partner's financial situation may affect audit quality. The extent of fee-based incentives also varies among partners of the same audit firm. Furthermore, partner and client characteristics differ based on the extent of fee-based compensation. Our findings should be of interest to regulators and audit firms as they suggest that audit partner's economic incentives significantly affect audit quality.

An Empirical Investigation of IPO Underpricing and the Change to the LLP Organization of Audit Firms

2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Muzatko ◽  
Karla M. Johnstone ◽  
Brian W. Mayhew ◽  
Larry E. Rittenberg
Keyword(s):  
Initial Public Offering ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Limited Liability ◽  
Litigation Risk ◽  
Ipo Underpricing ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Legal Structure ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Public Offering

This paper examines the relationship between the 1994 change in audit firm legal structure from general partnerships to limited liability partnerships (LLPs) on underpricing in the initial public offering (IPO) market. The change in legal structure of audit firms reduces an audit firm's wealth at risk from litigation damages and reduces the incentives for intrafirm monitoring by partners within an audit firm. Prior research suggests that underpricing protects underwriters from litigation damages, and that the level of underpricing varies inversely with both the amount of implicit insurance provided by the audit firm and the quality of the audit services provided. We hypothesize the change in audit firm legal structure reduced the assets available from audit firms in IPO-related litigation and indirectly reduced audit quality by lowering intrafirm monitoring. As a result, underwriters have incentives as a joint and several defendant with the audit firms to increase IPO underpricing, particularly for high-litigation-risk IPOs, following audit firms' shifts to LLP status. Our findings are consistent with this hypothesis.

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