Social Capital and Internal Control Material Weaknesses

Using a measure of social capital provided by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, we document that, after controlling for auditor effort, firms headquartered in US counties with higher social capital are less likely to have ineffective internal control over financial reporting than those located in regions with lower social capital. This negative association between local social capital and ineffective internal controls holds when other forms of external monitoring are weak. We also find that the association is driven by ineffective internal control arising from entity-level, but not from account-specific, material weaknesses. Overall, we contribute to the literature that links firms' social environment with financial reporting quality.

On Controlling for Misstatement Risk

Ex ante misstatement risk confounds most settings relying on misstatements as a measure of audit quality, but researchers continue to debate how to effectively control for this construct. In this study, we consider a recent approach that involves controlling for prior period misstatements (“Lagged Misstatements”). Using a controlled simulation and a basic archival analysis, we show that a lagged misstatement control can significantly bias coefficient estimates. We demonstrate this bias using audit fees as a variable of interest but also show the same issue manifests for other measures that respond to the restatement of misstated financial statements (i.e., internal control material weaknesses and auditor changes). We conclude by discussing alternative approaches for controlling for ex ante misstatement risk and providing guidance for future research.

Market reactions to the internal control reporting presentation format: combined vs separate audit reports

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether the stock market reacts to presentation options available to auditors under AS 2 (providing separate financial statement audit and internal control over financial reporting [ICOFR] audit reports, or presenting a combined report with both audit opinions). Design/methodology/approachDrawing on psychology theory, the authors hypothesize that presenting material weaknesses in ICOFR with an unqualified financial statement audit in a combined report effectively dilutes the weight placed on the material weaknesses perceived by investors. The authors further hypothesize the presentation format effect to vary by type of material weaknesses since some material weaknesses are considered more serious than others. The authors examine ICOFR and audit reporting and cumulative abnormal return data from 2007 to 2017 using two-stage least squares regression analysis. FindingsThe results show that a combined report of ineffective ICOFR and unqualified financial statement audit reduces the negative impact of material weakness disclosures on stock price reactions, but only when the weaknesses involve more serious entity-wide controls, as opposed to controls over specific accounts. Practical implicationsThe findings help inform preparers, auditors, regulators and investors about the potentially unintended consequences of reporting format choice. Originality/valueThe findings contribute to the literature on internal control disclosures by demonstrating that market reactions to these disclosures depend not only on the types of material weaknesses disclosed but also on their presentation format.

Perceptions of Tone at the Top from the Inside: Insights into Audit Pricing

Tone at the top plays an important role in entities’ internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) and in auditors’ planning and risk assessment decisions. Using a novel measure based on employee perceptions, we find that strong tone at the top is associated with reduced audit pricing and that this relation holds even for firms that report effective ICFR. This relation is stronger when employees’ tone perceptions are more consistent throughout the organization, when accounting is more complex, and when earnings manipulation risk is higher. We also find that strong tone is negatively associated with the incidence of reported material weaknesses and positively associated with positive abnormal accruals, and that the management integrity component of tone is more strongly associated with audit pricing than is the quality of management communication. Finally, we find evidence that auditors become familiar with employees' tone perceptions in the normal course of an audit.

The Role of Peer Events in Corporate Governance: Evidence from Data Breaches

Economic theory suggests that negative peer events can result in market-wide spillovers which help unaffected firms take real actions to enhance corporate governance. Motivated by the SEC’s concern about cybersecurity, I study the role of peer events in corporate governance using the setting of data breaches. While controlling for firm-specific time-varying unobservable characteristics, I find that peer data breaches are associated with a reduction in future internal control material weaknesses for non-breached firms. The association is robust to a changes analysis and varies cross-sectionally with breach, firm, and board characteristics. Inferences remain consistent when studying IT-related material weaknesses only. Finally, non-breached firms are more likely to have a cybersecurity expert on the top management team after a peer breach. My findings have important implications for mandatory disclosure regulation in general and, in particular, suggest that regulators can help reduce market-wide exposure to cyber risk by facilitating disclosure of cyber incidents.