Audit outcomes of non-financial misconduct

Abstract

We examine how non-financial misconduct by corporations impacts audit outcomes. We use a novel database of penalties received by firms from federal, state and local agencies for legal violations not directly related to their financial reports and find that auditors raise fees following these violations. The magnitudes are economically significant: violating firms pay about $162,000 or 6% more in audit fees than comparable firms without violations. Additionally, auditors charge more when the penalty amounts are higher and infractions are more egregious. Companies fined for non-financial misconduct are also more likely to receive going concern opinions. Our results are robust to propensity score matching, falsification tests and firm-fixed effects and are not attributable to lax firm culture or “tone at the top”. These results highlight that firms' unethical conduct, even those that do not directly lead to financial reporting infractions, has consequences beyond just the penalties imposed by enforcement agencies.