{"title":"Do Adverse Opinions on Internal Control over Financial Reporting Lead to Changes in Reporting Format?","authors":"Jerry R. Strawser","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2021-134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2021-134","url":null,"abstract":"SYNOPSIS This study examines whether the format of audit reports on financial statements and internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) changes in response to the disclosure of one or more material weaknesses in ICFR. The results indicate that (1) reporting format changes are more likely when adverse opinions are issued on ICFR and (2) formats are more likely to change from a combined report to separate reports than vice versa. Supplemental analysis reveals that format changes to separate reports do not result in more favorable market perceptions but do result in marginally lower levels of auditor dismissal/change. These findings indicate that auditors have incentives to acquiesce to client requests to change reporting formats, even though such changes do not result in more favorable market perceptions. Data Availability: Data are available from public resources noted in the text. JEL Classifications: M41; M42.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135255339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Strength of Audit Firms’ Human Resource Systems and Client-Level Audit Outcomes: Evidence from a Multiple Source Study","authors":"J. Pruijssers, I. Simac, Marleen Willekens","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2021-150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2021-150","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 We examine whether differences in HR systems among audit firms can affect client-level audit outcomes. Based on the audit quality framework of Knechel, Krishnan, Pevzner, Shefchik, and Velury (2013b) and the strategic HRM literature, we posit that audit firms with stronger HR systems are likely to deliver more desired audit outcomes, ceteris paribus. Building on systems theory, we outline and capture a wholistic picture of the audit firm HR system as consisting of three dimensions: competency-, motivation-, and opportunity-enhancing practices. We draw on two distinct data sources for our analyses: a survey allowing us to tap into the HR systems of large audit firms servicing PIE clients in The Netherlands and corresponding client-level archival data to measure audit outcomes. Our results suggest that HR systems are an internal context factor affecting client-level audit outcomes. Supplemental analyses indicate that competency- and opportunity-enhancing HR practices are associated with more desirable audit outcomes.\u0000 Data Availability: Part of the data are available from the sources cited in text.\u0000 JEL Classifications: M42; O15.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46539269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Big Data Analytics and Management Forecasting Behavior","authors":"Beng Wee Goh, Na Li, Tharindra Ranasinghe","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2020-145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2020-145","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper investigates whether the use of Big Data analytics by firms has a spillover effect on management forecasting behavior. Insights provided by Big Data could potentially improve firms’ ability to forecast earnings (supply channel) and investor demand for earnings information is likely higher for firms engaging in data analytics (demand channel). Using a text-based measure of firms’ commitments to and usage of Big Data analytics, we find that Big Data analytics usage is positively associated with the propensity to issue management earnings forecasts. Consistent with the “supply channel” explanation, we find that Big Data analytics usage is positively associated with management forecast accuracy as well. Also, supporting the “demand channel” explanation, we find that Big Data analytics usage is associated with greater analyst following. Our findings of improved disclosure following commitments to Big Data analytics highlight a potentially unintended benefit of the Big Data revolution.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43781079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peripheral Benefit of Single Audit Monitoring in Attracting Charitable Donations","authors":"B. McAllister, Tammy R. Waymire, Thomas Z. Webb","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2020-060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2020-060","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Our study examines whether the presence of a Single Audit is positively associated with charitable donations. A Single Audit offers incremental monitoring benefits beyond a basic financial audit. Specifically, it includes additional audit procedures and publicly disclosed reporting on internal controls over financial reporting and on compliance over major programs. In an entropy-balanced sample of 44,364 observations over the period 2010 to 2016, we find that charities subject to a Single Audit receive higher donations, regardless of whether the audit reveals internal control deficiencies. We find similar results when donors are more sophisticated, but not when they are less sophisticated. Finally, our results show donors differentiate between clean and unclean audit findings when deficiencies are defined more strictly as material weaknesses only. Policymakers, charities, and other stakeholders should be interested in the finding that Single Audits, often viewed for their costs, also yield a peripheral monitoring benefit by attracting donations.\u0000 Data Availability: All data are from publicly available sources quoted in the text.\u0000 JEL Classifications: M41; M42; M48.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48546781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Account-Level Inspection Risk on Audit Program Planning Decisions","authors":"Dominic Detzen, A. Gold, A. Wright","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2022-184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2022-184","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Prior research suggests oversight inspections lead to unintended consequences by motivating auditors to manage inspection risk. The current study provides evidence of the impact of a misalignment between inspection and mis-statement risks at the account level, where planning decisions are made. We predict auditors feel pressures to address more immediate inspection risks at the expense of adequately responding to mis-statement risks as prescribed by auditing standards. Employing an experiment with 182 experienced auditors, we manipulate account-level inspection risk (low or high). As hypothesized, auditors plan more hours for an account with higher inspection risk and correspondingly assign fewer audit hours to other accounts with lower inspection risk, even if mis-statement risk is high for those accounts, suggesting an unwarranted shift in audit efforts. Our findings suggest inspection risks impair auditors’ effort allocation decisions and thus may undermine the audit risk model as the normative benchmark for program planning.\u0000 Data Availability: Contact the corresponding author.\u0000 JEL Classifications: M42; M48.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45336292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Covers and Front Matter","authors":"","doi":"10.2308/0888-7993-37.3.i","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/0888-7993-37.3.i","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135619607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elizabeth N. Cowle, Ryan P. Decker, Stephen P. Rowe
{"title":"Retain or Rotate: The Association between Frequent Auditor Switching and Audit Quality","authors":"Elizabeth N. Cowle, Ryan P. Decker, Stephen P. Rowe","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2022-018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2022-018","url":null,"abstract":"SYNOPSIS Regulators have long expressed concerns about auditor changes and the detrimental impact of opinion shopping on the audit market. Whereas prior studies have examined how single-instance auditor switching impacts audit outcomes, we examine whether frequent auditor switching impacts audit outcomes. We find that more frequent auditor switching is associated with lower audit quality, but that this effect is mitigated in the presence of higher internal and external monitoring. We also find that frequently switching companies have lower audit quality than companies that switch auditors, but do not frequently switch auditors. Taken together, our evidence indicates that a subset of companies participates in frequent auditor switching and that such behavior is detrimental to the audit market. Our findings can inform regulators and practitioners about some of the ramifications of frequent auditor switching and help inform auditor switching regulations and client acceptance procedures.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135520705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Practitioner Perspectives on Going Concern Opinion Research and Suggestions for Further Study: Part 1—Outcomes and Consequences","authors":"M. Geiger, A. Gold, P. Wallage","doi":"10.2308/horizons-2022-005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/horizons-2022-005","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Auditing researchers rarely engage practicing auditors regarding the phenomena examined, or conclusions reached, in academic research. In an attempt to bridge this gap, we report on the outcomes, insights, and observations from focused interactions with Dutch audit practitioners regarding their perspectives on recent research regarding auditor going concern opinion (GCO) decisions. We provided practitioners with a summary of some of the most salient recent GCO research findings and the goals of our subsequent discussions were to (1) obtain practitioners’ responses to the research findings, and (2) identify relevant issues for future study from the perspective of practitioners. Accordingly, we report on our discussions with practitioners and provide a summary of practitioner-informed GCO-related future research topics. In this first of a two-part sequence, we provide background information relating to our practitioner interactions, and summarize our discussions pertaining to GCO outcomes and GCO consequences, as well as future research.\u0000 JEL Classifications: M42.","PeriodicalId":51419,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Horizons","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45217027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}