Auditor Litigation Risk: A Review of Past Perspectives, Recent Developments, and Emerging Issues

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian Alderman
Keyword(s):  
Litigation Risk ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
Auditor Litigation

scholarly journals Emerging issues in genomic selection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Misztal ◽  
I Aguilar ◽  
D Lourenco ◽  
L Ma ◽  
J Steibel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genomic Selection ◽  
Sparse Matrices ◽  
Large Datasets ◽  
Single Step ◽  
Genomic Information ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Additive Variance ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Genomic selection is now practiced successfully across many species. However, many questions remain such as long-term effects, estimations of genomic parameters, robustness of GWAS with small and large datasets, and stability of genomic predictions. This study summarizes presentations from at the 2020 ASAS symposium. The focus of many studies until now is on linkage disequilibrium (LD) between two loci. Ignoring higher level equilibrium may lead to phantom dominance and epistasis. The Bulmer effect leads to a reduction of the additive variance; however, selection for increased recombination rate can release anew genetic variance. With genomic information, estimates of genetic parameters may be biased by genomic preselection, but costs of estimation can increase drastically due to the dense form of the genomic information. To make computation of estimates feasible, genotypes could be retained only for the most important animals, and methods of estimation should use algorithms that can recognize dense blocks in sparse matrices. GWAS studies using small genomic datasets frequently find many marker-trait associations whereas studies using much bigger datasets find only a few. Most current tools use very simple models for GWAS, possibly causing artifacts. These models are adequate for large datasets where pseudo-phenotypes such as deregressed proofs indirectly account for important effects for traits of interest. Artifacts arising in GWAS with small datasets can be minimized by using data from all animals (whether genotyped or not), realistic models, and methods that account for population structure. Recent developments permit computation of p-values from GBLUP, where models can be arbitrarily complex but restricted to genotyped animals only, and to single-step GBLUP that also uses phenotypes from ungenotyped animals. Stability was an important part of nongenomic evaluations, where genetic predictions were stable in the absence of new data even with low prediction accuracies. Unfortunately, genomic evaluations for such animals change because all animals with genotypes are connected. A top ranked animal can easily drop in the next evaluation, causing a crisis of confidence in genomic evaluations. While correlations between consecutive genomic evaluations are high, outliers can have differences as high as one SD. A solution to fluctuating genomic evaluations is to base selection decisions on groups of animals. While many issues in genomic selection have been solved, many new issues that require additional research continue to surface.

Molecular diagnosis of fungal disease

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Lewis White ◽  
Rosemary A. Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Fungal Disease ◽  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Disease Manifestation ◽  
Molecular Tests ◽  
Molecular Approaches ◽  
Widespread Acceptance ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
Polymerase Chain

Molecular techniques to aid in the diagnosis of fungal disease have been in use for over two decades. However, for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to gain widespread acceptance outside of specialist centres, methodology must be standardized and in line with general microbiological molecular diagnostics assays, yet for infections other than fungal disease. Apart from Aspergillus PCR, standardized methodology is lacking. It is also essential to identify the optimal role for an assay. Whether this is to confirm a specific disease in symptomatic patients or to exclude disease and prevent the unnecessary use of antifungals will, in part, be determined by prevalence, but will also, along with the disease manifestation, dictate specimen choice and subsequent methodological procedure. This chapter will focus on disease processes determining optimal sample types, before concentrating on the clinical validation of molecular tests for the diagnosis of the main causes of invasive fungal disease, concluding with recent developments. The clinical utility of molecular approaches and potential future benefits that can address emerging issues, such as azole resistance, will also be discussed.

scholarly journals World temperate fruit production: characteristics and challenges

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (spe1) ◽  
pp. 121-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge B. Retamales
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
World Population ◽  
Fruit Consumption ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Organic Fruit ◽  
Main Producer ◽  
Production Characteristics

In the last 30 years world population has increased 70% but per capita global fruit consumption is only 20% higher. Even though tropical and temperate fruit have similar contributions to the 50 kg/person/year of US consumption of fresh fruit, in the last 30 years this has been slightly greater for temperate fruit. Within fruit consumption, the largest expansion has been for organic fruit which increased more than 50% in the 2002-2006 period. The largest expansion of area planted in the 1996-2006 has been for kiwi (29%) and blueberries (20%), while apples (-24%) and sour cherries (-13%) have had the largest reductions. Nearly 50% of the total global volume of fruit is produced by 5 countries: China, USA, Brazil, Italy and Spain. The main producer (China) accounts for 23% of the total. While the main exporters are Spain, USA and Italy, the main importers are Germany, Russia and UK. Demands for the industry have evolved towards quality, food safety and traceability. The industry faces higher productions costs (labor, energy, agrichemicals). The retailers are moving towards consolidation while the customers are changing preferences (food for health). In this context there is greater pressure on growers, processors and retailers. Emerging issues are labor supply, climate change, water availability and sustainability. Recent developments in precision agriculture, molecular biology, phenomics, crop modelling and post harvest physiology should increase yields and quality, and reduce costs for temperate fruit production around the world.

The Effects of Critical Audit Matter Removal and Duration on Jurors' Assessments of Auditor Negligence

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy M. Vinson ◽  
Jesse C. Robertson ◽  
R. Cameron Cockrell
Keyword(s):  
Control Model ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Litigation Risk ◽  
Subsequent Removal ◽  
Auditor Liability ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
One Year ◽  
Auditor Litigation

SUMMARY A primary concern facing the PCAOB's requirement of disclosing critical audit matters (CAMs) is increased auditor litigation risk. Evidence with Key Audit Matters from the U.K. indicates auditors may subsequently remove a CAM or continue to report the same CAM for several years. Therefore, we investigate the effects of CAM removal and duration on jurors' assessments of auditor negligence when there is a subsequent material misstatement due to fraud in the account related to the CAM. Using the Culpable Control Model, we predict jurors will assess higher auditor negligence when a CAM is removed than when a CAM is reported and when a CAM is reported for multiple years than for one year. Results from two experiments support our expectations, although results vary depending on complexity of the misstated account. Overall, our findings highlight a quandary for audit firms, where subsequent removal of a CAM increases auditor liability.

Auditor Litigation Risk and the Number of Institutional Investors

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 71-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory A. Cassell ◽  
Michael S. Drake ◽  
Travis A. Dyer
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Investors ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Common Stock ◽  
Litigation Risk ◽  
The Common ◽  
Auditor Litigation

SUMMARY We investigate whether auditors are sensitive to litigation risk related specifically to having greater numbers of institutional investors that hold the common stock of a given client. Our findings suggest that audit fees are higher when the number of institutional investors holding stock in the company is greater. Additional tests corroborate our inference that the association between audit fees and the number of institutional investors is related to litigation risk. The importance of improving our understanding of auditors' sensitivity to factors that increase litigation exposure is highlighted by the number and magnitude of lawsuits filed against auditors relating to the audits of public clients.

Litigation Risk and Abnormal Accruals

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff P. Boone ◽  
Inder K. Khurana ◽  
K. K. Raman
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Equation System ◽  
Simultaneous Equation ◽  
Litigation Risk ◽  
Securities Litigation ◽  
Simultaneous Equation System ◽  
Specific Risk ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Abnormal Accruals ◽  
Auditor Litigation

SUMMARY In this paper, we examine the relation between auditor litigation risk and abnormal accruals over the 1989–2007 time period. We address potential endogeneity in prior studies by jointly modeling abnormal accruals and litigation risk in a simultaneous equation system. Our findings suggest that client-specific litigation risk affects auditor incentives to acquiesce to client demands for earnings management, i.e., the higher the risk of auditor litigation, the greater the auditor's restraining influence on the abnormal accruals reported by the client. We also find evidence that abnormal accruals increase the likelihood of auditor litigation. We also document that the 1995 Public Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) lowered the client-specific risk of auditor litigation. Litigation reform remains a topic of ongoing interest. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the effects of litigation reform (and related changes in legal exposure) on auditor incentives and earnings management.

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