The Ultimate Form of Mandatory Auditor Rotation: The Case of Former Arthur Andersen Clients

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Blouin ◽  
Barbara M. Grein ◽  
Brian Robert Rountree
Keyword(s):  
Auditor Rotation ◽  
Arthur Andersen

An Analysis of Forced Auditor Change: The Case of Former Arthur Andersen Clients

2007 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Blouin ◽  
Barbara Murray Grein ◽  
Brian R. Rountree
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Auditor Rotation ◽  
Auditor Change ◽  
Mandatory Rotation ◽  
Audit Team ◽  
Arthur Andersen ◽  
Selection Of

This study examines former Arthur Andersen clients and provides evidence on the factors involved in their selection of new auditors after Andersen's collapse. Using a unique dataset that identifies whether former Andersen clients followed their audit team to a new auditor, findings reveal companies with greater agency concerns were more likely to sever ties with their former auditor, whereas those with greater switching costs were more likely to follow their former auditor. We also investigate the effect of the forced auditor change on financial statement quality in an effort to provide insight into the mandatory auditor rotation debate. Using performance-adjusted discretionary accruals as a proxy for reporting quality, our results fail to reveal significant improvements for companies with extreme discretionary accruals that severed ties with Andersen, which is inconsistent with the notion that mandatory rotation improves financial reporting.

THE END OF BETTERMENT ACCOUNTING: A STUDY OF THE ECONOMIC, PROFESSIONAL, AND REGULATORY FACTORS THAT FOSTERED STANDARDS CONVERGENCE IN THE U.S. RAILROAD INDUSTRY, 1955–1983

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan R. Heier ◽  
A. Lee Gurley
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Interstate Commerce Commission ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Railroad Industry ◽  
Tax Legislation ◽  
Industry Standards ◽  
Securities Industry ◽  
Arthur Andersen ◽  
The U.S

On January 26, 1983, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) announced that it would require all railroads under its regulatory jurisdiction to change from Retirement-Replacement-Betterment (RRB) accounting, to a more theoretically sound depreciation accounting for matching revenues and expenses. The change was needed because RRB did not allow for the recapture of track investment, leaving the railroads with limited capital to replace aging track lines. Over the previous three decades, it had become painfully obvious to everyone that the industry's economic woes were the result of archaic accounting procedures that lacked harmony with the rest of American accounting standards, but the ICC was reluctant to change until new tax legislation in the early 1980s forced the issue. The decision was a culmination of a debate that started in the mid-1950s when Arthur Andersen, with the help of the securities industry, began an effort to harmonize railroad and industry standards using arguments that mirror those supporting the international accounting harmonization efforts of the early 21st century.

Auditor Tenure and the Timeliness of Misstatement Discovery

2017 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zvi Singer ◽  
Jing Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Client Engagement ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Auditor Tenure ◽  
Sarbanes Oxley ◽  
Auditor Change ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Extended Analysis ◽  
Arthur Andersen

ABSTRACT Using the timeliness of misstatement discovery as a proxy for audit quality, we examine the association between audit firm tenure and audit quality in a setting that alleviates the endogeneity problem endemic to this line of research. We find that longer audit firm tenure leads to less timely discovery and correction of misstatements, which is consistent with a negative effect of long auditor tenure on audit quality. In addition, using the non-voluntary auditor change following the demise of Arthur Andersen in 2002 as a natural experiment, we show that the misstatements of its former clients were discovered faster than those of comparable companies that retained their auditors throughout the misstatement. This finding speaks to the benefit of a fresh look by a new auditor. An extended analysis shows that longer auditor tenure also leads to misstatements of greater magnitudes, and that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has mitigated, but not eliminated, the negative effect of long auditor tenure. Last, we show that the negative association between auditor tenure and timely discovery of misstatements is mainly present in the first ten years of an audit engagement. Our study has implications for regulators who continue to express concern regarding lengthy auditor-client engagement. JEL Classifications: K22; K23; L51; M41; M42; M48.

Negative accounting stereotype: Enron cartoons

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-60
Author(s):  
Michael Jones ◽  
Patricia Stanton
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Accounting Scandals ◽  
Editorial Cartoons ◽  
Arthur Andersen

A sample of editorial cartoons published following the wave of accounting scandals in the United States culminating in the collapse of Enron and the demise of the auditors Arthur Andersen LLP was examined to explore the portrayal of accounting, accountants and auditors. The nature and importance of the cartoons was also investigated. While the examination revealed what cartoonists had to say about accounting, accountants and auditing, the purpose was to ascertain the stereotypes conveyed. The cartoonists working from established preconceptions of accounting and accountants redefined and reshaped accounting stereotypes. They replaced the dull but honest image with a negative one, the fraudulent accountant. However, the image of the male accountant survived. As social critics, the cartoonists focused on the consequences on employees and stockholders but neglected to address the consequences for business institutions.

Ethical Preferences among Business Leaders: Implications for Business Schools

2000 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger N. Conaway ◽  
Thomas L. Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Business Faculty ◽  
Insider Information ◽  
Ethics Program ◽  
Arthur Andersen

Since 1976, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has encouraged business schools to include ethics in their curricula. Because lan guage is the means for conveying values, including ethical values, business com munication faculty play an important role in deciding what should be taught, and how. But until very recently, most researchers failed to look specifically at actual practices and perceptions in the workplace. To address that need, we conducted a survey of 250 business leaders concerning their ethical preferences and compared our results with an earlier study of business faculty and students. The survey, adapted from one used in the Arthur Andersen Business Ethics Program, consists of 20 narratives which presented respondents with the need to judge the impor tance of certain issues and their approval or disapproval of the action or decision described. We found no significant differences in responses to the 14 items which addressed ethical issues in such areas as creating health and environmental risks, taking credit when credit is not due, focusing on disability issues, deceiving cus tomers with products and services, and using insider information to gain personal advantage. We did find significant differences in responses to six narratives focused on ignoring wrongdoing in the workplace, doing special favors for others to gain personal advantage, and covering up flaws in merchandise or operations. Our results, and the survey instrument itself, provide useful tools for the business com munication classroom.

scholarly journals Relative Influences of Review and Engagement Auditor Rotation on Audit Quality: Evidence from China

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-206
Author(s):  
Sang Ho Kim ◽  
Jianqun Xi
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Logit Model ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Shared Responsibility ◽  
First Year ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Auditor Rotation ◽  
Audit Partner Rotation ◽  
The Relationship

Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: This study focuses on the effects of audit partner rotation on audit quality (AQ) in China. In particular, we examine the effects of review auditors (RAs) and engagement auditors (EAs) on AQ when they voluntarily and mandatorily rotate. Design/Methodology/Approach: The data in this study are retrieved from the Chinese Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database. We develop an OLS regression model and logit model respectively to test the hypotheses developed. Finally, we have 13,856 firm-year observations collected for the first regression model, and 16,893 firm-year observations gathered for the second logit model from 2003 to 2015. Research findings: Findings show that RAs are more likely to behave opportunistically to retain clients by weighing up the benefits and costs of compromising audit quality in the first year after a rotation. The results imply that RAs may have an incentive to acquiesce the clients’ accounting irregularities in their first year of audit engagement when they are mandatorily rotated. However, we do not find this trend in terms of EAs’ rotation, suggesting that EAs are less affected by the auditor-client relationship compared to RAs. In addition, we find that RAs are less likely to issue modified audit opinions (MOPI) as the magnitude of negative discretionary accruals (DA) increases when they are voluntarily rotated. Theoretical contribution/Originality: Previous studies have investigated the relationship between mandatory audit partner rotation and audit quality. The results are mixed and inconclusive. Our study contributes to the extant literature by considering RAs’ opportunistic behaviour after mandatory rotation, which has not been explored in previous studies. In China, only a few studies have examined the relationship between mandatory audit partner rotation and audit quality. Our study is one of the first study focusing on the RA’s influence on AQ. Practitioner/Policy implication: The findings of our study can help Chinese authorities, listed firms and academics gain more understanding on whether mandatory audit partner rotation improves audit quality in practice. Since RAs have greater incentive to retain the existing client, we propose that RAs should bear more responsibility for the audit work, instead of the equally shared responsibility with EAs. Research limitation/Implications: Our study is subject to some limitations. First, our study adopts the performance-adjusted discretionary accruals as a proxy for audit quality. However, there can be a measurement error in estimating discretionary accruals. Second, we focus on the auditor rotation and exclude the case of audit firm rotation. Since the AQ can be affected by various factors, audit firm rotation can also affect AQ. Third, although we test the relative effects of RAs and EAs in audit work, we do not examine the effect of RAs’ characteristics such as their professional experience, educational background, and years of service. AQ can be affected by RAs’ characteristics.

Auditor Rotation and Perceived Competence and Independence: The Effect of Fees and Industry Specialization

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-175
Author(s):  
Roger Kamath ◽  
Ting-Chiao Huang ◽  
Robyn A. Moroney
Keyword(s):  
Audit Fees ◽  
Perceived Competence ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Industry Specialization ◽  
Auditor Rotation ◽  
Jel Classifications ◽  
Attention To Detail ◽  
Industry Specialist

ABSTRACT Regulators and practitioners argue the relative merits of firm and partner rotation, while researchers report mixed results on the consequences of rotation. This study uses an experiment to examine the effect of an upcoming rotation on perceptions of auditor competence and independence and finds that participants appear to be indifferent to whether rotation is at the firm or partner level; they only react to concurrent changes in audit fees and the industry specialization status of the new auditor. Specifically, participants assess auditor competence and independence (specifically attention to detail, effort, and skeptical attitude) to be higher when fees increase rather than decrease significantly at the time of a rotation, and they assess auditor competence to be higher when rotation is to an industry specialist rather than a nonindustry specialist. These findings hold regardless of whether rotation is at the firm or partner level. JEL Classifications: M42. Data Availability: Data and the tasks used in this study are available on request.

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