Strategic Analysis and Auditor Risk Judgments

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 149-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Kochetova-Kozloski ◽  
William F. Messier
Keyword(s):  
Expert Panel ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Strategy Implementation ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Strategic Analysis ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Strategic Positioning ◽  
Risk Judgments

SUMMARY The study investigates whether and how senior auditors' strategic analysis of a client affects their identification of significant business and financial statement risks, and their risk assessments. Sixty-seven senior auditors participated in an experiment that examined the effect of analyzing two aspects of strategic analysis (strategic positioning and the strategy implementation process) against performing no strategic analysis. An expert panel of senior managers was used to develop a benchmark for comparison purposes. Our results show that (1) auditors who performed guided strategic analysis did not identify more significant business and financial statement risks than auditors who did not perform strategic analysis, (2) senior auditors who performed strategic analysis of strategic positioning or the strategy implementation process assessed risk of material misstatement at the entity level more consistently with an expert panel than auditors who did not perform such an analysis, and (3) senior auditors' analysis of the client's strategy implementation process was associated with assessments of the strength of the control environment that were more consistent with the expert panel than assessments done by auditors who did not perform any strategic analysis or who performed only an analysis of strategic positioning. Data Availability: Contact the first author.

Accelerated Filing Deadlines, Internal Controls, and Financial Statement Quality: The Case of Originating Misstatements

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Boland ◽  
Scott N. Bronson ◽  
Chris E. Hogan
Keyword(s):  
Internal Control ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Similar Increase ◽  
Section 404 ◽  
Regulatory Changes ◽  
Rule Change ◽  
Initial Decrease

SYNOPSIS We examine whether regulations requiring accelerated filing deadlines and internal control reporting and testing affect financial statement reliability. Unlike prior research, we examine whether these regulatory changes are associated with an increase in the likelihood that misstatements originate in the period following the respective change. If the implementation of these rules causes a misstatement, then the misstatement would most likely occur in the period immediately following the rule change. We provide evidence that accelerated filers (AFs) experience an increase in the likelihood of an originating misstatement following the acceleration of filing deadlines from 90 to 75 days. Large accelerated filers (LAFs), however, do not experience a similar increase following this acceleration or the subsequent acceleration from 75 to 60 days. After the implementation of the SOX Section 404 internal control requirements, we find that the likelihood of an originating misstatement declined for AFs but not for LAFs. Taken together, the findings suggest that, although AFs experienced an initial decrease in financial statement reliability, this decrease was temporary. Data Availability: Data are publicly available from the sources identified in the text.

Investor Reaction to Auditors' Going Concern Emphasis of Matter: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Bédard ◽  
Carl Brousseau ◽  
Ann Vanstraelen
Keyword(s):  
Trading Volume ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Abnormal Returns ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Regulatory Change ◽  
Price Response ◽  
Going Concern ◽  
Incremental Value ◽  
Investor Reaction

SUMMARY Using a “natural experiment” provided by a change in Canadian auditing standards requiring an emphasis of matter paragraph in the auditor's report (GC-EOM) when the financial statements include a going concern uncertainty disclosure (GC-FS), this paper examines the incremental investor reaction to the auditor's report over the related GC-FS. Conditioning on the linguistic severity of the GC-FS (weak and severe), we first document a negative price response to severe but not to weak GC-FS before the regulatory change. This implies that investors react to financial statement disclosures and account for their degree of interpretability in the absence of a GC-EOM. When the uncertainty disclosure is accompanied by a GC-EOM, we find incremental negative abnormal returns and lower abnormal trading volume only for weak GC-FS. Collectively, these findings imply that an emphasis of matter paragraph in the auditor's report can have incremental value to investors. JEL Classifications: M42; G12; G14. Data Availability: Data used are available from public sources identified in the study.

Workplace Mindfulness and its Effect on Staff Auditors' Audit Quality-Threatening Behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Herda ◽  
Nathan H. Cannon ◽  
Randall F. Young
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Work Setting ◽  
Effective Technique ◽  
Staff Level

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effect of staff auditors' workplace mindfulness on premature sign-off—a serious audit quality-threatening behavior that can go undetected through the review process. We also examine whether supervisor coaching is an effective means to engender workplace mindfulness. Using a sample of 115 auditors, we predict and find that (1) auditors who are coached by supervisors to appreciate the importance of their work to external financial statement users are more likely to be mindful in their work setting, and (2) greater workplace mindfulness about financial statement user considerations is associated with a reduced likelihood of auditor sign-off on an audit procedure not completed. We also find that supervisor coaching has an indirect effect on premature sign-off through workplace mindfulness. The results underscore the importance of workplace mindfulness in reducing audit quality-threatening behavior and indicate that supervisor coaching may be an effective technique in eliciting mindfulness among staff-level auditors. Data Availability: Contact the authors.

Management Credibility and Investment Risk: An Experimental Investigation of Lease Accounting Alternatives

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan D. Krische ◽  
Paula R. Sanders ◽  
Steven D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Investment Risk ◽  
Managerial Reporting ◽  
Risk Judgments ◽  
Lease Accounting

ABSTRACT This paper examines how users' understanding of the financial statement impact of accounting alternatives and the disclosure choices management has made jointly influence users' assessments of management credibility and investment risk. Specifically, in a lease obligation setting, management's reporting choice (i.e., recognition versus disclosure), the presence of a supplemental reconciliation from disclosure to recognition, and the source of that reconciliation (as company management or an independent analyst) are manipulated. As predicted, the findings indicate that users assess a management credibility deficiency only when they understand both the financial statement implications of an incentive-consistent reporting choice and that management has not been forthcoming about that choice. In contrast, users' understanding of the financial statement implications of the reporting choice is sufficient to influence their investment risk judgments. This research extends the literature on managerial reporting by documenting necessary knowledge conditions for users to make differential assessments of managers.

PCAOB Inspections and Large Accounting Firms

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan K. Church ◽  
Lori B. Shefchik
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Second Tier ◽  
Over Time

SYNOPSIS The purpose of this paper is to analyze the PCAOB's inspection reports of large, annually inspected accounting firms. The inspection reports identify audit deficiencies that have implications for audit quality. By examining the inspection reports in detail, we can identify the nature and severity of audit deficiencies; we can track the total number of deficiencies over time; and we can pinpoint common, recurring audit deficiencies. We focus on large accounting firms because they play a dominant role in the marketplace (i.e., they audit public companies that comprise approximately 99 percent of U.S.-based issuer market capitalization). We document a significant, downward linear trend in the number of deficiencies from 2004 to 2009. We also identify common, recurring audit deficiencies, determine the financial statement accounts most often impacted by audit deficiencies, and isolate the primary emphasis of the financial statement impacted. Our findings generally are consistent comparing Big 4 and second-tier accounting firms, though a few differences emerge. In addition, we make comparisons with findings that have been documented for small, triennially inspected firms. Data Availability: The data are available from public sources.

The Basic Principles of Competitive Strategy

2015 ◽  
pp. 693-718
Author(s):  
Nabyla Daidj
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Strategic Thinking ◽  
Strategic Analysis ◽  
Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽  
Complex Dynamic ◽  
Strategic Positioning ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

Firms operate in a more and more complex, dynamic, less predictable environment. This situation requires following different approaches of strategic positioning and strategic planning and developing new patterns of strategic thinking. There are several strategic models and tools. Most of them have advantages and disadvantages. In spite of these limitations, these models must be examined. The purpose of this chapter is to conduct a strategic analysis (external and internal diagnoses). It familiarizes the reader with the forces that shape competition in a company's external environment and then analyzes internal strategic capabilities for identifying strategic sustainable competitive advantage.

Avoiding the strategy execution pitfalls

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 16-18
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Strategy Implementation ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Strategy Execution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Dilemmas do not signal that a strategy is flawed or that leadership is failing. Rather, they are part and parcel of the strategy implementation process. They present consequential choices that need to be understood and addressed. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Investors' Response to Revelations of Prior Uncorrected Misstatements

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 167-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Omer ◽  
Marjorie K. Shelley ◽  
Anne M. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Current Period ◽  
Insight Into

SUMMARY This study examines investors' response to the disclosure of prior-period waived misstatements under Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 108, Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements When Quantifying Misstatements in the Current Year. Misstatement correction decisions typically are not observable, and financial statement users have little insight into the disposition of identified misstatements, a dimension of audit and financial statement quality. We find that investors respond negatively to the disclosure of SAB No. 108 misstatements, and this response is associated with the current-period auditor initially waiving the misstatement and client importance. Although SAB No. 108 misstatements were waived under prevailing materiality guidance, our findings suggest that investors interpret SAB No. 108 misstatements as indicating lower perceived audit quality. Data Availability: Data are available from the sources indicated in the text.

scholarly journals Auditor Style and Financial Statement Comparability

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 605-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jere R. Francis ◽  
Matthew L. Pinnuck ◽  
Olena Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Internal Working ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Auditing Standards ◽  
Reported Earnings ◽  
Working Rules

ABSTRACT The term “audit style” is used to characterize the unique set of internal working rules of each Big 4 audit firm for the implementation of auditing standards and the enforcement of GAAP within their clienteles. Audit style implies that two companies audited by the same Big 4 auditor, subject to the same audit style, are more likely to have comparable earnings than two firms audited by two different Big 4 firms with different styles. By comparable we mean that two firms in the same industry and year will have a more similar accruals and earnings structure. For a sample of U.S. companies for the period 1987 to 2011, we find evidence consistent with audit style increasing the comparability of reported earnings within a Big 4 auditor's clientele. Data Availability: All data are publicly available from the sources identified in the text.

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