In this paper, we identify instances in which the auditor-client relationship has been terminated (i.e., the auditor resigns or the client dismisses the auditor) but the auditor continues to complete a subsequent quarterly review. Using discretionary accruals and earnings benchmark tests to proxy for the extent of earnings management, we contrast earnings management behavior during these “lame ...

This paper reviews literatures related to auditor independence and audit quality. The review is structured based on the four main threats to auditor independence, namely client importance, nonaudit services, auditor tenure, and client’s affiliation with CPA firms. For each of the threats, we discuss findings related to the incentives, perception, and behavior of the auditor and the client, the ...

Although the published literature on auditor independence is extensive, an accepted comprehensive theory, framework or model of auditor independence risk does not exist. This paper develops a formal model of auditor independence risk that may be used to begin a more rigorous investigation of auditor independence and various factors that are thought to affect this risk. The sensitivity of the mo...

Auditor selection can be regarded as a matter of audit quality. Research studies aiming to model the auditor choice employ statistical techniques. Here we employ three techniques derived from the Data Mining domain to build models capable of discriminating cases where companies choose a Big 4 or a Non-Big 4 auditor. Significant factors associated with the auditor choice are revealed. The three ...

Auditor appointment can be regarded as a matter of pursued audit quality and is driven by several factors. The adoption of an effective auditor procurement process increases the likelihood that a company will engage the right auditor at a fair price. In this study, three techniques derived from artifi cial intelligence (AI) are used to propose models capable of discriminating between cases wher...

We present Data Auditor, a tool for exploring data quality and data semantics. Given a rule or an integrity constraint and a target relation, Data Auditor computes pattern tableaux, which concisely summarize subsets of the relation that (mostly) satisfy or (mostly) fail the constraint. This paper describes 1) the architecture and user interface of Data Auditor, 2) the supported constraints for ...

Mandatory auditor rotation is designed to increase auditor independence. However, there already exist substantial regulations that ensure auditor independence, such as mandatory audit partner rotation, requiring auditor selection and supervision by audit committees consisting of independent directors, and limitations on the non-audit fees audit firms receive from the companies they audit. Many ...

This study examines the association between auditor-provided tax services (APTS) and financial reporting quality to determine if APTS impairs auditor independence or generates knowledge spillover. Lower (higher) financial reporting quality is generally viewed as evidence supporting auditor independence impairment (knowledge spillover). We use the quality of the income tax accrual estimate from ...

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank Daniel O'Leary (editor), Bob Berry (former editor) for the encouragement and three anonymous referees for their helpful comments. Summary Auditor appointment can be regarded as a matter of pursued audit quality and is driven by several factors. The adoption of an effective auditor procurement process increases the likelihood that a company will engage the ...

We investigate the effectiveness of proportionate liability in reducing the probability of fraud and audit risk relative to joint and several liability in two strategic audit settings: one that provides conclusive evidence of fraud and one that provides inconclusive evidence of fraud. In both settings the auditor makes an audit effort choice, but in the second setting the auditor also evaluates...