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Does audit quality matter more for firms with high investment opportunities?

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  • Lai, Kam-Wah

Abstract

This paper examines the association of firms with high investment opportunities with high quality audits (proxied by Big 5 auditors) and whether that association results in a lower likelihood of earnings management. Firms with high investment opportunities may demand high quality audits for curbing earnings management. This is because they have more flexibility in the provision of discretionary accruals that arises from the attendant operating uncertainty which creates particular monitoring problems. Big 5 auditors will provide high quality audits that will constrain earnings management for firms with high investment opportunities because the risk of losing (and hence the likelihood of maintaining) auditor independence is higher. Results show the following. First, firms with high investment opportunities are more likely to hire Big 5 auditors than firms with low investment opportunities. Second, firms with high investment opportunities are more likely to have more discretionary accruals but this relationship is weaker when they have Big 5 auditors. These results are robust to various sensitivity tests.

Suggested Citation

  • Lai, Kam-Wah, 2009. "Does audit quality matter more for firms with high investment opportunities?," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 33-50.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jappol:v:28:y:2009:i:1:p:33-50
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sung Kwon & Jennifer Yin, 2015. "A comparison of earnings persistence in high-tech and non-high-tech firms," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 645-668, May.
    2. Ball, Ray & Jayaraman, Sudarshan & Shivakumar, Lakshmanan, 2012. "Audited financial reporting and voluntary disclosure as complements: A test of the Confirmation Hypothesis," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 136-166.
    3. Elnahass, Marwa & Salama, Aly & Yusuf, Noora, 2022. "Earnings management and internal governance mechanisms: The role of religiosity," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    4. Briozzo, Anahi & Albanese, Diana, 2020. "Voluntary audit, investment, and financing decisions in Latin American small and medium enterprises," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    5. Malikov, Kamran & Manson, Stuart & Coakley, Jerry, 2018. "Earnings management using classification shifting of revenues," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 291-305.
    6. Yasser Eliwa & Ahmed Aboud & Ahmed Saleh, 2023. "Board gender diversity and ESG decoupling: Does religiosity matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4046-4067, November.
    7. Zeinab Azami & Tabandeh Salehi, 2017. "The relationship between audit report delay and investment opportunities," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 7(3), pages 437-449, December.
    8. Lai, Kam-Wah, 2013. "Audit Reporting of Big 4 Versus Non-Big 4 Auditors: The Case of Ex-Andersen Clients," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 495-524.
    9. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani & Vahid Oskou & Reza Takor, 2016. "Audit Quality and Earning Management in Tehran Stock Exchange Listed Companies," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 6(1), pages 142-149, January.
    10. Kam‐Wah Lai & Gopal V. Krishnan, 2009. "Are non‐audit services associated with firm value? Evidence from financial information system‐related services," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 49(3), pages 599-617, September.
    11. Lai, Kam-Wah, 2019. "Audit report lag, audit fees, and audit quality following an audit firm merger: Evidence from Hong Kong," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Abdelsalam, Omneya & Dimitropoulos, Panagiotis & Elnahass, Marwa & Leventis, Stergios, 2016. "Earnings management behaviors under different monitoring mechanisms: The case of Islamic and conventional banks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 132(S), pages 155-173.
    13. Elaoud, Assawer & Jarboui, Anis, 2017. "Auditor specialization, accounting information quality and investment efficiency," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 616-629.
    14. Lai, Kam-Wah, 2011. "The cost of debt when all-equity firms raise sfinance: The role of investment opportunities, audit quality and debt maturity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1931-1940, August.
    15. Salem, Rami & Usman, Muhammad & Ezeani, Ernest, 2021. "Loan loss provisions and audit quality: Evidence from MENA Islamic and conventional banks," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 345-359.
    16. Abdelsalam, Omneya & Chantziaras, Antonios & Ibrahim, Masud & Omoteso, Kamil, 2021. "The impact of religiosity on earnings quality: International evidence from the banking sector," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    17. Kam-Wah Lai & Ferdinand A. Gul, 2021. "Do failed auditors receive lower audit fees from continuing engagements?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1159-1190, April.
    18. Dennis M. López & Marshall K. Pitman, 2013. "Auditor workload compression and busy season portfolio changes – U.S. evidence," Working Papers 0216acc, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    19. Stergios Leventis & Panagiotis Dimitropoulos, 2012. "The role of corporate governance in earnings management: experience from US banks," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(2), pages 161-177, September.
    20. Xingqiang Du & Shaojuan Lai, 2018. "Financial Distress, Investment Opportunity, and the Contagion Effect of Low Audit Quality: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 565-593, February.

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