IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/rqfnac/v45y2015i1p1-32.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Earnings quality, internal control weaknesses and industry-specialist audits

Author

Listed:
  • Bikki Jaggi
  • Santanu Mitra
  • Mahmud Hossain

Abstract

Previous studies demonstrate that the quality of audit services provided by industry specialist auditors is higher than that of non-specialist auditors (e.g., Reichelt and Wang in J Account Res 48(3):647–686, 2010 ; Gul et al. in J Account Econ 47:265–287, 2009 ; Payne in Audit J Pract Theory 27(2):109–136, 2008 ; Balsam et al. in Audit J Pract Theory 22(2):71–97, 2003 ; Krishnan in Account Horizons (Supplement):1–16, 2003 ). Implementation of Section 404 of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) presents special challenges to auditors to maintain the credibility of audit services when their clients have internal control weaknesses (ICW). This study examines whether audits of ICW firms by industry-specialists reflect a better earnings quality compared to audits by non-specialists in the post-SOX period. We use the matched pair sample constructed on the basis of propensity score matching process that controls for endogeneity and auditor’s self-selection bias and evaluate earnings quality measured in terms of performance-adjusted discretionary accruals and accruals quality. Our multivariate regression analyses produce evidence that earnings quality of the ICW firms audited by Big 4 industry specialists is higher than that of the ICW firms audited by Big 4 non-specialists. The superior specialist effect is, however, mainly confined to the firms having pervasive company-level control weaknesses. We find inconsequential difference between earnings quality of the firms with account-specific ICW regardless of whether they are audited by specialist and non-specialist auditors. Our additional analyses further show that any earnings quality difference between Big 4 and non-Big 4 clients is mainly attributed to specialist audit services provided by Big 4 auditors. We do not find any earnings quality difference between Big 4 non-specialists and non-Big 4 clients. Collectively, our study shows that in the enhanced regulatory post-SOX period, Big 4 auditors still provide higher quality audits if they have industry expertise, especially in a situation where companies have pervasive company-level control weaknesses. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Bikki Jaggi & Santanu Mitra & Mahmud Hossain, 2015. "Earnings quality, internal control weaknesses and industry-specialist audits," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 1-32, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:45:y:2015:i:1:p:1-32
    DOI: 10.1007/s11156-013-0431-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11156-013-0431-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11156-013-0431-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. DeFond, Mark L., 2010. "How should the auditors be audited? Comparing the PCAOB Inspections with the AICPA Peer Reviews," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1-2), pages 104-108, February.
    2. Bin N. Srinidhi & Ferdinand A. Gul, 2007. "The Differential Effects of Auditors' Nonaudit and Audit Fees on Accrual Quality," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(2), pages 595-629, June.
    3. David F. Larcker & Scott A. Richardson, 2004. "Fees Paid to Audit Firms, Accrual Choices, and Corporate Governance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 625-658, June.
    4. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    5. Subramanyam, K. R., 1996. "The pricing of discretionary accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1-3), pages 249-281, October.
    6. DeFond, Mark L. & Park, Chul W., 1997. "Smoothing income in anticipation of future earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 115-139, July.
    7. Solomon, I & Shields, MD & Whittington, OR, 1999. "What do industry-specialist auditors know?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 191-208.
    8. Bannister, James W & Newman, Harry A, 1996. "Accrual Usage to Manage Earnings toward Financial Analysts' Forecasts," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 259-278, November.
    9. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    10. Francis, Jere R., 2004. "What do we know about audit quality?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 345-368.
    11. DeFond, Mark L. & Subramanyam, K. R., 1998. "Auditor changes and discretionary accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 35-67, February.
    12. Ray Ball & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2006. "The Role of Accruals in Asymmetrically Timely Gain and Loss Recognition," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 207-242, May.
    13. Boone, Jeff P. & Khurana, Inder K. & Raman, K.K., 2010. "Do the Big 4 and the Second-tier firms provide audits of similar quality?," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 330-352, July.
    14. Kasznik, R, 1999. "On the association between voluntary disclosure and earnings management," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 57-81.
    15. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    16. Klein, April, 2002. "Audit committee, board of director characteristics, and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 375-400, August.
    17. Paul Hribar & Daniel W. Collins, 2002. "Errors in Estimating Accruals: Implications for Empirical Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 105-134, March.
    18. John Kim & John Li & Fang Sun, 2013. "Pension Contributions and Earnings Quality," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(01), pages 1-31.
    19. McNichols, Maureen F., 2000. "Research design issues in earnings management studies," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4-5), pages 313-345.
    20. Kenneth J. Reichelt & Dechun Wang, 2010. "National and Office‐Specific Measures of Auditor Industry Expertise and Effects on Audit Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 647-686, June.
    21. Antle, R & Nalebuff, B, 1991. "Conservatism And Auditor-Client Negotiations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29, pages 31-54.
    22. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Fung, Simon Yu Kit & Jaggi, Bikki, 2009. "Earnings quality: Some evidence on the role of auditor tenure and auditors' industry expertise," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 265-287, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jun Guo & Pinghsun Huang & Yan Zhang, 2019. "Do debt covenant violations serve as a risk factor of ineffective internal control?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 231-251, January.
    2. Sharad Asthana, 2017. "Diversification by the audit offices in the US and its impact on audit quality," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1003-1030, May.
    3. Mounia Boulhaga & Abdelfettah Bouri & Hany Elbardan, 2022. "The effect of internal control quality on real and accrual-based earnings management: evidence from France," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 545-567, December.
    4. Ching-Lung Chen & Chung-Yu Chen, 2018. "Do Weak Internal Controls Affect Institutional Ownership Decisions?," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(03), pages 1-37, September.
    5. Chan Li & K. K. Raman & Lili Sun & Rong Yang, 2020. "The SOX 404 control audit and the effectiveness of additional audit effort in lowering the risk of financial misstatements," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 981-1009, April.
    6. Gerald J. Lobo & Yuan Xie & Joseph H. Zhang, 2018. "Innovation, financial reporting quality, and audit quality," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 719-749, October.
    7. Hanwen Chen & Wang Dong & Hongling Han & Nan Zhou, 2017. "A comprehensive and quantitative internal control index: construction, validation, and impact," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 337-377, August.
    8. Wunhong Su & Liuzhen Zhang & Chao Ge & Shuai Chen, 2022. "Association between Internal Control and Sustainability: A Literature Review Based on the SOX Act Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-30, August.
    9. Helena Isidro & José G. Dias, 2017. "Earnings quality and the heterogeneous relation between earnings and stock returns," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 1143-1165, November.
    10. Chalmers, Keryn & Hay, David & Khlif, Hichem, 2019. "Internal control in accounting research: A review," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 80-103.
    11. Yi-Hsing Liao & Hua Lee & Chao-Jung Chen, 2023. "The informational role of audit partner industry specialization," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 69-109, January.
    12. Sharad Asthana & Inder Khurana & K. K. Raman, 2019. "Fee competition among Big 4 auditors and audit quality," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 403-438, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    2. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    3. Jorge Farinha & Luis Filipe Viana, 2006. "Board structure and modified audit opinions: the case of the Portuguese Stock Exchange," CEF.UP Working Papers 0609, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    4. Xingqiang Du, 2019. "Does CEO-Auditor Dialect Sharing Impair Pre-IPO Audit Quality? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 699-735, May.
    5. Tsipouridou, Maria & Spathis, Charalambos, 2012. "Earnings management and the role of auditors in an unusual IFRS context: The case of Greece," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 62-78.
    6. Maria Tsipouridou & Charalambos Spathis, 2014. "Audit opinion and earnings management: Evidence from Greece," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 38-54, March.
    7. Chad R. Larson & Richard Sloan & Jenny Zha Giedt, 2018. "Defining, measuring, and modeling accruals: a guide for researchers," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 827-871, September.
    8. Alzoubi, Ebraheem Saleem Salem, 2018. "Audit quality, debt financing, and earnings management: Evidence from Jordan," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 69-84.
    9. Ferrer García, Cristina & Laínez Gadea, José Antonio, 2013. "Detectando diferencias en la medición de la calidad del resultado: evidencia empírica para empresas españolas || Detecting Differences on the Earnings Quality Measurement: Empirical Evidence on Spanis," Revista de Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa = Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, vol. 16(1), pages 5-28, December.
    10. Anagnostopoulou, Seraina C. & Tsekrekos, Andrianos E., 2015. "Earnings management in firms seeking to be acquired," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 351-375.
    11. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Fung, Simon Yu Kit & Jaggi, Bikki, 2009. "Earnings quality: Some evidence on the role of auditor tenure and auditors' industry expertise," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 265-287, June.
    12. Carcello, Joseph V. & Hollingsworth, Carl & Mastrolia, Stacy A., 2011. "The effect of PCAOB inspections on Big 4 audit quality," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 85-96.
    13. Sarowar Hossain & Jenny Jing Wang, 2023. "Abnormal audit fees and audit quality: Australian evidence," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 48(3), pages 596-624, August.
    14. Othman, Hakim Ben & Zeghal, Daniel, 2006. "A study of earnings-management motives in the Anglo-American and Euro-Continental accounting models: The Canadian and French cases," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 406-435, 012.
    15. Bradley, Daniel & Gokkaya, Sinan & Liu, Xi & Xie, Fei, 2017. "Are all analysts created equal? Industry expertise and monitoring effectiveness of financial analysts," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 179-206.
    16. Paul Hribar & D. Craig Nichols, 2007. "The Use of Unsigned Earnings Quality Measures in Tests of Earnings Management," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 1017-1053, December.
    17. Timothy A. Seidel & Chad A. Simon & Nathaniel M. Stephens, 2020. "Management bias across multiple accounting estimates," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 1-53, March.
    18. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    19. Mohamed Khalil & Aydin Ozkan, 2016. "Board Independence, Audit Quality and Earnings Management: Evidence from Egypt," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 15(1), pages 84-118, April.
    20. Giuseppe Iuliano & Gaetano Matonti, 2015. "Do big 4 audit companies detect earnings management and report it in the audit opinion? Empirical evidence from italian non-listed firms," ESPERIENZE D'IMPRESA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(2), pages 5-43.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Discretionary accruals; Accruals quality; Audit quality; Internal control weaknesses; SOX Section 404; Auditor’s industry specialization; Company-level and account-specific internal control weaknesses; Earnings quality; M40; M41; M42;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:45:y:2015:i:1:p:1-32. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.