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Does board independence substitute for external audit quality? Evidence from an exogenous regulatory shock

Author

Listed:
  • Pornsit Jiraporn

    (School of Graduate Professional Studies, Pennsylvania State University, Malvern, PA, USA)

  • Pandej Chintrakarn

    (Business Administration Division, Mahidol University International College, Salaya, Thailand)

  • Shenghui Tong

    (China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd.)

  • Sirimon Treepongkaruna

    (Accounting and Finance Discipline (M250), UWA Business School, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia)

Abstract

Exploiting the passage of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) as an exogenous regulatory shock, we investigate whether board independence substitutes for external audit quality. Based on over 14,000 observations across 18 years, our difference-in-difference estimates show that firms forced to raise board independence are far less likely to employ a Big 4 auditor. In particular, board independence lowers the propensity to use a Big 4 auditor by approximately 38%. Firms with stronger board independence enjoy more effective governance and therefore do not need as much external audit quality as those with less effective governance do. Based on a natural experiment, our empirical strategy is far less vulnerable to endogeneity and is thus considerably more likely to show a causal effect, rather than merely an association.

Suggested Citation

  • Pornsit Jiraporn & Pandej Chintrakarn & Shenghui Tong & Sirimon Treepongkaruna, 2018. "Does board independence substitute for external audit quality? Evidence from an exogenous regulatory shock," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 43(1), pages 27-41, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:43:y:2018:i:1:p:27-41
    DOI: 10.1177/0312896217712334
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    Cited by:

    1. Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Treepongkaruna, Sirimon, 2021. "How do independent directors view generalist vs. specialist CEOs? Evidence from an exogenous regulatory shock," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Husam Aldamen & Keith Duncan & Simone Kelly & Ray McNamara, 2020. "Corporate governance and family firm performance during the Global Financial Crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(2), pages 1673-1701, June.
    3. repec:mth:ijafr8:v:8:y:2018:i:4:p:287-306 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Kijkasiwat, Ploypailin & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Lee, Sang Mook, 2023. "Customer concentration, managerial risk aversion, and independent directors: A quasi-natural experiment," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 358-368.
    5. Ongsakul, Viput & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2019. "How do independent directors view powerful executive risk-taking incentives? A quasi-natural experiment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    6. Shahanif Hasan & Aza Azlina Md. Kassim & Mohamad Ali Abdul Hamid, 2020. "The Impact of Audit Quality, Audit Committee and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from Malaysia," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(5), pages 272-281.
    7. Bansal, Shashank & Thenmozhi, M., 2020. "Does concentrated founder ownership affect board independence? Role of corporate life cycle and ownership identity," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    8. Pandej Chintrakarn & Pornsit Jiraporn & Shenghui Tong & Napatsorn Jiraporn & Richard Proctor, 2020. "How do independent directors view corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 55(4), pages 697-716, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Auditor; board independence; corporate governance; exogenous shock; independent directors; natural experiment; Sarbanes–Oxley;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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