IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aosoci/v37y2012i4p223-241.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of strategic and operating turnaround initiatives on audit reporting for distressed companies

Author

Listed:
  • Bruynseels, Liesbeth
  • Willekens, Marleen

Abstract

Empirical research on the effect of turnaround initiatives on audit reporting is scant. This paper addresses this gap by examining audit reporting for distressed companies and its association with a broad array of strategic and operating turnaround initiatives. In particular, we study the association between business risk information and going-concern decisions for distressed clients. Using a sample of distressed firms in the US manufacturing industry, we find that both short-term cash flow potential as well as strategic growth and hence long-term cash flow potential are necessary for strategic turnaround initiatives to have a mitigating impact on the auditor’s going-concern decision. Strategic turnaround initiatives for which only one of these two conditions holds and operating turnaround initiatives appear to function as going-concern risk factors as they are associated with a higher likelihood that a going-concern opinion will be issued. We also find that specialist and non-specialist auditors assess the mitigating potential of some but not all turnaround initiatives differently. Overall, our results suggest that auditors’ strategic risk assessment (typically done in a business risk auditing context) is associated with the outcome of the audit process (the opinion).

Suggested Citation

  • Bruynseels, Liesbeth & Willekens, Marleen, 2012. "The effect of strategic and operating turnaround initiatives on audit reporting for distressed companies," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 223-241.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:37:y:2012:i:4:p:223-241
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2012.03.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368212000256
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.aos.2012.03.001?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. Chee‐Yeow Lim & Hun‐Tong Tan, 2008. "Non‐audit Service Fees and Audit Quality: The Impact of Auditor Specialization," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 199-246, March.
    2. Mutchler, JF & Hopwood, W & McKeown, JM, 1997. "The influence of contrary information and mitigating factors on audit opinion decisions on bankrupt companies," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 295-310.
    3. Noel Capon & John U. Farley & Donald R. Lehmann & James M. Hulbert, 1992. "Profiles of Product Innovators Among Large U.S. Manufacturers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(2), pages 157-169, February.
    4. Garry D. Bruton & David Ahlstrom & Johnny C. C. Wan, 2003. "Turnaround in East Asian firms: evidence from ethnic Overseas Chinese communities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(6), pages 519-540, June.
    5. Mark L. DeFond & K. Raghunandan & K.R. Subramanyam, 2002. "Do Non–Audit Service Fees Impair Auditor Independence? Evidence from Going Concern Audit Opinions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 1247-1274, September.
    6. Craswell, Allen T. & Francis, Jere R. & Taylor, Stephen L., 1995. "Auditor brand name reputations and industry specializations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 297-322, December.
    7. Bell, Tb & Tabor, Rh, 1991. "Empirical-Analysis Of Audit Uncertainty Qualifications," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 350-370.
    8. El’Fred Boo & Roger Simnett, 2002. "The Information Content of Management’s Prospective Comments in Financially Distressed Companies: A Note," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 38(2), pages 280-295, June.
    9. Edward C. Norton & Hua Wang & Chunrong Ai, 2004. "Computing interaction effects and standard errors in logit and probit models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(2), pages 154-167, June.
    10. Power, Michael, 2007. "Business risk auditing - Debating the history of its present," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 379-382.
    11. Zmijewski, Me, 1984. "Methodological Issues Related To The Estimation Of Financial Distress Prediction Models," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22, pages 59-82.
    12. Kent D Miller, 1992. "A Framework for Integrated Risk Management in International Business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(2), pages 311-331, June.
    13. Vincent L. Barker Iii & Irene M. Duhaime, 1997. "Strategic Change In The Turnaround Process: Theory And Empirical Evidence," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 13-38, January.
    14. Bruce C. Branson & Daryl M. Guffey & Donald P. Pagach, 1998. "Information Conveyed in Announcements of Analyst Coverage," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 119-143, June.
    15. Knechel, W. Robert, 2007. "The business risk audit: Origins, obstacles and opportunities," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 383-408.
    16. Robson, Keith & Humphrey, Christopher & Khalifa, Rihab & Jones, Julian, 2007. "Transforming audit technologies: Business risk audit methodologies and the audit field," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 409-438.
    17. Raj Echambadi & James D. Hess, 2007. "Mean-Centering Does Not Alleviate Collinearity Problems in Moderated Multiple Regression Models," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 438-445, 05-06.
    18. Peecher, Mark E. & Schwartz, Rachel & Solomon, Ira, 2007. "It's all about audit quality: Perspectives on strategic-systems auditing," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 463-485.
    19. Vincent E. Owhoso & William F. Messier, Jr. & John G. Lynch, Jr., 2002. "Error Detection by Industry‐Specialized Teams during Sequential Audit Review," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 883-900, June.
    20. Yuri Mishina & Timothy G. Pollock & Joseph F. Porac, 2004. "Are more resources always better for growth? Resource stickiness in market and product expansion," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(12), pages 1179-1197, December.
    21. Numan, Wieteke & Willekens, Marleen, 2012. "An empirical test of spatial competition in the audit market," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 450-465.
    22. Ai, Chunrong & Norton, Edward C., 2003. "Interaction terms in logit and probit models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 123-129, July.
    23. Toby E. Stuart, 2000. "Interorganizational alliances and the performance of firms: a study of growth and innovation rates in a high‐technology industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(8), pages 791-811, August.
    24. Curtis, Emer & Turley, Stuart, 2007. "The business risk audit - A longitudinal case study of an audit engagement," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 439-461.
    25. 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.
    26. Vincent L. Barker & Mark A. Mone, 1994. "Retrenchment: Cause of turnaround or consequence of decline?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(5), pages 395-405, June.
    27. Glenn Hoetker, 2007. "The use of logit and probit models in strategic management research: Critical issues," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 331-343, April.
    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. Haoming Wang & Xiangdong Liu, 2021. "Undersampling bankruptcy prediction: Taiwan bankruptcy data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(7), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Mohammad Namazi & Navid Reza Namazi, 2017. "An empirical investigation of the effects of moderating and mediating variables in business research: Insights from an auditing report," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 11(4), December.
    3. Kim, Hyonok & Fukukawa, Hironori & Routledge, James, 2020. "A comparison of management and auditor going concern risk disclosure: Evidence from regulatory change in Japan," Working Paper Series 234, Management Innovation Research Center, School of Business Administration, Hitotsubashi University Business School.
    4. Xiaolu Xu & Leo L. Yang & Joseph H. Zhang, 2022. "How do auditors respond to client firms’ technological peer pressure? Evidence from going‐concern opinions," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(9-10), pages 1553-1580, October.
    5. Andrea Caputo & Alberto Tron, 2016. "The attestation of corporate turnaround plans in Italy: operating problems and possible solutions," International Journal of Critical Accounting, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(1), pages 30-44.
    6. Jian Cao & Thomas R. Kubick & Adi N. S. Masli, 2017. "Do corporate payouts signal going-concern risk for auditors? Evidence from audit reports for companies in financial distress," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 599-631, October.
    7. Dan Dhaliwal & Paul N. Michas & Vic Naiker & Divesh Sharma, 2020. "Greater Reliance on Major Customers and Auditor Going‐Concern Opinions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(1), pages 160-188, March.
    8. Larelle Chapple & James Routledge, 2020. "Board Turnover and Reorganisation Outcomes: Evidence from Voluntary Administration," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 30(3), pages 212-224, September.
    9. Geiger, Marshall A. & Basioudis, Ilias G. & DeLange, Paul, 2022. "The effect of non-audit fees and industry specialization on the prevalence and accuracy of auditor’s going-concern reporting decisions," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).

    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. Geiger, Marshall A. & Basioudis, Ilias G. & DeLange, Paul, 2022. "The effect of non-audit fees and industry specialization on the prevalence and accuracy of auditor’s going-concern reporting decisions," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    2. Stephen V. Brown & W. Robert Knechel, 2016. "Auditor–Client Compatibility and Audit Firm Selection," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 725-775, June.
    3. Knechel, W. Robert & Salterio, Steven E. & Kochetova-Kozloski, Natalia, 2010. "The effect of benchmarked performance measures and strategic analysis on auditors' risk assessments and mental models," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 316-333, April.
    4. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    5. Yu‐Feng Hsu & Wei‐Po Lee, 2020. "Evaluation of the going‐concern status for companies: An ensemble framework‐based model," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 687-706, July.
    6. Nathan R. Berglund, 2020. "Do Client Bankruptcies Preceded by Clean Audit Opinions Damage Auditor Reputation?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 1914-1951, September.
    7. 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.
    8. Timothy B. Bell & David B. Bryan, 2021. "Effectiveness, efficiency, and fee premiums in audits led by industry specialist partners," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4513-4572, September.
    9. Sarowar Hossain & Larelle Chapple & Gary S. Monroe, 2018. "Does auditor gender affect issuing going‐concern decisions for financially distressed clients?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(4), pages 1027-1061, December.
    10. Bills, Kenneth L. & Cobabe, Matthew & Pittman, Jeffrey & Stein, Sarah E., 2020. "To share or not to share: The importance of peer firm similarity to auditor choice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    11. Lars Schweizer & Andreas Nienhaus, 2017. "Corporate distress and turnaround: integrating the literature and directing future research," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 10(1), pages 3-47, June.
    12. Timothy B. Bell & Monika Causholli & W. Robert Knechel, 2015. "Audit Firm Tenure, Non‐Audit Services, and Internal Assessments of Audit Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 461-509, June.
    13. Sanoran, Kanyarat (Lek), 2018. "Auditors’ going concern reporting accuracy during and after the global financial crisis," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 164-178.
    14. Burks, Jeffrey J. & Randolph, David W. & Seida, Jim A., 2019. "Modeling and interpreting regressions with interactions," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 61-79.
    15. Wright, William F., 2016. "Client business models, process business risks and the risk of material misstatement of revenue," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 43-55.
    16. Seema Miglani & Kamran Ahmed & Darren Henry, 2020. "Corporate governance and turnaround: Evidence from Australia," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 45(4), pages 549-578, November.
    17. Tsipouridou, Maria & Spathis, Charalambos, 2014. "Audit opinion and earnings management: Evidence from Greece," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 38-54.
    18. Thomas C. Omer & Nathan Y. Sharp & Dechun Wang, 2018. "The Impact of Religion on the Going Concern Reporting Decisions of Local Audit Offices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(4), pages 811-831, June.
    19. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Quan Zeng & Yingying Chang, 2018. "Do Auditors Applaud Corporate Environmental Performance? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1049-1080, September.
    20. Keval Amin & John Daniel Eshleman & Peng Guo, 2021. "Investor Sentiment, Misstatements, and Auditor Behavior," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 483-517, March.

    More about this item

    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:eee:aosoci:v:37:y:2012:i:4:p:223-241. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aos .

    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.