IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v15y2013icp72-91.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Executive integrity, audit opinion, and fraud in Chinese listed firms

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Jiandong
  • Cumming, Douglas
  • Hou, Wenxuan
  • Lee, Edward

Abstract

We examine the influence of auditors on mitigating corporate fraud in China, which is known to have weak legal enforcement, weak investor protection along with tight control of the media and labour unions. We find that firms with executives that have lower integrity, indicated by a greater degree of earnings manipulation, are associated with higher propensity of regulatory enforcement actions against corporate fraud in the subsequent year. We show that this effect is moderated by the issuance of a modified audit opinion report by the auditors. This finding implies that auditors can serve as external governance mechanism to discourage executives with lower integrity in committing fraud. Our results have policy implications for further strengthening auditor independence in emerging countries like China.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Jiandong & Cumming, Douglas & Hou, Wenxuan & Lee, Edward, 2013. "Executive integrity, audit opinion, and fraud in Chinese listed firms," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 72-91.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:15:y:2013:i:c:p:72-91
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2012.12.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014113000022
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2012.12.003?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. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:6:p:1935-1974 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. M. J. Nowak & M. McCabe, 2003. "Information Costs and the Role of the Independent Corporate Director," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(4), pages 300-307, October.
    3. Bergstresser, Daniel & Philippon, Thomas, 2006. "CEO incentives and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 511-529, June.
    4. Louis, Henock, 2004. "Earnings management and the market performance of acquiring firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 121-148, October.
    5. 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.
    6. J. V. Hansen & J. B. McDonald & W. F. Messier, Jr. & T. B. Bell, 1996. "A Generalized Qualitative-Response Model and the Analysis of Management Fraud," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(7), pages 1022-1032, July.
    7. Jeffrey Cohen & Yuan Ding & Cédric Lesage & Hervé Stolowy, 2010. "Corporate Fraud and Managers’ Behavior: Evidence from the Press," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 271-315, September.
    8. Chunxin Jia & Shujun Ding & Yuanshun Li & Zhenyu Wu, 2009. "Fraud, Enforcement Action, and the Role of Corporate Governance: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(4), pages 561-576, December.
    9. Shujun Ding & Chunxin Jia & Yuanshun Li & Zhenyu Wu, 2010. "Reactivity and Passivity After Enforcement Actions: Better Late Than Never," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 337-359, September.
    10. Marianne Bertrand & Paras Mehta & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2002. "Ferreting out Tunneling: An Application to Indian Business Groups," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 121-148.
    11. Johnson, W. Bruce & Lys, Thomas, 1990. "The market for audit services : Evidence from voluntary auditor changes," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1-3), pages 281-308, January.
    12. Black, William K., 2005. ""Control frauds" as financial super-predators: How "pathogens" make financial markets inefficient," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 734-755, December.
    13. Chung, Richard & Firth, Michael & Kim, Jeong-Bon, 2002. "Institutional monitoring and opportunistic earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 29-48, January.
    14. Degeorge, Francois & Patel, Jayendu & Zeckhauser, Richard, 1999. "Earnings Management to Exceed Thresholds," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(1), pages 1-33, January.
    15. Denis, David J. & Hanouna, Paul & Sarin, Atulya, 2006. "Is there a dark side to incentive compensation?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 467-488, June.
    16. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    17. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    18. Firth, Michael & Fung, Peter M.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2006. "Corporate performance and CEO compensation in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 693-714, September.
    19. Jong†Hag Choi & T. J. Wong, 2007. "Auditors' Governance Functions and Legal Environments: An International Investigation," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(1), pages 13-46, March.
    20. DeAngelo, Linda Elizabeth, 1981. "Auditor size and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-199, December.
    21. Teoh, Siew Hong & Welch, Ivo & Wong, T. J., 1998. "Earnings management and the underperformance of seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 63-99, October.
    22. Haidan Li & Morton Pincus & Sonja Olhoft Rego, 2008. "Market Reaction to Events Surrounding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Earnings Management," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(1), pages 111-134, February.
    23. Timothy Besley & Andrea Prat, 2006. "Handcuffs for the Grabbing Hand? Media Capture and Government Accountability," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(3), pages 720-736, June.
    24. Yuan Ding & Hua Zhang & Junxi Zhang, 2007. "Private vs State Ownership and Earnings Management: evidence from Chinese listed companies," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 223-238, March.
    25. Datar, Srikant M. & Feltham, Gerald A. & Hughes, John S., 1991. "The role of audits and audit quality in valuing new issues," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 3-49, March.
    26. Alexander Dyck & Adair Morse & Luigi Zingales, 2010. "Who Blows the Whistle on Corporate Fraud?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(6), pages 2213-2253, December.
    27. Chen, Gongmeng & Firth, Michael & Gao, Daniel N. & Rui, Oliver M., 2006. "Ownership structure, corporate governance, and fraud: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 424-448, June.
    28. Roger Martin, 2007. "Through the Ethics Looking Glass: Another View of the World of Auditors and Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(1), pages 5-14, January.
    29. Rangan, Srinivasan, 1998. "Earnings management and the performance of seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 101-122, October.
    30. Patricia M. Dechow & Richard G. Sloan & Amy P. Sweeney, 1996. "Causes and Consequences of Earnings Manipulation: An Analysis of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions by the SEC," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 1-36, March.
    31. Marie A. McKendall & John A. Wagner, 1997. "Motive, Opportunity, Choice, and Corporate Illegality," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(6), pages 624-647, December.
    32. Wang, Qian & Wong, T.J. & Xia, Lijun, 2008. "State ownership, the institutional environment, and auditor choice: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 112-134, September.
    33. Michael C. Jensen, 2003. "Paying People to Lie: the Truth about the Budgeting Process," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 9(3), pages 379-406, September.
    34. Hou, Wenxuan & Kuo, Jing-Ming & Lee, Edward, 2012. "The impact of state ownership on share price informativeness: The case of the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 248-261.
    35. Merle Erickson & Michelle Hanlon & Edward L. Maydew, 2006. "Is There a Link between Executive Equity Incentives and Accounting Fraud?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 113-143, March.
    36. Firth, Michael & Rui, Oliver M. & Wu, Wenfeng, 2011. "Cooking the books: Recipes and costs of falsified financial statements in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 371-390, April.
    37. Wenxuan Hou & Geoff Moore, 2010. "Player and Referee Roles Held Jointly: The Effect of State Ownership on China’s Regulatory Enforcement Against Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 317-335, September.
    38. Caramanis, Constantinos & Lennox, Clive, 2008. "Audit effort and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 116-138, March.
    39. Firth, Michael & Fung, Peter M.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2007. "Ownership, two-tier board structure, and the informativeness of earnings - Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 463-496.
    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. Shi, Lulu & Liu, Yi, 2024. "Potential alliance partners' reactions to focal firm misconduct: Incongruence across capability and character reputation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    2. Del Gaudio, Belinda L. & Salerno, Dario & Sampagnaro, Gabriele & Verdoliva, Vincenzo, 2022. "Misconduct risk in banking services: Does a propensity to be sanctioned exist?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Lars Helge Haß & Sofia Johan & Maximilian André Müller, 2016. "The Effectiveness of Public Enforcement: Evidence from the Resolution of Tunneling in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 649-668, April.
    4. Emad Noureldeen & Mohamed Elsayed & Ahmed A. Elamer & Jianming Ye, 2024. "Two-tier board characteristics and expanded audit reporting: Evidence from China," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 195-235, July.
    5. Zhong, Ruohan & Li, Yanxi & Wang, Yun, 2021. "Multiple large shareholders, control contests, and forced CEO turnover," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    6. Cumming, Douglas & Dannhauser, Robert & Johan, Sofia, 2015. "Financial market misconduct and agency conflicts: A synthesis and future directions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 150-168.
    7. Yusi Jiang & Tianyu Gong & Wan Cheng & Yapu Zhao, 2023. "Repression or indulgence? Distinctive government influence on firm financial and environmental misconduct in China," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 379-402, February.
    8. Wang, Yizhong & Chen, Lifang & Huang, Ying Sophie & Li, Yong, 2018. "How does credit market distortion affect corporate investment efficiency? The role of managerial forecast," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 266-273.
    9. Choi, Daewoung & Gam, Yong Kyu & Shin, Hojong, 2020. "Corporate fraud under pyramidal ownership structure: Evidence from a regulatory reform," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    10. Ma, Liangbo & Ma, Shiguang & Tian, Gary, 2016. "Family control, accounting misstatements, and market reactions to restatements: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 1-27.
    11. Soltani Lynda, 2016. "Determinants of Audit Opinion after the Scandals of Enron: Empirical Validation in the French Context," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(5), pages 219-219, April.
    12. Hu, May & Muhammad, Abdul & Yang, Jingjing, 2022. "Ownership concentration, modified audit opinion, and auditor switch: New evidence and method," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    13. Lars Helge Hass & Monika Tarsalewska & Feng Zhan, 2016. "Equity Incentives and Corporate Fraud in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 723-742, November.
    14. Chenhao Hu, 2023. "The dual role of state shareholders in disclosed corporate misconduct: Evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(3), pages 1732-1748, April.
    15. Qiu, Ying & He, Hua & Xiao, Gang, 2018. "The information content of insider trading: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 126-131.
    16. CAO, Ning & McGUINNESS, Paul B. & XI, Chao, 2021. "Does securities enforcement improve disclosure quality? An examination of Chinese listed companies' restatement activities," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    17. Wang, Yang & Ashton, John K. & Jaafar, Aziz, 2019. "Does mutual fund investment influence accounting fraud?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 142-158.
    18. Lu, Qiaoshan & Xiang, Cheng & Li, Bingxiang & Feng, Lixuan, 2023. "Non-controlling shareholders' governance participation and corporate misconduct: Evidence from voting in general meetings," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    19. Chan, Ann Ling-Ching & Ding, Rong & Hou, Wenxuan, 2014. "Does mutual fund ownership affect financial reporting quality for Chinese privately-owned enterprises?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 131-140.

    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. Jiandong Chen & Douglas Cumming & Wenxuan Hou & Edward Lee, 2016. "Does the External Monitoring Effect of Financial Analysts Deter Corporate Fraud in China?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 727-742, April.
    2. Lars Helge Hass & Monika Tarsalewska & Feng Zhan, 2016. "Equity Incentives and Corporate Fraud in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 723-742, November.
    3. Chan, Ann Ling-Ching & Ding, Rong & Hou, Wenxuan, 2014. "Does mutual fund ownership affect financial reporting quality for Chinese privately-owned enterprises?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 131-140.
    4. Zhou, Fangzhao & Zhang, Zenan & Yang, Jun & Su, Yunpeng & An, Yunbi, 2018. "Delisting pressure, executive compensation, and corporate fraud: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 17-34.
    5. Jiandong Chen & Douglas Cumming & Wenxuan Hou & Edward Lee, 2016. "CEO Accountability for Corporate Fraud: Evidence from the Split Share Structure Reform in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 787-806, November.
    6. Kuo, Jing-Ming & Ning, Lutao & Song, Xiaoqi, 2014. "The Real and Accrual-based Earnings Management Behaviors: Evidence from the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 101-136.
    7. Wenxuan Hou & Geoff Moore, 2010. "Player and Referee Roles Held Jointly: The Effect of State Ownership on China’s Regulatory Enforcement Against Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 317-335, September.
    8. Liuyang Ren & Xi Zhong & Liangyong Wan, 2022. "Missing Analyst Forecasts and Corporate Fraud: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(1), pages 171-194, November.
    9. 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.
    10. Dan Amiram & Zahn Bozanic & James D. Cox & Quentin Dupont & Jonathan M. Karpoff & Richard Sloan, 2018. "Financial reporting fraud and other forms of misconduct: a multidisciplinary review of the literature," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 732-783, June.
    11. Jean J. Chen & Haitao Zhang, 2014. "The Impact of the Corporate Governance Code on Earnings Management – Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 20(3), pages 596-632, June.
    12. Martin J. Conyon & Lerong He, 2016. "Executive Compensation and Corporate Fraud in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 669-691, April.
    13. Abdul Ghafoor & Rozaimah Zainudin & Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan, 2019. "Factors Eliciting Corporate Fraud in Emerging Markets: Case of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions in Malaysia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 587-608, December.
    14. Yu, Fang (Frank), 2008. "Analyst coverage and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 245-271, May.
    15. 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.
    16. Ayers, Benjamin C. & Ramalingegowda, Santhosh & Eric Yeung, P., 2011. "Hometown advantage: The effects of monitoring institution location on financial reporting discretion," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 41-61, June.
    17. Habib, Ahsan & Jiang, Haiyan, 2015. "Corporate governance and financial reporting quality in China: A survey of recent evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 29-45.
    18. Giovanna Gavana & Pietro Gottardo & Anna Maria Moisello, 2019. "What Form of Visibility Affects Earnings Management? Evidence from Italian Family and Non-Family Firms," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, March.
    19. Huang, Wei & Goodell, John W. & Zhang, Hong, 2019. "Pre-merger management in developing markets: The role of earnings glamor," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Shaojuan Lai & Yingjie Du & Hongmei Pei, 2015. "Does Religion Mitigate Earnings Management? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 699-749, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Integrity; Auditor; Earnings management; Fraud; China; MAO;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    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:ememar:v:15:y:2013:i:c:p:72-91. 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/inca/620356 .

    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.