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Litigation environment and auditors' decisions to accept clients' aggressive reporting

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  • Hwang, Nen-Chen Richard
  • Chang, C. Janie

Abstract

This study contributes to accounting and auditing literature by addressing two empirical questions: (1) whether litigation environment affects auditors' decisions to accept clients' aggressive reporting and (2) whether litigation environment, client business risk, and client retention pressure interact and jointly affect auditors' decisions to go along with clients' preferred accounting choices. Fifty-nine (59) US and sixty-one (61) Hong Kong auditors employed by the Big-4 accounting firms participated in this study. The result shows that litigation environment has a significant effect on auditors' decisions. Auditors who practice in more litigious environments tend to be less willing to go along with clients' aggressive reporting than those who practice in less litigious environments. This study also confirms that there is a significant interactive effect between litigation environment, client business risk, and client retention pressure on auditors' decisions to accept clients' aggressive reporting choices. Implications of the empirical findings for policymakers, standard-setting organizations, and international accounting firms, as well as directions for future studies, are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Hwang, Nen-Chen Richard & Chang, C. Janie, 2010. "Litigation environment and auditors' decisions to accept clients' aggressive reporting," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 281-295, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jappol:v:29:y:2010:i:3:p:281-295
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Raúl Barroso & Chiraz Ben Ali & Cédric Lesage, 2018. "Blockholders’ Ownership and Audit Fees: The Impact of the Corporate Governance Model," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 149-172, January.
    2. Akihiro Yamada & Kento Fujita, 2022. "Impact of Parent Companies and Multiple Large Shareholders on Audit Fees in Stakeholder-Oriented Corporate Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Christine Gimbar & Molly Mercer, 2021. "Do Auditors Accurately Predict Litigation and Reputation Consequences of Inaccurate Accounting Estimates?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 276-301, March.
    4. Habib, Ahsan & Jiang, Haiyan & Bhuiyan, Md. Borhan Uddin & Islam, Ainul, 2014. "Litigation risk, financial reporting and auditing: A survey of the literature," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 145-163.

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