IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reacre/v27y2015i1p57-65.html

Corporate ethics and auditor choice – international evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Houqe, Muhammad Nurul
  • van Zijl, Tony
  • Dunstan, Keitha
  • Karim, A.K.M. Waresul

Abstract

This paper examines whether firms' auditor choice reflects the strength of corporate ethics. Based on a sample of 132,853 firm year observations from forty-six countries around the globe during the period from 1998 to 2007 and controlling for a number of firm- and country-level factors, we find that firms in countries where “high corporate ethical values” prevail are more likely to hire a Big 4 auditor. We also find that the positive effect of home country corporate ethical values on the likelihood of hiring a high-quality auditor is reinforced by the extent of the firm's board size. These results establish an indirect link between corporate ethics and financial reporting quality through the firms' choice of auditor.

Suggested Citation

  • Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & van Zijl, Tony & Dunstan, Keitha & Karim, A.K.M. Waresul, 2015. "Corporate ethics and auditor choice – international evidence," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 57-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reacre:v:27:y:2015:i:1:p:57-65
    DOI: 10.1016/j.racreg.2015.03.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1052045715000089
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.racreg.2015.03.007?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yermack, David, 1996. "Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 185-211, February.
    2. Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & van Zijl, Tony & Dunstan, Keitha & Karim, A.K.M. Waresul, 2012. "The Effect of IFRS Adoption and Investor Protection on Earnings Quality Around the World," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 333-355.
    3. Cullinan, Charles P. & Du, Hui & Zheng, Xiaochuan, 2012. "Barriers to entry to the big firm audit market: Evidence from market reaction to switches to second Tier audit firms in the post-sox period," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 6-14.
    4. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    5. Jere R. Francis & Dechun Wang, 2008. "The Joint Effect of Investor Protection and Big 4 Audits on Earnings Quality around the World," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 157-191, March.
    6. Guy D. Fernando & Ahmed M. Abdel‐Meguid & Randal J. Elder, 2010. "Audit quality attributes, client size and cost of equity capital," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(4), pages 363-381, November.
    7. Jennifer Francis & Dhananjay Nanda & Per Olsson, 2008. "Voluntary Disclosure, Earnings Quality, and Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(1), pages 53-99, March.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Feltham, Gerald A. & Hughes, John S. & Simunic, Dan A., 1991. "Empirical assessment of the impact of auditor quality on the valuation of new issues," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 375-399, December.
    11. Holger Daske & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz & Rodrigo Verdi, 2008. "Mandatory IFRS Reporting around the World: Early Evidence on the Economic Consequences," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(5), pages 1085-1142, December.
    12. Hope, Ole-Kristian & Kang, Tony & Thomas, Wayne & Yoo, Yong Keun, 2008. "Culture and auditor choice: A test of the secrecy hypothesis," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 357-373.
    13. Titman, Sheridan & Trueman, Brett, 1986. "Information quality and the valuation of new issues," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 159-172, June.
    14. Rajeswararao S. Chaganti & Vijay Mahajan & Subhash Sharma, 1985. "Corporate Board Size, Composition And Corporate Failures In Retailing Industry[1]," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 400-417, July.
    15. Daniels, Bobbie W. & Booker, Quinton, 2011. "The effects of audit firm rotation on perceived auditor independence and audit quality," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 78-82.
    16. Joseph P. H. Fan & T. J. Wong, 2005. "Do External Auditors Perform a Corporate Governance Role in Emerging Markets? Evidence from East Asia," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 35-72, March.
    17. DeAngelo, Linda Elizabeth, 1981. "Auditor size and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-199, December.
    18. Habib, Ahsan, 2011. "Audit firm industry specialization and audit outcomes: Insights from academic literature," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 114-129.
    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. Achraf Haddad, 2023. "Impact of financial development initiatives on the banks’ financial performance: comparative study in the stakeholders’ theory framework," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-27, January.
    2. Konstantinos Petridis & Georgios Drogalas & Eleni Zografidou, 2021. "Internal auditor selection using a TOPSIS/non-linear programming model," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 296(1), pages 513-539, January.
    3. Mintchik, Natalia & Moehrle, Stephen & Reynolds-Moehrle, Jennifer, 2024. "Evolution, trends, and recent developments in international accounting studies: A synthesis of evidence published in “Research in Accounting Regulation”," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    4. Tat-Dat Bui & Hania Aminah & Ching-Hsin Wang & Ming-Lang Tseng & Mohammad Iranmanesh & Ming K. Lim, 2022. "Developing a Food and Beverage Corporate Sustainability Performance Structure in Indonesia: Enhancing the Leadership Role and Tenet Value from an Ethical Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-24, March.

    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. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2016. "Cross-country evidence on the importance of Big Four auditors to equity pricing: The mediating role of legal institutions," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 60-81.
    2. Lin, Z. Jun & Liu, Ming, 2009. "The impact of corporate governance on auditor choice: Evidence from China," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 44-59.
    3. Datta, Sudip & Gruskin, Mark & Iskandar-Datta, Mai, 2024. "Auditor certification and long-run performance of IPO stocks," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    4. Manuel Cano Rodríguez & Santiago Sánchez Alegría, 2012. "The value of audit quality in public and private companies: evidence from Spain," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(4), pages 683-706, November.
    5. Reiner Quick & Niklas Schenk & Florian Schmidt & Thilo Towara, 2018. "The impact of corporate governance on auditor choice: evidence from Germany," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(2), pages 251-283, June.
    6. Xianjie He & Jeffrey Pittman & Oliver Rui, 2016. "Reputational Implications for Partners After a Major Audit Failure: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 703-722, November.
    7. Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & Monem, Reza M. & Tareq, Mohammad & van Zijl, Tony, 2016. "Secrecy and the impact of mandatory IFRS adoption on earnings quality in Europe," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 476-490.
    8. Persakis, Anthony & Iatridis, George Emmanuel, 2015. "Cost of capital, audit and earnings quality under financial crisis: A global empirical investigation," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 3-24.
    9. Joseph Weber & Michael Willenborg, 2003. "Do Expert Informational Intermediaries Add Value? Evidence from Auditors in Microcap Initial Public Offerings," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 681-720, September.
    10. Dang, Man & Puwanenthiren, Premkanth & Truong, Cameron & Henry, Darren & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2022. "Audit quality and seasoned equity offerings methods," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    11. Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & van Zijl, Tony & Dunstan, Keitha & Karim, A.K.M. Waresul, 2012. "The Effect of IFRS Adoption and Investor Protection on Earnings Quality Around the World," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 333-355.
    12. Li‐Ying Huang & Gene C. Lai & Erin Lu & Michael McNamara, 2020. "Auditor quality, audit fees, organizational structure, and risk taking in the US life insurance industry," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 23(2), pages 151-182, June.
    13. Ahmed, Kamran & Chalmers, Keryn & Khlif, Hichem, 2013. "A Meta-analysis of IFRS Adoption Effects," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 173-217.
    14. Barton, Jan & Waymire, Gregory, 2004. "Investor protection under unregulated financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 65-116, December.
    15. Jennifer C. Ireland, 2003. "An Empirical Investigation of Determinants of Audit Reports in the UK," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7‐8), pages 975-1016, September.
    16. Lee, Cheol & Park, Myung S., 2013. "Subjectivity in fair-value estimates, audit quality, and informativeness of other comprehensive income," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 218-231.
    17. Ying Cao & Linda A. Myers & Albert Tsang & Yong George Yang, 2017. "Management forecasts and the cost of equity capital: international evidence," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 791-838, June.
    18. Louis, Henock, 2005. "Acquirers' abnormal returns and the non-Big 4 auditor clientele effect," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 75-99, December.
    19. Opare, Solomon & Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & van Zijl, Tony, 2020. "IFRS adoption and seasoned equity offering underperformance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    20. Aree Saeed MUSTAFA & Luqman Muhammed SAEED & Nishtiman Hashim MOHAMMED, 2018. "Auditor Selection in Borsa Istanbul," The Audit Financiar journal, Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania, vol. 16(152), pages 599-599.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • 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:reacre:v:27:y:2015:i:1:p:57-65. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/research-in-accounting-regulation .

    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.