IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/reaccs/v30y2025i2d10.1007_s11142-024-09865-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The consequences of reputation-damaging events for Big Four auditors: evidence from 110 cases with media coverage between 2007 and 2019

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew Ege

    (Texas A&M University)

  • Dechun Wang

    (Texas A&M University)

  • Nina Xu

    (University of Connecticut)

Abstract

We make a collective assessment of the consequences of 110 auditor reputation-damaging events with media coverage (“negative events”) from 2007 to 2019 for the U.S. Big Four. First, we fail to find systematic evidence that investors react negatively to negative events. Second, while auditors experience statistically significant client loss after negative events, the effects are short-lived and economically negligible. Furthermore, we find statistically greater effects in situations where theory suggests economic forces could magnify reputation effects (i.e., higher market competition, more replacement auditors, lower client switching costs, and higher audit office reputational capital). However, the economic impact remains small in all cross sections. Overall, our results suggest that negative events with media coverage have only a very marginal impact on investors’ perceptions of Big Four firms’ audit quality and the ability of these firms to attract and retain clients.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Ege & Dechun Wang & Nina Xu, 2025. "The consequences of reputation-damaging events for Big Four auditors: evidence from 110 cases with media coverage between 2007 and 2019," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 2015-2070, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:30:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s11142-024-09865-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11142-024-09865-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11142-024-09865-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11142-024-09865-1?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. Joseph Weber & Michael Willenborg & Jieying Zhang, 2008. "Does Auditor Reputation Matter? The Case of KPMG Germany and ComROAD AG," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 941-972, September.
    2. Lennox, Clive & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2010. "Auditing the auditors: Evidence on the recent reforms to the external monitoring of audit firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1-2), pages 84-103, February.
    3. Jade Huayu Chen, 2024. "When Employees Go to Court: Employee Lawsuits and Talent Acquisition in Audit Offices," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 1265-1307, September.
    4. Robert M. Bushman & Christopher D. Williams & Regina Wittenberg‐Moerman, 2017. "The Informational Role of the Media in Private Lending," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 115-152, March.
    5. Zhan Shu, Susan, 2000. "Auditor resignations: clientele effects and legal liability," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 173-205, April.
    6. Jeff P. Boone & Inder K. Khurana & K. K. Raman, 2019. "Audit Market Response to PCAOB Censures of US Big 4 Firms," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 621-658, August.
    7. John C. Coffee, 2019. "Why do auditors fail? What might work? What won’t?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(5), pages 540-561, July.
    8. Miguel Minutti-Meza, 2021. "The art of conversation: the expanded audit report," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(5), pages 548-581, July.
    9. Bonsall, Samuel B. & Green, Jeremiah & Muller, Karl A., 2020. "Market uncertainty and the importance of media coverage at earnings announcements," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1).
    10. Fernandes, Nuno & Lel, Ugur & Miller, Darius P., 2010. "Escape from New York: The market impact of loosening disclosure requirements," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 129-147, February.
    11. Keith Weigelt & Colin Camerer, 1988. "Reputation and corporate strategy: A review of recent theory and applications," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(5), pages 443-454, September.
    12. Paul K. Chaney & Kirk L. Philipich, 2002. "Shredded Reputation: The Cost of Audit Failure," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 1221-1245, September.
    13. Klein, Benjamin & Leffler, Keith B, 1981. "The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 615-641, August.
    14. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    15. 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.
    16. Nelson, Karen K. & Price, Richard A. & Rountree, Brian R., 2008. "The market reaction to Arthur Andersen's role in the Enron scandal: Loss of reputation or confounding effects?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2-3), pages 279-293, December.
    17. Gregory S. Miller, 2006. "The Press as a Watchdog for Accounting Fraud," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 1001-1033, December.
    18. Srinivasan Krishnamurthy & Jian Zhou & Nan Zhou, 2006. "Auditor Reputation, Auditor Independence, and the Stock†Market Impact of Andersen's Indictment on Its Client Firms," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(2), pages 465-490, June.
    19. Jere R. Francis & Mihir N. Mehta & Wanli Zhao, 2017. "Audit Office Reputation Shocks from Gains and Losses of Major Industry Clients," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(4), pages 1922-1974, December.
    20. 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.
    21. Clive S. Lennox & Jaime J. Schmidt & Anne M. Thompson, 2023. "Why are expanded audit reports not informative to investors? Evidence from the United Kingdom," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 497-532, June.
    22. Marcus M. Doxey & James G. Lawson & Thomas J. Lopez & Quinn T. Swanquist, 2021. "Do Investors Care Who Did the Audit? Evidence from Form AP," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 1741-1782, December.
    23. Clive Lennox & Bing Li, 2020. "When Are Audit Firms Sued for Financial Reporting Failures and What Are the Lawsuit Outcomes?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 1370-1399, September.
    24. Jeffrey Cohen & Yuan Ding & Cédric Lesage & Hervé Stolowy, 2017. "Media Bias and the Persistence of the Expectation Gap: An Analysis of Press Articles on Corporate Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 637-659, September.
    25. Nan Li, 2021. "Do Majority‐of‐Minority Shareholder Voting Rights Reduce Expropriation? Evidence from Related Party Transactions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 1385-1423, September.
    26. Watts, Ross L & Zimmerman, Jerold L, 1983. "Agency Problems, Auditing, and the Theory of the Firm: Some Evidence," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(3), pages 613-633, October.
    27. DeAngelo, Linda Elizabeth, 1981. "Auditor size and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-199, December.
    28. Donovan, John & Frankel, Richard & Lee, Joshua & Martin, Xiumin & Seo, Hojun, 2014. "Issues raised by studying DeFond and Zhang: What should audit researchers do?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 327-338.
    29. Abbott, Lawrence J. & Buslepp, William L., 2022. "An investigation of the market's pricing of auditor competence: Evidence from PwC's Oscars blunder," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    30. Patricia M. Dechow & Weili Ge & Chad R. Larson & Richard G. Sloan, 2011. "Predicting Material Accounting Misstatements," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 17-82, March.
    31. Carl Shapiro, 1983. "Premiums for High Quality Products as Returns to Reputations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(4), pages 659-679.
    32. Ege, Matthew S. & Stuber, Sarah B., 2022. "Are auditors rewarded for low audit quality? The case of auditor lenience in the insurance industry," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1).
    33. Frendy, & Hu, Dan, 2014. "Japanese stock market reaction to announcements of news affecting auditors’ reputation: The case of the Olympus fraud," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 206-224.
    34. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    35. Schipper, K & Thompson, R, 1983. "The Impact Of Merger-Related Regulations On The Shareholders Of Acquiring Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 184-221.
    36. Carol Callaway Dee & Ayalew Lulseged & Tianming Zhang, 2011. "Client Stock Market Reaction to PCAOB Sanctions Against a Big 4 Auditor," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 263-291, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Abbott, Lawrence J. & Buslepp, William L., 2022. "An investigation of the market's pricing of auditor competence: Evidence from PwC's Oscars blunder," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    3. Kam-Wah Lai & Ferdinand A. Gul, 2021. "Do failed auditors receive lower audit fees from continuing engagements?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1159-1190, April.
    4. Aobdia, Daniel & Shroff, Nemit, 2017. "Regulatory oversight and auditor market share," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 262-287.
    5. Friedrich, Christian & Quick, Reiner, 2024. "Do non-audit service failures impair auditor reputation? An analysis of KPMG advisory service scandals in Germany," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    6. Cook, Jonathan & Kowaleski, Zachary T. & Minnis, Michael & Sutherland, Andrew & Zehms, Karla M., 2020. "Auditors are known by the companies they keep," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1).
    7. Incardona, John & Kannan, Yezen & Premuroso, Ronald & Higgs, Julia L. & Huang, Ivy, 2014. "Taxing audit markets and reputation: An examination of the U.S. tax shelter controversy," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 18-31.
    8. Anna Bergman Brown & Nicole M. Heron & Hagit Levy & Emanuel Zur, 2023. "StoneRidge Investment Partners v. Scientific Atlanta: A Test of Auditor Litigation Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(3), pages 517-538, October.
    9. Joseph Weber & Michael Willenborg & Jieying Zhang, 2008. "Does Auditor Reputation Matter? The Case of KPMG Germany and ComROAD AG," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 941-972, September.
    10. Pan, Yue & Shroff, Nemit & Zhang, Pengdong, 2023. "The dark side of audit market competition," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1).
    11. Shivaram Rajgopal & Suraj Srinivasan & Xin Zheng, 2021. "Measuring audit quality," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 559-619, June.
    12. 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.
    13. Daniel Aobdia & Luminita Enache & Anup Srivastava, 2021. "Changes in Big N auditors’ client selection and retention strategies over time," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 715-754, February.
    14. 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.
    15. Frendy, & Hu, Dan, 2014. "Japanese stock market reaction to announcements of news affecting auditors’ reputation: The case of the Olympus fraud," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 206-224.
    16. Bugeja, Martin, 2011. "Takeover premiums and the perception of auditor independence and reputation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 278-293.
    17. Chen, Long & Krishnan, Gopal V. & Yu, Wei, 2018. "The relation between audit fee cuts during the global financial crisis and earnings quality and audit quality," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 14-31.
    18. Sharad Asthana & Inder Khurana & K. K. Raman, 2019. "Fee competition among Big 4 auditors and audit quality," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 403-438, February.
    19. Downar, Benedikt & Ernstberger, Jürgen & Koch, Christopher, 2021. "Determinants and consequences of auditor dyad formation at the top level of audit teams," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    20. Alexander Dyck & Adair Morse & Luigi Zingales, 2024. "How pervasive is corporate fraud?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 736-769, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Big Four auditor; Auditor reputation; Stock price reaction; Auditor market share;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing

    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:spr:reaccs:v:30:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s11142-024-09865-1. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.