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An Analysis of the Economic Consequences of the Proportionate Liability Rule

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  • DEREK K. CHAN
  • SUIL PAE

Abstract

Major accounting firms in the United States have singled out elimination of joint and several liability as one of the most needed legal reforms in the country. The recent legislation of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 replaced joint and several liability with proportionate liability. This paper develops a simple model to analyze the economic consequences of such a change in the legal environment facing public accountants. In particular, we examine the incentive effects induced by the proportionate liability rule on the auditor's effort and financial statement users' litigation decisions. Our analysis demonstrates that replacing joint and several liability with proportionate liability can decrease the equilibrium audit effort, lawsuit probability, market price of the firm, and audit fee. More important, even though the proportionate liability rule reduces the equilibrium audit effort, we show that it can actually increase social welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Derek K. Chan & Suil Pae, 1998. "An Analysis of the Economic Consequences of the Proportionate Liability Rule," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 457-480, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:coacre:v:15:y:1998:i:4:p:457-480
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1911-3846.1998.tb00567.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Mingcherng Deng & Tong Lu & Dan A. Simunic & Minlei Ye, 2014. "Do Joint Audits Improve or Impair Audit Quality?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 1029-1060, December.
    2. Mingcherng Deng & Nahum Melumad & Toshi Shibano, 2012. "Auditors’ Liability, Investments, and Capital Markets: A Potential Unintended Consequence of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 1179-1215, December.
    3. Tim Bush & Shyam Sunder & Stella Fearnley, 2007. "Auditor Liability Reforms in the UK and the US: A Comparative Review," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2575, Yale School of Management.
    4. Christensen, Brant & Schmardebeck, Roy & Seidel, Timothy, 2022. "Do auditors’ incentives affect materiality assessments of prior-period misstatements?," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Ralf Ewert & Eberhard Feess & Martin Nell, 2000. "Auditor liability rules under imperfect information and costly litigation: the welfare-increasing effect of liability insurance," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 371-385.
    6. Lennox, Clive & Li, Bing, 2012. "The consequences of protecting audit partners’ personal assets from the threat of liability," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 154-173.
    7. Tim Bush & Shyam Sunder & Stella Fearnley, 2007. "Auditor Liability Reforms in the UK and the US: A Comparative Review," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2575, Yale School of Management.
    8. Zhefeng Liu & Fayez Elayan, 2015. "Litigation risk, information asymmetry and conditional conservatism," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 581-608, May.
    9. Xingqiang Du & Xu Li & Xuejiao Liu & Shaojuan Lai, 2018. "Underwriter–Auditor Relationship and Pre-IPO Earnings Management: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 365-392, October.
    10. Henock Louis & Thomas C. Pearson & Dahlia M. Robinson & Michael N. Robinson & Amy X. Sun, 2019. "The Effects of the Extant Clauses Limiting Auditor Liability on Audit Fees and Overall Reporting Quality," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 381-410, June.
    11. Chiawen Liu & Taychang Wang, 2006. "Auditor Liability and Business Investment," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 1051-1071, December.
    12. Jochen Bigus, 2015. "Loss Aversion, Audit Risk Judgments, and Auditor Liability," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 581-606, September.
    13. Qiang Ye & Jie Gao & Weiguang Zheng, 2018. "Accounting Standards, Earnings Transparency and Audit Fees: Convergence with IFRS in China," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(4), pages 525-537, December.
    14. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    15. Reinhard Schrank, 2021. "The Impact of Damage Apportionment on Internal Control System Quality and Financial Reporting Accuracy," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(2), pages 251-296, June.
    16. Marleen Willekens & Dan Simunic, 2007. "Precision in auditing standards: effects on auditor and director liability and the supply and demand for audit services," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 217-232.

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