Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Anticipation And Reaction To Going Concern Modified Audit Opinions By Sophisticated Investors, Marshall A. Geiger, Abdullah Kumas

Accounting Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether institutional investors (i) anticipate a distressed firm's receipt of a first‐time going‐concern modified audit opinion, and (ii) react to a first‐time going‐concern modified opinion by engaging in abnormal net selling of firm shares. Using a proprietary database of US institutional investor trades, we find that institutional investors are net sellers of first‐time going‐concern opinion firms beginning 6 months before the release of the report and remain net sellers through the subsequent 3 months. We also find that the severity of the reasons auditors modify their opinions is associated with increased trading …

Releasing Information In Xbrl: Does It Improve Information Asymmetry For Early U.S. Adopters?, Marshall A. Geiger, David S. North, Daniel D. Selby

Accounting Faculty Publications

Information released in XBRL is intended to improve the quality and accessibility of SEC filings, leading to less information asymmetry in the equity market. Research findings on the effects of XBRL on information asymmetry in the US., however, are mixed. Kim et al. (2012) reports that XBRL reduces information asymmetry while Blankespoor et al. (2012) reports that XBRL increases information asymmetry. In contrast to these prior studies, we report that the answer as to whether XBRL affects information asymmetry is matter of firm size. In this study we examine shifts in two measures of information asymmetry for early adopters of …

Do External Financial Statement Auditors Sufficiently Adjust Their Audit Plans For Automated-Control Deficiencies?, Daniel D. Selby

Accounting Faculty Publications

Shelton (1999) found that experience, based on rank, mitigates the influence of less-than diagnostic evidence in going concern assessments. But, numerous studies (e.g., Abdolmohammadi and Wright 1987) question the external validity of studies that use rank to determine experience. I suspect that specialized domain experience is a better measure because all auditor ranks do not have procedural knowledge in going concern decisions but many auditors may have procedural knowledge in audit planning (AICPA 2008) and automated controls (Hunton et al. 2004). I investigate whether external financial statement auditors (henceforth auditors) sufficiently adjust their audit plans for material-automated-control-weaknesses. I determine the …

An International Comparison Of Student Perceptions Of Earnings Management: Evidence Of Effects Of National Origin Between Mexico And The United States, Marshall A. Geiger, Carmen Quirvan, Alejandro Hazera

Accounting Faculty Publications

Manipulating reported earnings is a temptation faced by accountants and financial professionals around the world. Manipulating, or “managing,” one’s accounting earnings takes a variety of forms and includes not only the avoidance of prescribed accounting rules but also the practice of selectively choosing accounting estimates or timing operating decisions to move reported earnings toward a desired goal. Prior research reveals wide disagreement regarding the perceived ethical acceptability of this practice. This study investigates whether national origin influences perceptions of earnings management. Participants from the United States and Mexico evaluated thirteen vignettes describing various earnings management practices (Merchant and Rockness 1994). …

An Empirical Analysis Of Internal Control Weaknesses Under Sas No. 78: An Examination Of State Audit Reports, Edmund J. Boyle, Steven M. Cooper, Marshall A. Geiger

Accounting Faculty Publications

While there has been a considerable amount of research regarding internal control over the past several years, scant empirical research has examined SAS No. 78's integrated five-component depiction of internal control in a government setting. In particular, to our knowledge, no study has assessed the types or frequency of weaknesses under the SAS No. 78 framework using actual internal control system findings. In this study, we examine 32 state department and agency internal control reports to assess how well the theoretical framework captures actual system weaknesses, and to determine the relative distribution of weaknesses across components of the framework.

Our …

Going-Concern Audit Report Recipients Before And After Sas No. 59, Marshall A. Geiger, Kannan Raghunandan, D. V. Rama

Accounting Faculty Publications

In an attempt to provide information to make an evaluation on whether the requirements under SAS No. 59 have had any significant effect on auditor reporting decisions, a study was conducted that examined companies receiving going-concern modified reports before and after the implementation of SAS No. 59. We wanted to assess whether auditors were issuing going-concern modified reports to clients exhibiting different levels of financial stress and also whether the bankruptcy rate of such companies was different after the adoption of SAS No. 59.

Auditor Judgment Confidence: Direct Evidence For The Process View, Marshall A. Geiger, A.C. Lloyd Spurrell

Accounting Faculty Publications

Although there has been considerable research on audit judgment processes and structures, one area that has received little attention is auditor judgment confidence. Determining the nature of confidence attainment has direct implications for audit practice, particularly regarding the timing of evidence evaluation leading to final judgments. The present study extends the early work of Pincus (1991) and is the first to provide direct evidence in support of the process view of audit judgment confidence.

The New Auditor's Report: Have The Benefits Of Wording Changes Been Acknowledged Outside The Cpa Profession?, Marshall A. Geiger

Accounting Faculty Publications

CPAs use the auditor's report to communicate their opinions of an entity's financial statements and related disclosures. Concerned parties, in turn, use the report to assess the integrity of the financial statements and the accuracy of the disclosures.

In 1988, the American Institute of CPAs auditing standards board established new wording for the standard unqualified audit report. It also revised the reporting requirements and types of audit reports allowed (for example, the subject-to report for uncertainties and except-for report for consistency departures were eliminated). The new wording appears in Statement on Auditing Standards no. 58, Reports on Audited Financial Statements …

Investor Views Of Audit Assurance: Recent Evidence Of The Expectation Gap, Marshall A. Geiger

Accounting Faculty Publications

Investors and financial statement users long have agreed on the usefulness of the audit in financial reporting. Over time, however, auditors have been expected to provide assurance in varying degrees and for different purposes. Differences in perception -- especially regarding assurances provided -- between users, preparers and auditors have been termed the "expectation gap. This article provides some startling evidence of the existence of such a gap in investor perceptions of the assurance provided by an audit.

Sas No. 58: Did The Asb Really Listen?, Marshall A. Geiger

Accounting Faculty Publications

One thousand-plus letters are a lot of mail. That's how many comments the American Institute of CPAs auditing standards board received when it proposed 10 new standards to help close the expectations gap between what auditors perceive as their responsibility and what the public thinks. Did the ASB really listen to these comment letters before finalizing nine SASs, or did it simply solicit the comments to fulfill the standard-setting, due-process procedures mandated by the AICPA board of directors?