Auditing Section Research Summaries Space
A Database of Auditing Research - Building Bridges with Practice
Posts
- 1-4 of 4
research summary posted September 17, 2015 by Jennifer M Mueller-Phillips, tagged 02.0 Client Acceptance and Continuance, 02.01 Audit Fee Decisions, 14.0 Corporate Matters, 14.01 Earnings Management, 14.07 Executive CompensationTitle:The Impact of CEO and CFO Equity Incentives on Audit Scope and Perceived Risks as Revealed Through Audit Fees.Practical Implications:The findings shed some light on the PCAOB proposal to require auditors to obtain an understanding of executive compensation plans. The PCAOB asserts that auditors may not adequately consider the earnings manipulation risk arising from compensation arrangement. The study finds that auditors do not charge a fee premium for delta risk. Whether that result reflects auditors’ neglect of the risks of delta or their professional diligence and an assessment that delta incentives do not pose a significant risk is unclear. The authors find that auditors charge a premium for vega incentives and that the premium is diminishing with residual auditor business risk. These results suggest that auditors are cognizant of the risk implicit in compensation arrangements and price that risk in a manner that is consistent with incentive-compatible compensation schemes.
Citation:Kannan, Y. H., T. R. Skantz, and J. L. Higgs. 2014. The Impact of CEO and CFO Equity Incentives on Audit Scope and Perceived Risks as Revealed Through Audit Fees. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 33 (2): 111-139.
- research summary posted July 29, 2015 by Jennifer M Mueller-Phillips, tagged 01.0 Standard Setting, 01.05 Impact of SOX, 07.0 Internal Control, 07.03 Reporting Material Weaknesses, 14.0 Corporate Matters, 14.07 Executive CompensationTitle:Internal Control Material Weaknesses and CFO Compensation.Practical Implications:
The results emphasize the importance of the composition of the compensation committee. Specifically, results suggest that boards should consider appointing financial experts to serve not only on the audit committee but also on the compensation committee, as it would improve the oversight of the CFO. The results reveal that CFOs are held accountable not only for their managerial duties as reflected in firm financial performance, but also for their fiduciary duties associated with accurate financial reporting and high-quality internal controls.
Citation:Hoitash, R., Hoitash, U., & Johnstone, K. M. 2012. Internal Control Material Weaknesses and CFO Compensation. Contemporary Accounting Research 29 (3): 768-803.
- research summary posted July 28, 2015 by Jennifer M Mueller-Phillips, tagged 07.0 Internal Control, 07.03 Reporting Material Weaknesses, 14.0 Corporate Matters, 14.05 Earnings Targets and Management Behavior, 14.07 Executive Compensation, 14.10 CEO CompensationTitle:Equity Incentives and Internal Control Weaknesses.Practical Implications:
The analysis shows that (1) equity incentives are more effective in reducing company-level control problems; (2) restricted equity provides greater incentives than unrestricted equity; and (3) CFO incentives have a more significant impact on the quality of internal control than CEO incentives. These insights have important implications for compensation committees who make compensation recommendations and the full board of directors who ratifies those recommendations. They suggest that both the level and type of equity incentives should be considered in compensation design to motivate managers to invest in strong internal controls.
Citation:Balsam, S., Jiang, W., Lu, B. 2014. Equity Incentives and Internal Control Weaknesses. Contemporary Accounting Research 31 (1):178-201.
- research summary posted October 20, 2014 by Jennifer M Mueller-Phillips, tagged 02.0 Client Acceptance and Continuance, 02.01 Audit Fee Decisions, 02.02 Client Risk Assessment, 14.0 Corporate Matters, 14.01 Earnings Management, 14.07 Executive CompensationTitle:CEO and CFO Equity Incentives and the Pricing of Audit ServicesPractical Implications:
Our study highlights the importance of taking into account executive incentive plans in improving the understanding of auditors’ risk assessment and pricing decisions, in support of the current professional audit standards. The findings that auditors respond to CEO and CFO equity incentives differently have significant implications for the corporate governance reforms and the design of optimal corporate executive compensation policies. Following the accounting scandals in the early 2000s, there has been increased regulatory and legislative scrutiny on corporate governance. Especially, regulators have recognized CFOs as the individuals bearing responsibilities for the integrity of financial information. Our paper lends support to the regulatory inclusion of CFOs as accountable individuals, and to concerns that firms should exercise caution in compensating CFOs using equity-based tools.
For more information on this study, please contact Yonghong Jia.
Citation:Billings, B. A., X. Gao, and Y. Jia. 2014. CEO and CFO Equity Incentives and the Pricing of Audit Services. AUDITING: A Journal of Practice & Theory 33 (2): 1-25
Filter by Type
Filter by Tag
- All
- 01.0 Standard Setting
- 01.01 Changes in Reporting Formats
- 01.02 Changes in Audit Standards
- 01.03 Impact of New Accounting Pronouncements
- 01.04 Impact of 404
- 01.05 Impact of SOX
- 01.06 Impact of PCAOB
- 01.07 Impact of SEC Actions
- 02.0 Client Acceptance and Continuance
- 02.01 Audit Fee Decisions
- 02.02 Client Risk Assessment
- 02.03 Management Integrity Assessments
- 02.04 Predecessor Auditor Factors
- 02.05 Business Risk Assessment - e.g., industry, IPO, complexity
- 02.06 Resignation Decisions
- 03.0 Auditor Selection and Auditor Changes
- 03.01 Auditor Qualifications
- 03.02 Dismissal Decisions – impact of restatements, disagreements, fees, mergers
- 04.0 Independence and Ethics
- 04.01 Scope of Services
- 04.02 Impact of Fees on Decisions by Auditors & Management
- 04.03 Non-Audit Services
- 04.04 Moral Development and Individual Ethics Decisions
- 04.05 Ethics and Consultation
- 04.06 Reporting Ethics Breaches – Self & Others
- 04.07 Audit Firm Rotation
- 04.08 Impact of SEC Rules Changes/SarbOx
- 04.09 Individual & Team Conduct - e.g., premature signoff, underreporting hours
- 05.0 Audit Team Composition
- 05.01 Use of Specialists e.g., financial instruments, actuaries, valuation
- 05.02 Industry Expertise – Firm and Individual
- 05.03 Partner Rotation
- 05.04 Staff Hiring, Turnover and Morale
- 05.05 Diversity of Skill Sets e.g., Tenure and Experience
- 05.06 Qualifications of Engagement Quality Reviewers
- 05.07 Impact of 150-hour requirement
- 05.08 Impact of Office Size
- 05.09 Group Decision-Making
- 05.10 Impact of Diversity - e.g., gender - on Group Decision Making
- 06.0 Risk and Risk Management, Including Fraud Risk
- 06.01 Fraud Risk Assessment
- 06.02 Fraud Risk Models
- 06.03 Failure Risk Models
- 06.04 Management Integrity
- 06.05 Assessing Risk of Material Misstatement
- 06.06 Earnings Management
- 06.07 SAS No. 99 Brainstorming – process
- 06.08 SAS No. 99 Brainstorming – effectiveness
- 06.09 Litigation Risk
- 06.10 Impact of office size
- 07.0 Internal Control
- 07.01 Scope of Testing
- 07.02 Assessing Material Weaknesses
- 07.03 Reporting Material Weaknesses
- 07.04 Assessing Remediation of Weaknesses
- 07.05 Impact of 404 on Fees and Financial Reporting Quality
- 08.0 Auditing Procedures – Nature, Timing and Extent
- 08.01 Substantive Analytical Review – Effectiveness
- 08.02 Sample Selection – use of statistical sampling
- 08.03 Conclusions Based on Samples
- 08.04 Auditors’ Professional Skepticism
- 08.05 Evaluating Accruals/Detection of Abnormal Accruals
- 08.06 Earnings Management – Detection and Response
- 08.07 Interim Testing Procedures – Nature, Timing and Extent
- 08.08 Projecting Interim Testing Conclusions Year End
- 08.09 Impact of Technology on Audit Procedures
- 08.10 Confirmation – Process and Evaluation of Responses
- 08.11 Reliance on Internal Auditors
- 09.0 Auditor Judgment
- 09.01 Audit Scope and Materiality Judgments
- 09.02 Documentation Specificity
- 09.03 Adequacy of Evidence
- 09.04 Going Concern Decisions
- 09.05 Failure Risk Models
- 09.06 Adequacy of Disclosure
- 09.07 GAAP Departures
- 09.08 Evaluation of Errors – Statistical and Non-statistical
- 09.09 Impact of Consultation on Judgments
- 09.10 Prior Dispositions/Biases/Auditor state of mind
- 09.11 Auditor judgment in the workpaper review process
- 09.12 Impact of potential post-audit review - e.g., PCAOB, internal firm inspections
- 09.13 Recognition vs. Disclosure
- 10.0 Engagement Management
- 10.01 Budgeting and Audit Time Management
- 10.02 Materiality and Scope Decisions
- 10.03 Interaction among Team Members
- 10.04 Interactions with Client Management
- 10.05 Interactions with Audit Committee Members
- 10.06 Audit Fees and Fee Negotiations
- 11.0 Audit Quality and Quality Control
- 11.01 Supervision and Review – Effectiveness
- 11.02 Engagement Quality Review – Processes and Effectiveness
- 11.03 Management/Staff Interaction
- 11.04 Industry Experience
- 11.05 Training and General Experience
- 11.06 Working Paper Review – Conduct, Biases and Predispositions
- 11.07 Attempts to Measure Audit Quality
- 11.08 Proxies for Audit Quality
- 11.09 Evaluation of Evidence
- 11.10 Impact of Quality Reviewers
- 11.11 Impact of Firm and External Inspection Programs
- 11.12 Impact of National Office on Auditor Decisions
- 11.13 Partner incentive schemes
- 12.0 Accountants’ Reports and Reporting
- 12.01 Going Concern Decisions
- 12.02 Quarterly Reviews
- 12.03 Restatements
- 12.04 Investigations
- 12.05 Changes in Reporting Formats
- 12.06 Consequences of Adverse 404 Opinions
- 12.07 Attestation Services
- 13.0 Governance
- 13.01 Board/Audit Committee Composition
- 13.02 Board/Financial Experts
- 13.03 Board/Audit Committee Tenure
- 13.04 Board/Audit Committee Compensation
- 13.05 Board/Audit Committee Oversight
- 13.06 Board/Audit Committee Processes
- 13.07 Internal auditor role and involvement in controls and reporting
- 14.0 Corporate Matters
- 14.01 Earnings Management
- 14.02 Corporate Whistle Blowers
- 14.03 Interim Reporting
- 14.04 MD and A Language/Signaling
- 14.05 Earnings Targets and Management Behavior
- 14.06 CFO Tenure and Experience
- 14.07 Executive Compensation
- 14.08 Press Release Language and Signaling
- 14.09 CEO Tenure and Experience
- 14.10 CEO Compensation
- 14.11 Audit Committee Effectiveness
- 15.0 International Matters
- 15.01 Audit Partner Identification by Name
- 15.02 IFRS Changes – Impacts
- 15.03 Audit Partner Rotation
- 15.04 Audit Firm Rotation
- 15.05 Sustainability Services