IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ausact/v33y2023i3p284-301.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Shareholders’ Perception of Auditor Type and Timing of Auditor Engagement: Evidence from Auditor Ratification

Author

Listed:
  • Jennifer K. Howard
  • Myungsoo Son
  • Hakjoon Song

Abstract

Many companies present their selected auditor to shareholders for ratification. In this study, we use auditor ratification voting results to examine whether shareholders view the type of auditor and the timing of the engagement as indicative of audit quality. The auditor ratification literature has yet to explicitly examine these research questions. Our study is unique in that we focus on the auditor switch setting and test how shareholders view a newly hired auditor. We find that shareholders are less likely to approve a non‐Big N auditor than a Big N auditor. We also document that shareholders view late auditor engagements (i.e., during or after the fourth quarter) more negatively, consistent with the argument that late appointment of new auditors should be viewed with caution. The timing effect is particularly acute for non‐Big N firms; however, shareholders do not seem to mind late engagements of Big N auditors.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer K. Howard & Myungsoo Son & Hakjoon Song, 2023. "Shareholders’ Perception of Auditor Type and Timing of Auditor Engagement: Evidence from Auditor Ratification," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(3), pages 284-301, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausact:v:33:y:2023:i:3:p:284-301
    DOI: 10.1111/auar.12398
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/auar.12398
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/auar.12398?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clive S. Lennox, 1999. "Audit Quality and Auditor Size: An Evaluation of Reputation and Deep Pockets Hypotheses," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7&8), pages 779-805.
    2. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    3. DeAngelo, Linda Elizabeth, 1981. "Auditor size and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-199, December.
    4. 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.
    5. Boone, Jeff P. & Khurana, Inder K. & Raman, K.K., 2010. "Do the Big 4 and the Second-tier firms provide audits of similar quality?," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 330-352, July.
    6. Kenneth J. Reichelt & Dechun Wang, 2010. "National and Office‐Specific Measures of Auditor Industry Expertise and Effects on Audit Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 647-686, June.
    7. Michael Gibbins & Steven Salterio & Alan Webb, 2001. "Evidence About Auditor–Client Management Negotiation Concerning Client’s Financial Reporting," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(3), pages 535-563, December.
    8. Clive S. Lennox, 1999. "Audit Quality and Auditor Size: An Evaluation of Reputation and Deep Pockets Hypotheses," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7‐8), pages 779-805, September.
    9. Inder K. Khurana & K. K. Raman, 2006. "Do Investors Care about the Auditor's Economic Dependence on the Client?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 977-1016, December.
    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. Yaowen Shan & Sue Wright, 2023. "Contemporary Challenges: Spotlight on Climate, Cryptocurrencies and SME Practices," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(3), pages 229-229, September.

    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. 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.
    2. Casey, Ryan J. & Kaplan, Steven E. & Pinello, Arianna Spina, 2015. "Do auditors constrain benchmark beating behavior to a greater extent in the fourth versus interim quarters?," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-10.
    3. Jian Cao & Feng Chen & Julia L. Higgs, 2016. "Late for a very important date: financial reporting and audit implications of late 10-K filings," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 633-671, June.
    4. Comprix, Joseph & Huang, Huichi, 2015. "Does auditor size matter? Evidence from small audit firms," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 11-20.
    5. Maarten Corten & Tensie Steijvers & Nadine Lybaert & Céline Coeckelbergs, 2021. "The Influence of the CEO on Auditor Choice in Private Firms: An Interplay of Willingness and Ability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, June.
    6. 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).
    7. Seyed Mahmoud Hosseinniakani & Helena Inacio & Rui Mota, 2014. "A Review on Audit Quality Factors," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 4(2), pages 243-254, April.
    8. Ju Ryum Chung & Eun Jung Cho & Ho-Young Lee & Myungsoo Son, 2017. "The impact of labour unions on external auditor selection and audit scope: evidence from the Korean market," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(48), pages 4833-4850, October.
    9. Shaw, Kenneth W. & Whitworth, James D., 2022. "Client importance and unconditional conservatism in complex accounting estimates," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    10. Le, Ha Thi Thu & Tran, Ha Giang & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2021. "Audit quality, accruals quality and the cost of equity in an emerging market: Evidence from Vietnam," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    11. 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).
    12. Bugeja, Martin, 2011. "Takeover premiums and the perception of auditor independence and reputation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 278-293.
    13. Dusica STEVCEVSKA SRBINOSKA, 2022. "Audit modifications in emerging markets: The Macedonian Stock Exchange," Romanian Journal of Economics, Institute of National Economy, vol. 55(2(64)), pages 43-69, December.
    14. Xingqiang Du, 2019. "Does CEO-Auditor Dialect Sharing Impair Pre-IPO Audit Quality? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 699-735, May.
    15. Miguel Minutti‐Meza, 2013. "Does Auditor Industry Specialization Improve Audit Quality?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 779-817, September.
    16. Hsiang-Tsai Chiang & Shu-Lin Lin, 2012. "Effect Of Auditor’S Judgment And Specialization On Their Differential Opinion Between Semiannual And Annual Financial Reports," Global Journal of Business Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 6(4), pages 1-22.
    17. Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Emiliano Ruiz‐Barbadillo, 2018. "The quality of sustainability assurance reports: The expertise and experience of assurance providers as determinants," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1181-1196, December.
    18. Kim Ittonen & Karla Johnstone & Emma-Riikka Myllym�ki, 2015. "Audit Partner Public-Client Specialisation and Client Abnormal Accruals," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 607-633, September.
    19. Pascal Dumontier & Sonda Chtourou & Soumaya Ayedi, 2006. "La qualité de l'audit externe et les mécanismes de gouvernance des entreprises : Une étude empirique menée dans le contexte tunisien," Post-Print halshs-00548115, HAL.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    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:bla:ausact:v:33:y:2023:i:3:p:284-301. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1035-6908 .

    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.