IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aosoci/v87y2020ics0361368218301910.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of audit materiality disclosures on investors’ decision making

Author

Listed:
  • Christensen, Brant E.
  • Eilifsen, Aasmund
  • Glover, Steven M.
  • Messier, William F.

Abstract

Recent reviews of the academic literature indicate that little is known regarding how users evaluate the materiality levels auditors use or respond to quantitative materiality disclosure. Regulators around the world have taken different stances on whether materiality should, or should not, be disclosed in the auditor’s report. In response to the dearth of research on these policy decisions, we examine the effect of audit materiality disclosures, or lack thereof, on professional investors’ decision making across different investment contexts (debt vs. equity, public vs. private). Our study is designed to test global audit public policy and as such our hypotheses are motivated by assertions made by regulators, auditing standards, and audit theory. Among a sample of 246 professional investors in our main experiment and 91 professional investors in two supplemental experiments, we find no consistent evidence that investors incorporate materiality disclosures into their investment decisions. Most importantly, we find evidence that investors’ understanding of materiality is not in line with regulator assertions. For example, investors fail to make consistent connections between the amount of disclosed audit materiality and the level of auditor effort. Our results hold across debt and equity investment settings for both public and private companies. In sum, our findings suggest that disclosures of audit materiality are not well understood by professional investors and are not viewed as decision relevant. This research informs practitioners, regulators, and academics regarding the effect of materiality disclosure on investor decision making as well as stakeholders’ views and expectations of overall materiality.

Suggested Citation

  • Christensen, Brant E. & Eilifsen, Aasmund & Glover, Steven M. & Messier, William F., 2020. "The effect of audit materiality disclosures on investors’ decision making," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:87:y:2020:i:c:s0361368218301910
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2020.101168
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368218301910
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.aos.2020.101168?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. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1901-1930 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Jeong†Bon Kim & Dan A. Simunic & Michael T. Stein & CHEONG H. YI, 2011. "Voluntary Audits and the Cost of Debt Capital for Privately Held Firms: Korean Evidence," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 585-615, June.
    3. Bartov, Eli & Givoly, Dan & Hayn, Carla, 2002. "The rewards to meeting or beating earnings expectations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 173-204, June.
    4. Preeti Choudhary & Kenneth Merkley & Katherine Schipper, 2019. "Auditors’ Quantitative Materiality Judgments: Properties and Implications for Financial Reporting Reliability," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(5), pages 1303-1351, December.
    5. Kennedy, J & Peecher, ME, 1997. "Judging auditors' technical knowledge," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 279-293.
    6. Shana M. Clor†Proell & Chad A. Proell & Terry D. Warfield, 2014. "The Effects of Presentation Salience and Measurement Subjectivity on Nonprofessional Investors' Fair Value Judgments," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 45-66, March.
    7. James S. Ang & Rebel A. Cole & James Wuh Lin, 2000. "Agency Costs and Ownership Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 81-106, February.
    8. Petro Lisowsky & Michael Minnis, 2020. "The Silent Majority: Private U.S. Firms and Financial Reporting Choices," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 547-588, June.
    9. Arnold, Vicky & Bedard, Jean C. & Phillips, Jillian R. & Sutton, Steve G., 2011. "Do section 404 disclosures affect investors' perceptions of information systems reliability and stock price predictions?," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 243-258.
    10. Michael Minnis, 2011. "The Value of Financial Statement Verification in Debt Financing: Evidence from Private U.S. Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 457-506, May.
    11. Keith A. Houghton & Christine Jubb & Michael Kend, 2011. "Materiality in the context of audit: the real expectations gap," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(6), pages 482-500, June.
    12. Holthausen, Robert W. & Watts, Ross L., 2001. "The relevance of the value-relevance literature for financial accounting standard setting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 3-75, September.
    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. Prerana Agrawal & Jacqueline Birt & Lyndie Bayne & Nikki Schonfeldt, 2022. "The use of case studies in developing students’ understanding of the concept ‘material misstatement’," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1307-1338, April.
    2. Eilifsen, Aasmund & Hamilton, Erin L. & Messier, William F., 2021. "The importance of quantifying uncertainty: Examining the effects of quantitative sensitivity analysis and audit materiality disclosures on investors’ judgments and decisions," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Habib Mahama & Zhichao (Alex) Wang, 2023. "Impact of the interactive and diagnostic uses of performance measurement systems on procedural fairness perception, cooperation and performance in supply alliances," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3253-3296, September.
    4. Soon‐Yeow Phang & Hien Hoang, 2021. "Does positive CSR increase willingness to invest in a company based on performance? The incremental role of combined assurance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5631-5654, December.

    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. Stefanie Ceustermans & Diane Breesch & Joël Branson, 2017. "Voluntary Disclosure of Sales and the Extent of Trade Credit in Small Private Companies," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 388-406, September.
    2. Sánchez-Ballesta, Juan Pedro & Yagüe, José, 2023. "Tax avoidance and the cost of debt for SMEs: Evidence from Spain," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2).
    3. Maarten Corten & Tensie Steijvers & Nadine Lybaert, 2015. "The demand for auditor services in wholly family-owned private firms: the moderating role of generation," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 1-26, January.
    4. Frederick Kibon Changwony & Anthony Kwabena Kyiu, 2024. "Business strategies and corruption in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises: The impact of business group affiliation, external auditing, and international standards certification," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 95-121, January.
    5. Kuo, Nan-Ting & Lee, Cheng-Few, 2024. "Social trust and the choices to provide audited financial statements by private firms in emerging markets," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(2).
    6. Ludovic Vigneron & Yves Mard, 2016. "Earnings management across publicly traded and privately held French SMEs," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 29(3), pages 416-440.
    7. Ryan McDonough & Argyro Panaretou & Catherine Shakespeare, 2020. "Fair value accounting: Current practice and perspectives for future research," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3-4), pages 303-332, March.
    8. Ole-Kristian Hope & Shushu Jiang & Dushyantkumar Vyas, 2021. "Government procurement and financial statement certification: Evidence from private firms in emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(4), pages 718-745, June.
    9. Martin, Rachel, 2019. "Examination and implications of experimental research on investor perceptions," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 145-169.
    10. Elina Haapamäki, 2018. "Voluntary Auditing: A Synthesis of the Literature," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 81-104, January.
    11. Felipe Restrepo & Jérôme P. Taillard, 2022. "Private firms’ incentives and opportunities to manage earnings: Evidence from the use of inflation adjustments," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1-2), pages 69-110, January.
    12. Katja Kisseleva & Daniela Lorenz, 2016. "Are level 3 fair values reflected in firm value? Evidence from European banks," ESMT Research Working Papers ESMT-16-03, ESMT European School of Management and Technology.
    13. Liangliang Jiang & Hui Zhou, 2017. "The role of audit verification in debt contracting: evidence from covenant violations," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 469-501, March.
    14. Papadaki, Aphroditi J. & Pavlopoulou-Lelaki, Olga-Chara, 2021. "Sources of Corporate Financing and Operating Performance: The effects of strategic ownership and financial restatements," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    15. Briozzo, Anahi & Albanese, Diana, 2020. "Voluntary audit, investment, and financing decisions in Latin American small and medium enterprises," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    16. Qinlin Zhong & Fuxiu Jiang & Dan Li & Chun Yuan, 2023. "How does mandatory CSR reporting affect supply chain? A new perspective from suppliers," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 199-227, March.
    17. John Gallemore & Martin Jacob, 2020. "Corporate Tax Enforcement Externalities and the Banking Sector," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 1117-1159, December.
    18. Asif M. Huq & Fredrik Hartwig & Niklas Rudholm, 2022. "Do audited firms have a lower cost of debt?," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 153-175, June.
    19. Wen Hua Sharpe & Peter Carey & Hong Feng Zhang, 2023. "Being private, Big 4 auditors, and debt raising," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2295-2345, June.
    20. Gavin Cassar, 2011. "Discussion of The Value of Financial Statement Verification in Debt Financing: Evidence from Private U.S. Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 507-528, May.

    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:eee:aosoci:v:87:y:2020:i:c:s0361368218301910. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aos .

    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.