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The market reaction to auditor resignations

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  • John Dunn
  • David Hillier
  • Andrew Marshall

Abstract

Under UK company law, external auditors who resign must warn shareholders and creditors of any matter that ought to be brought to their attention. Auditor resignations and the subsequent change in auditor are informative corporate events. Resignation from office is likely to be a costly signal for the audit firm, particularly when the client is a quoted company. Our analysis of daily data suggests that there is a negative reaction to the auditor resignation on the date of the resignation letter, even though very few auditors indicate there were problems of which the shareholders and creditors should be made aware. This provides backing for the statutory rules on disclosure of the auditor resignation. We also find that the extent of the market reaction on the day of the resignation is related to the size of the resigning audit firm.

Suggested Citation

  • John Dunn & David Hillier & Andrew Marshall, 1999. "The market reaction to auditor resignations," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 95-108.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:29:y:1999:i:2:p:95-108
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.1999.9729572
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ferguson, Andrew & Lam, Peter & Ma, Nelson, 2018. "Market reactions to auditor switches under regulatory consent and market driven regimes," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 197-215.
    2. Zein, Nicole & Simons, Dirk, 2008. "Kosten aus einer asymmetrischen Informationsverteilung zwischen Abschlussprüfer und Mandant," Papers 08-34, Sonderforschungsbreich 504.
    3. Stephanie Monteiro Miller, 2022. "Dual 8-K filings and auditor downward switches," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 204-217, June.
    4. Guragai, Binod, 2022. "Market response to stock exchange listing deficiency notices: Evidence from Nasdaq," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    5. Stuart, Iris & Shin, Yong-Chul & Cram, Donald P. & Karan, Vijay, 2013. "Review of choice-based, matched, and other stratified sample studies in auditing research," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 88-113.
    6. Cullinan, Charles P. & Du, Hui & Zheng, Xiaochuan, 2012. "Barriers to entry to the big firm audit market: Evidence from market reaction to switches to second Tier audit firms in the post-sox period," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 6-14.
    7. E-Sah Woo & Hian Koh, 2001. "Factors associated with auditor changes: a Singapore study," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(2), pages 133-144.
    8. Mohammad Hudaib & T.E. Cooke, 2005. "The Impact of Managing Director Changes and Financial Distress on Audit Qualification and Auditor Switching," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(9‐10), pages 1703-1739, November.
    9. Mohammad Hudaib & T.E. Cooke, 2005. "The Impact of Managing Director Changes and Financial Distress on Audit Qualification and Auditor Switching," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(9-10), pages 1703-1739.
    10. Schneider, Arnold, 2015. "Does information about auditor switches affect investing decisions?," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 39-44.

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