IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/coacre/v22y2005i1p165-193.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Did Houston Clients of Arthur Andersen Recognize Publicly Available Bad News in a Timely Fashion?

Author

Listed:
  • GOPAL V. KRISHNAN

Abstract

Despite the allegations of audit failure and the enormous publicity surrounding Arthur Andersen's indictment, there is no systematic empirical evidence on characteristics of accounting information of clients of Arthur Andersen vis†à †vis other Big 6 auditors. I examine whether earnings of Andersen's Houston†based clients are timely in reporting bad news about future cash flows. I find that relative to a control group consisting of Houston†based clients audited by other Big 6 auditors, earnings of Andersen clients are less timely in reporting bad news. Further, it appears that operating accruals of Andersen clients are less effective in accelerating the timely recognition of bad news than operating accruals of non†Andersen clients. The findings suggest that the clients of Andersen's Houston office engaged in aggressive accounting practices, including delayed recognition of publicly available bad news.

Suggested Citation

  • Gopal V. Krishnan, 2005. "Did Houston Clients of Arthur Andersen Recognize Publicly Available Bad News in a Timely Fashion?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(1), pages 165-193, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:coacre:v:22:y:2005:i:1:p:165-193
    DOI: 10.1506/EGQD-BTG1-4RHD-7MU6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1506/EGQD-BTG1-4RHD-7MU6
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1506/EGQD-BTG1-4RHD-7MU6?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. Begoña Giner & William Rees, 2001. "On the Asymmetric Recognition of Good and Bad News in France, Germany and the United Kingdom," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(9‐10), pages 1285-1331, November.
    2. Baber, Wr & Kumar, Kr & Verghese, T, 1995. "Client Security Price Reactions To The Laventhol And Horwath Bankruptcy," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 385-395.
    3. Jere R. Francis & Jagan Krishnan, 1999. "Accounting Accruals and Auditor Reporting Conservatism," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 135-165, March.
    4. Pope, PF & Walker, M, 1999. "International differences in the timeliness, conservatism, and classification of earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37, pages 53-87.
    5. Ball, Ray & Kothari, S. P. & Robin, Ashok, 2000. "Corrigendum to "The effect of international institutional factors on properties of accounting earnings"; [Journal of Accounting and Economics 29 (2000) 1-51]," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 241-241, October.
    6. Paul K. Chaney & Kirk L. Philipich, 2002. "Shredded Reputation: The Cost of Audit Failure," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 1221-1245, September.
    7. Christie, Andrew A., 1987. "On cross-sectional analysis in accounting research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 231-258, December.
    8. Benston, George J. & Hartgraves, Al L., 2002. "Enron: what happened and what we can learn from it," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 105-127.
    9. Begoña Giner & William Rees, 2001. "On the Asymmetric Recognition of Good and Bad News in France, Germany and the United Kingdom," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(9&10), pages 1285-1331.
    10. 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.
    11. Connie L. Becker & Mark L. Defond & James Jiambalvo & K.R. Subramanyam, 1998. "The Effect of Audit Quality on Earnings Management," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-24, March.
    12. Beaver, WH & Ryan, SG, 2000. "Biases and lags in book value and their effects on the ability of the book-to-market ratio to predict book return on equity," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 127-148.
    13. Feltham, GA & Ohlson, JA, 1996. "Uncertainty resolution and the theory of depreciation measurement," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 209-234.
    14. Ball, Ray & Kothari, S. P. & Robin, Ashok, 2000. "The effect of international institutional factors on properties of accounting earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-51, February.
    15. Basu, Sudipta, 1997. "The conservatism principle and the asymmetric timeliness of earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 3-37, December.
    16. Mark Lang & Jana Smith Raedy & Michelle Higgins Yetman, 2003. "How Representative Are Firms That Are Cross‐Listed in the United States? An Analysis of Accounting Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 363-386, May.
    17. Fama, Eugene F & MacBeth, James D, 1973. "Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 607-636, May-June.
    18. Givoly, Dan & Hayn, Carla, 2000. "The changing time-series properties of earnings, cash flows and accruals: Has financial reporting become more conservative?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 287-320, June.
    19. Basu, S., 1995. "Conservatism and the Asymmetric Timeliness of Earning," Papers 73, Rochester, Business - Ph.D.,.
    20. Basu, S, 1999. "Discussion of international differences in the timeliness, conservatism, and classification of earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37, pages 89-99.
    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. Chun Yu Mak & Norman Strong & Martin Walker, 2011. "Conditional Earnings Conservatism and Corporate Refocusing Activities," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(4), pages 1041-1082, September.
    2. Chi, Wuchun & Wang, Chenchin, 2010. "Accounting conservatism in a setting of Information Asymmetry between majority and minority shareholders," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 465-489, December.
    3. Kuo, Nan-Ting & Li, Shu & Du, Ya-Guang & Lee, Cheng-Few, 2022. "Does individual auditor quality contribute to firm value? Evidence from the market valuation on corporate cash holdings," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 135-153.
    4. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Glaeser, Stephen & Kepler, John D., 2019. "Accounting quality and the transmission of monetary policy," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2).
    5. Ross Taplin & Yafang Zhao & Alistair Brown, 2014. "Failure of auditors: The lack of compliance for business combinations in China," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(3), pages 310-331, September.
    6. Dennis M. López & Marshall K. Pitman, 2013. "Auditor workload compression and busy season portfolio changes – U.S. evidence," Working Papers 0216acc, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    7. Sharad Asthana & Steven Balsam & Jagan Krishnan, 2007. "Audit Firm Reputation, Auditor Switches, And Client Stock Price Reactions: The Andersen Experience," Working Papers 0024, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    8. Mowchan, Michael J., 2023. "Do accounting firms change strategy through office managing partner appointments? Evidence from the U.S," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    9. Mahdi Salehi & Ali Mansoury, 2009. "Firm Size, Audit Regulation and Fraud Detection: Empirical Evidence from Iran," Management, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 4(1), pages 5-19.
    10. Inès Kammoun & Samah Rebai Azouz & Walid Khoufi, 2016. "Les déterminants du conservatisme comptable conditionnel dans le contexte français," Post-Print hal-01901131, HAL.
    11. Huang, Roger D. & Li, Hang, 2009. "Does the market dole out collective punishment? An empirical analysis of industry, geography, and Arthur Andersen's reputation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1255-1265, July.
    12. Heltzer, Wendy & Mindak, Mary P. & Shelton, Sandra W., 2012. "The relation between aggressive financial reporting and aggressive tax reporting: Evidence from ex-Arthur Andersen clients," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 96-104.
    13. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    14. Wen-Ching Chang & Yahn-Shir Chen & Ling-Tai Lynette Chou & Chia-Hui Ko, 2016. "Audit Partner Disciplinary Actions and Financial Restatements," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 52(2), pages 286-318, June.
    15. Chi, Wuchun & Liu, Chiawen & Wang, Taychang, 2009. "What affects accounting conservatism: A corporate governance perspective," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 47-59.
    16. Chou, Julia & Zaiats, Nataliya & Zhang, Bohui, 2014. "Does auditor choice matter to foreign investors? Evidence from foreign mutual funds worldwide," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-20.
    17. Hui, Kai Wai & Klasa, Sandy & Yeung, P. Eric, 2012. "Corporate suppliers and customers and accounting conservatism," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 115-135.
    18. AYOUB, Maysam, 2023. "Audit firms’ network structure and audit quality," Working Papers 2023008, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.

    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. Chi, Wuchun & Wang, Chenchin, 2010. "Accounting conservatism in a setting of Information Asymmetry between majority and minority shareholders," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 465-489, December.
    2. Chung, Hyeesoo H. & Wynn, Jinyoung P., 2008. "Managerial legal liability coverage and earnings conservatism," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 135-153, September.
    3. Juan Manuel García Lara & Beatriz García Osma & Fernando Penalva, 2009. "The Economic Determinants of Conditional Conservatism," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3‐4), pages 336-372, April.
    4. Dmitri Byzalov & Sudipta Basu, 2016. "Conditional conservatism and disaggregated bad news indicators in accrual models," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 859-897, September.
    5. Juan Manuel Garcia Lara & Araceli Mora, 2004. "Balance sheet versus earnings conservatism in Europe," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 261-292.
    6. Juan Manuel García Lara & Beatriz García Osma & Fernando Penalva, 2009. "The Economic Determinants of Conditional Conservatism," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3‐4), pages 336-372, April.
    7. Gopal Krishnan & Linda Parsons, 2008. "Getting to the Bottom Line: An Exploration of Gender and Earnings Quality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 78(1), pages 65-76, March.
    8. Juan Manuel García Lara & Beatriz García Osma & Araceli Mora, 2005. "The Effect of Earnings Management on the Asymmetric Timeliness of Earnings," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3‐4), pages 691-726, April.
    9. Richard Chung & Michael Firth & Jeong-Bon Kim, 2003. "Auditor conservatism and reported earnings," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 19-32.
    10. Nikola Petrovic & Stuart Manson & Jerry Coakley, 2009. "Does Volatility Improve UK Earnings Forecasts?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9‐10), pages 1148-1179, November.
    11. Araceli Mora & Martin Walker, 2015. "The implications of research on accounting conservatism for accounting standard setting," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(5), pages 620-650, August.
    12. Chi, Wuchun & Liu, Chiawen & Wang, Taychang, 2009. "What affects accounting conservatism: A corporate governance perspective," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 47-59.
    13. Akram Khalilov & Beatriz Garcia Osma, 2020. "Accounting conservatism and the profitability of corporate insiders," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3-4), pages 333-364, March.
    14. Chun Yu Mak & Norman Strong & Martin Walker, 2011. "Conditional Earnings Conservatism and Corporate Refocusing Activities," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(4), pages 1041-1082, September.
    15. Bill Rees, 2004. "Discussion of The Timeliness of Income Recognition by European Companies: An Analysis of Institutional and Market Complexity," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1‐2), pages 149-165, January.
    16. Akinobu Shuto & Tomomi Takada, 2010. "Managerial Ownership and Accounting Conservatism in Japan: A Test of Management Entrenchment Effect," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7‐8), pages 815-840, July.
    17. Araceli Mora Enguidanos & Juan Manuel García Lara & Beatriz García Osma & Ana Gisbert Clemente, 2004. "La Comparabilidad De La Información Contable En Europa: Efectos De La Manipulación Contable Sobre El Nivel De Conservadurismo," Working Papers. Serie EC 2004-14, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    18. Karampinis, Nikolaos I. & Hevas, Dimosthenis L., 2011. "Mandating IFRS in an Unfavorable Environment: The Greek Experience," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 304-332, September.
    19. Carel Huijgen & Martien Lubberink, 2005. "Earnings Conservatism, Litigation and Contracting: The Case of Cross‐Listed Firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7‐8), pages 1275-1309, September.
    20. Nikola Petrovic & Stuart Manson & Jerry Coakley, 2009. "Does Volatility Improve UK Earnings Forecasts?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9‐10), pages 1148-1179, November.

    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:wly:coacre:v:22:y:2005:i:1:p:165-193. 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: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1911-3846 .

    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.