IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/reggov/v8y2014i3p310-331.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Failure of auditors: The lack of compliance for business combinations in China

Author

Listed:
  • Ross Taplin
  • Yafang Zhao
  • Alistair Brown

Abstract

This empirical study investigates the compliance of 344 Chinese listed companies with the Accounting Standard for Enterprises No. 20‐Business Combination, a mandatory reporting standard applicable to companies involved in business combinations. China has recently reformed its auditing sector, enabling private firms to provide auditing services. The results of the study show a low level of compliance by Chinese listed companies. While companies audited by Chinese domestic auditors have significantly lower compliance than companies audited by Big Four auditors on supplementary disclosure that is mandatory under the Chinese accounting standards, compliance remains low even after companies receive unqualified reports from these international auditors. There appears to be a lack of commitment, and possibly expertise, among Big Four auditors, in fully applying the reporting requirements of the business combination standard in a Chinese setting. This raises concerns about the independence of Chinese auditing in disclosing reliable information about business combinations. Broader theoretical contributions of the paper go beyond the Chinese context by problematizing whether well‐resourced international auditors uphold internationally expected standards or succumb to local non‐compliant practices.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:8:y:2014:i:3:p:310-331
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12011
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/rego.12011?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. Street, Donna L. & Bryant, Stephanie M., 2000. "Disclosure Level and Compliance with IASs: A Comparison of Companies With and Without U.S. Listings and Filings," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 305-329, September.
    2. Suzanne Sevin & Richard Schroeder & Sak Bhamornsiri, 2007. "Transparent financial disclosure and SFAS No. 142," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 22(7), pages 674-687, July.
    3. Baker, C. Richard & Biondi, Yuri & Zhang, Qiusheng, 2010. "Disharmony in international accounting standards setting: The Chinese approach to accounting for business combinations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 107-117.
    4. Jason Zezhong Xiao & Pauline Weetman & Manli Sun, 2004. "Political Influence and Coexistence of a Uniform Accounting System and Accounting Standards: Recent Developments in China," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 40(2), pages 193-218, June.
    5. 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.
    6. World Bank, 2009. "Bhutan - Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes : Accounting and Auditing," World Bank Publications - Reports 3095, The World Bank Group.
    7. Xu, Wen & Uddin, Shahzad, 2008. "Public sector reforms, privatisation and regimes of control in a Chinese enterprise," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 162-177.
    8. Peng, Songlan & Tondkar, Rasoul H. & van der Laan Smith, Joyce & Harless, David W., 2008. "Does Convergence of Accounting Standards Lead to the Convergence of Accounting Practices?: A Study from China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 448-468, December.
    9. Wen Xu & Shahzad Uddin, 2008. "Public sector reforms, privatisation and regimes of control in a Chinese enterprise," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 162-177, June.
    10. Muhammad Ali & Kamran Ahmed & Darren Henry, 2004. "Disclosure compliance with national accounting standards by listed companies in South Asia," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3), pages 183-199.
    11. Srinivasan Krishnamurthy & Jian Zhou & Nan Zhou, 2006. "Auditor Reputation, Auditor Independence, and the Stock†Market Impact of Andersen's Indictment on Its Client Firms," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(2), pages 465-490, June.
    12. Agus Setyadi & Rusmin Rusmin & Greg Tower & Alistair Brown, 2011. "Measurement vs. disclosure of accounting compliance in Indonesia," International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1/2), pages 94-119.
    13. C.R. Baker & Yuri Biondi & Qiusheng Zhang, 2008. "Should Merger Accounting be Reconsidered?: A Discussion Based on the Chinese Approach to Accounting for Business Combinations," Post-Print hal-00407842, HAL.
    14. Sikka, Prem, 2009. "Financial crisis and the silence of the auditors," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 868-873, August.
    15. Power, Michael K., 2003. "Auditing and the production of legitimacy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 379-394, May.
    16. Ross Taplin & Greg Tower & Phil Hancock, 2002. "Disclosure (discernibility) and compliance of accounting policies: Asia–Pacific evidence," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 172-190, June.
    17. Mark T. Bradshaw & Scott A. Richardson & Richard G. Sloan, 2001. "Do Analysts and Auditors Use Information in Accruals?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 45-74, June.
    18. Z. Jun Lin & Jason Z. Xiao & Qingliang Tang, 2008. "The roles, responsibilities and characteristics of audit committee in China," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(5), pages 721-751, June.
    19. Paul M. Healy & Krishna G. Palepu, 2003. "The Fall of Enron," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 3-26, Spring.
    20. Yuri Biondi & Quisheng Zhang, 2007. "Accounting For the Chinese Context: A Comparative Analysis of International and chinese Accounting Standards Focusing on Business Combination," Post-Print halshs-00203358, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Niclas Hellman & Jordi Carenys & Soledad Moya Gutierrez, 2018. "Introducing More IFRS Principles of Disclosure – Will the Poor Disclosers Improve?," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 242-321, May.
    2. Li, Xinxiang & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2021. "Accounting, Ideological and Political Work and Chinese multinational operations: A neo-Gramscian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Baker, C. Richard & Biondi, Yuri & Zhang, Qiusheng, 2010. "Disharmony in international accounting standards setting: The Chinese approach to accounting for business combinations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 107-117.
    4. Ramanna Karthik, 2013. "The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 1-46, January.
    5. Helen Hong Yang & Colin Clark & Changyu Wu & Alan Farley, 2018. "Insights from Accounting Practitioners on China's Convergence with IFRS," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(1), pages 14-27, March.
    6. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    7. Baker C. Richard & Yuri Biondi & Qiusheng Zhang, 2009. "Résistance Et Confusion Dans L'Harmonization Des Normes Comptables Internationales : L'Approche Chinoise Aux Fusions Et Acquistions," Post-Print halshs-00458944, HAL.
    8. Modell, Sven & Yang, ChunLei, 2018. "Financialisation as a strategic action field: An historically informed field study of governance reforms in Chinese state-owned enterprises," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 41-59.
    9. Zhang, Eagle & Andrew, Jane, 2016. "Rethinking China: Discourse, convergence and fair value accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-21.
    10. Humphrey, Christopher & Loft, Anne & Woods, Margaret, 2009. "The global audit profession and the international financial architecture: Understanding regulatory relationships at a time of financial crisis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 810-825, August.
    11. Silvia Rossetti & Roberto Verona, 2017. "International Differences in IFRS Policy Choice and the Persistence of Accounting Classification: The Case of China," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(2), pages 1-27, January.
    12. Lopes, Patricia Teixeira & Rodrigues, Lucia Lima, 2007. "Accounting for financial instruments: An analysis of the determinants of disclosure in the Portuguese stock exchange," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 25-56.
    13. Jeff Everett & Constance Friesen & Dean Neu & Abu Shiraz Rahaman, 2018. "We Have Never Been Secular: Religious Identities, Duties, and Ethics in Audit Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 1121-1142, December.
    14. Nölke Andreas, 2013. "A Political Economy Explanation for Country Variation in IFRS Adoption – A Comment on ‘The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization’ by K. Ramanna," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 69-76, January.
    15. Federica Doni & Ross Taplin & Roberto Verona, 2016. "Comparability of Company Accounts Using IFRS and US GAAP: Empirical Evidence of European and US Financial Statements," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(12), pages 1-54, November.
    16. Dunne, Neil J. & Brennan, Niamh M. & Kirwan, Collette E., 2021. "Impression management and Big Four auditors: Scrutiny at a public inquiry," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    17. Pernilla Broberg & Torbjörn Tagesson & Daniela Argento & Niclas Gyllengahm & Ola Mårtensson, 2017. "Explaining the influence of time budget pressure on audit quality in Sweden," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(2), pages 331-350, June.
    18. Dermarkar, Simon & Hazgui, Mouna, 2022. "How auditors legitimize commercialism: A micro-discursive analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    19. Jin (Ginger) Wu & Lu Zhang & X. Frank Zhang, 2010. "The q‐Theory Approach to Understanding the Accrual Anomaly," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 177-223, March.
    20. Hodgdon, Christopher & Tondkar, Rasoul H. & Adhikari, Ajay & Harless, David W., 2009. "Compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards and auditor choice: New evidence on the importance of the statutory audit," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 33-55, March.

    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:reggov:v:8:y:2014:i:3:p:310-331. 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)1748-5991 .

    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.