Risks, Controls and Business Value of IT-Enabled Interfirm and Intrafirm Processes

There have been significant advances in the information systems (IS) literature about the business value that can be realized through information technology (IT) investments and the mechanisms through which IT creates different facets of business value. We identify three important gaps in understanding the literature on IT business value. First, it is unclear how risk arising from deficiencies in a firm’s information environment, along with internal and external contextual factors, affects a firm’s IT implementation choices. Second, it is unclear how IT resources in a focal domain need to be combined with knowledge resources in the same domain and IT resources in other domains to develop process capabilities and create process-level benefits. Third, it is unclear what risks IT-enabled process innovations create for different process stakeholders and what controls can be applied to mitigate these risks. My dissertation addresses the above three gaps in three essays. The first essay examines the influence of a firm’s information risk on its prioritization of accounting enterprise systems (AES) relative to complementary enterprise systems and the moderation of this relationship by the weaknesses of internal controls and environmental uncertainty characteristics. The second essay focuses on the impact of AES implementation on a firm’s internal controls process, and the complementary roles of managerial competence and enterprise systems implemented in other domains related to the internal controls process of the firm. The final essay explores the risk factors that can arise for buyers and suppliers due to the use of reverse auctions, and the controls that can be applied to mitigate the key risk factors. In terms of research methods, the first two essays apply econometric analysis to panel datasets constructed from multiple sources and the third essay uses a combination of Delphi studies and semi-structured interviews. Collectively, the essays advance our understanding of (1) the factors underlying a firm’s prioritization of IT investment choices; (2) the mechanisms through which IT resources, in combination with human expertise, create business value; and (3) the risks introduced for different stakeholders by the adoption of IT-enabled process innovations and the controls that can be used to effectively mitigate them

Disintegrating Information Technology in Corporate Divestures: Implications for Regulatory Compliance Risks and Costs

Prior research has paid very little attention, if at all, to the risks and costs entailed in IT disintegration processes. In this study, we begin addressing this gap by studying how IT disintegration challenges posed by corporate divestitures affect the regulatory compliance risks and costs of divesting firms in the context of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). We hypothesize that firms with higher corporate divestiture intensities are more likely to have material weaknesses in their IT controls, more likely to become incompliant with SOX, and more likely to incur higher auditor fees during SOX audits. We also hypothesize that superior IT capabilities could reduce the probability and magnitude of the regulatory compliance risks and costs during divestitures. We find empirical support for these hypotheses in a sample of 252 publicly traded U.S firms that were audited independently for SOX compliance between 2004 and 2008

Financial Closing Time, IT Capability, And Quarterly Earnings Patterns

This study examines whether superior Informational Technology Capability (ITC) is associated with a shorter financial closing time for publicly traded companies. We also compare patterns of late-year adjustment of quarterly earnings between ITC and non-ITC companies. ITC firms appear to have shorter financial closing times and seem to have a reduced probability to exhibit late-year earnings reversals

HOW DO REMOTE AUDIT AND CLIENT COMPANY SIZE AFFECT AUDIT FEES?

This research aims at determining the influence of remote audits and client company size on audit fees at public accounting firms in Pekanbaru. The sample used was Public Accounting Firm (KAP). Based on the results of the research conducted, it can be concluded that there was no relationship between the implementation of the remote audits with the client company size. The implementation of Remote Audits did not have a significant effect on audit fees at the Public Accounting Firm. Then, Client Company Size affected the audit fees at the Public Accounting Firm. While, Remote Audits and Client Company Size simultaneously affected audit fees at the Public Accounting Firm in Pekanbaru

HOW DO REMOTE AUDIT AND CLIENT COMPANY SIZE AFFECT AUDIT FEES?

This research aims at determining the influence of remote audits and client company size on audit fees at public accounting firms in Pekanbaru. The sample used was Public Accounting Firm (KAP). Based on the results of the research conducted, it can be concluded that there was no relationship between the implementation of the remote audits with the client company size. The implementation of Remote Audits did not have a significant effect on audit fees at the Public Accounting Firm. Then, Client Company Size affected the audit fees at the Public Accounting Firm. While, Remote Audits and Client Company Size simultaneously affected audit fees at the Public Accounting Firm in Pekanbaru

Occurrence and Consequences of Surprise Internal Control Disclosures

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act mandates public companies to establish internal control systems and assess their effectiveness. Quarterly reports by all companies and annual reports by companies with less than $75 million public float (non-accelerated filers) do not require auditor’s attestation while annual reports by companies with$75 million or more public float (accelerated filers) do require such auditor attestations. Quarterly reports should provide early warning of any impending material weakness (MW) to be disclosed in subsequent annual filings. This dissertation explores three types of “surprise” MW disclosures—positive, negative and no surprise—and consequences of such surprise disclosures. In part one, I document the frequency of surprise MW disclosures and internal control factors that are associated with each surprise type by filer status. Results show that 78 (77) percent of accelerated (non-accelerated) MW disclosures are negative surprise MW disclosures during 2004-2016. Entity level MWs are more associated with no-surprise rather than negative or positive surprise MW disclosures. In part two, I examine some consequences of surprise MW disclosures. The results show that companies with MW disclosures are more likely to dismiss their auditors and CFOs, and experience more shareholder voting against auditor ratification, compared to companies that issue clean reports. Auditor dismissal and CFO turnover are equally likely at negative and no-surprise MW disclosure companies. However, negative surprise accelerated filer companies’ shareholders are more likely to vote against auditor ratification than no-surprise accelerated filer companies. The third essay investigates the association between MW disclosures and audit fees. The results indicate that there is a significant positive association between audit fees and MW disclosures. Further, the results show that audit fees are higher at no-surprise companies than at negative surprise companies. The fourth essay focuses on audit report lag. The results indicate that MWs are associated with increased audit report lags, for both accelerated and non-accelerated filers. Further, surprise MW firms are more likely to experience increased audit report lag than no-surprise MW firms. Overall the results suggest that adverse internal control reports have consequences, and that the consequences vary between surprise and no-surprise MW firms. The results provide relevant empirical evidence to the ongoing debate on the necessity and efficacy of SOX Section 404 requirements

The impact of client information technology capability on audit pricing

This paper explores the question: “How does a client\u27s information technology (IT) capability influence audit pricing?” Company data for the years 2004 through 2012 are employed. Firms appearing on the InformationWeek 500 (IW500) annual list of U.S. organizations with superior IT functions serve as a proxy for companies with superior IT capability. Our findings suggest that companies with superior IT capabilities incur higher levels of audit fees. In addition, as client size increases, the audit fees of firms with advanced IT capabilities increase at a greater rate than firms without such capabilities. These findings contrast with prior research by Chen et al. (2014) that found in the immediate post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) period for the years 2004 through 2007, client IT capability reduced audit fee increases. In addition, we replicate the Chen et al. (2014) results and find that IT capability did not influence audit fee increases during the subsequent recession and recovery periods. Further, superior capability clients see smaller audit fee increases when exogenous shocks such as SOX regulations occur. These results suggest a revised interpretation of Chen et al. (2014) may be warranted. This study contributes to the literature by providing a more complete picture of how a client\u27s IT capability affects audit fees