Economic Integration, Competition and Hierarchization of the Atlantic Ports of Northern Spain (13 th-15 th centuries)

Resumen: El objetivo de este artículo es analizar las relaciones y la jerarquía de las villas portuarias del Atlántico norte de España entre los siglos XIII y XV. Los puertos del norte peninsular operaban en un nivel intermedio, regional e internacional, de la estructura comercial europea. Las cincuenta villas portuarias de la costa cantábrica desempeñaron un papel vital en la conectividad urbana del tráfico marítimo internacional entre el Mediterráneo y el Atlántico. El fenómeno portuario del Cantábrico, a pesar de su falta de homogeneidad, fue un éxito porque se basó en algunos factores claves, como las características geográficas, las infraestructuras portuarias, el apoyo regio y unas sociedades muy dinámicas; además, la política y la gobernanza adoptaron unas características comunes y distintas en estas villas periféricas para responder a las necesidades y condiciones locales, muy influidas por su carácter de frontera marítima de la Corona de Castilla.Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyze the relationships and the hierarchy of the port-towns of Atlantic Northern Spain between the 13th and 15th centuries. The port-towns operated in an intermediate level, both regional and international, of the European trade structure. The half a hundred port-towns on the Cantabrian coast played a vital role in the urban connectivity of the international maritime traffi c between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. This phenomenon, despite lacking an homogeneity, was a success because it was based on some key factors, such as geographical features, port infrastructures, royal support and very dynamic societies. Besides, politics and governance adopted common and distinct characteristics in these peripheral towns to respond to local needs and conditions, very infl uenced by their character as a maritime border of the kingdom of Castile.Este trabajo se inscribe en las tareas de investigación de los proyectos: “Política, instituciones y gobernanza de las villas y ciudades portuarias de la Europa Atlántica en la Baja Edad Media: análisis comparativo transnacional” (HAR2017-83801-P); de la Red de Excelencia La Gobernanza de los puertos atlánticos, siglos XIV-XXI (HAR2016-81812-REDT) y “Social and Political Order of the Communal Towns in the European Peripheries from the 12th to 16th Century” (340880, ARMONIA, HS3)

Discretionary Accruals and Auditor Behaviour in Code-Law Contexts: An Application to Failing Spanish Firms

This study examines the relationship between earnings management and auditor behaviour in the pre-bankrupt client segment of the Spanish audit market. As proxies for auditor behaviour, we use type of audit firm (Big N/non-Big N) and type of audit report. In contrast to the USA, audit reports in Spain often include modifications other than a going-concern opinion. This allows us to study the relationship in more detail than is possible with US data. The results of our study show that discretionary accruals are negatively related to going-concern opinions but are positively related to reports modified for reasons other than going-concern problems. However, unlike Butler et al. (Journal of Accounting and Economics, 37, pp. 139-165, 2004) the negative relationship is explained not by liquidity survival tactics but by auditor conservatism. We find this conservatism not only in the value of discretionary accruals but also in the qualifications that accompany a going concern. In these cases GAAP violations have a much greater income effect and a stronger relationship with the reversal of manipulation accumulated over the years than with the manipulation introduced during the last year. Finally, our results suggest that Big N differentiation in a code-law country is context-specific and depends on the business risk parameter of the 'audit risk model'. In particular, for high-risk firms, Big N auditors show a significantly lower level of discretionary accruals and a greater propensity to issue a going-concern opinion.