Limited Business Knowledge Investors Perceptions Of Auditor Independence In The Provision Of Assurance On Unregulated Nonfinancial Disclosures

Vasarhelyi and Zheng (2013) report that more than 4,000 filing errors have been reported in XBRL interactive data following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions 2009 interactive data reporting mandate. Alles and Gray (2012) report that demand exists for externally provided assurance of XBRL filings if the cost of assurance appears less significant to clients. While the discussion of assurance on XBRL filings generally addresses managements confidence in the accuracy assurance on financial data, a void in the literature exists regarding auditor independence in the provision of assurance on XBRL-generated nonfinancial information. Further, Pinsker and Wheeler (2009) note that limited business knowledge (LBK, hereafter) investors perceptions of and reactions to assurance services have not been fully examined. The results of the present research indicate that LBK investors may be more tolerant of a nonindependent attestation on XBRL nonfinancial data with respect to their long-term investments, but not necessarily for their short-term investments. In addition, companies that provide assurance on voluntarily reported nonfinancial information may feel a level of comfort in the fact that LBK investors do not feel that they would win a lawsuit against the company for a mistake in this information

Conditional Convergence: Evidence from the Solow Growth Model

The Solow growth model indicates that more than half of the variation in gross domestic product per capita (GDP per capita) is attributed to savings rates and population growth. This paper investigates whether the Solow growth model also explains conditional convergence for three developing countries (Argentina, Cameroon, and Kenya), using a methodology that is consistent with Carlino and Mills (1996). The results suggest that the Solow growth model correctly predicts that an increase in the savings-investment ratio leads to capital accumulation. However, additional analyses indicate that an increase in capital per capita may not immediately follow a higher savings-investment ratio

Auditor Expertise, Jurors\u27 Social Identities and Evaluations of Auditor Negligence

This paper employs Social Identity Theory to investigate the impact of auditor expertise and jurors’ identification with auditors on jurors’ perceptions of auditor negligence. Consistent with expectations, jurors who identified more strongly with auditors (strong identifiers) levied more lenient negligence judgments to auditors than weak identifiers. These findings suggest that lay jurors demonstrate the ability to empathize with auditors. However, the significant interaction between jurors’ social identities and the firm’s level of expertise suggests that the effects of jurors’ identities on negligence verdicts may be constrained by firm characteristics

Nonprofessional Investors’ Framework for Understanding Earnings Quality

The central goal of this article is to provide nonprofessional investors with an understanding of the impact of accrual accounting on earnings quality. Improving nonprofessional investors’ understanding of earnings quality is essential to the capital market, as they have been found to own nearly one-third of all outstanding stock (Bogle, 2005), a number which anecdotally has increased with the advent of employerdirected compensation plans and online stock trading platforms. Following a presentation of the importance of accruals in the earnings process, the framework discusses various earnings management practices that nonprofessional investors should consider when evaluating earnings quality

Scottish detention centre inmates: a criminological and psychological assessment

This study reviews the statutory basis of the institutional treatment of young people in trouble and the related literature, with particular reference to the Detention Centre. Detention Centres grew out of a need for alternatives to short-term imprisonment for Young Offenders. Their present statutory basis is the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 (England and Wales) and the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act, 1963* They are secure institutional establishments catering for short-term sentences for offenders aged between 16 years and 21 years. The regime, while it is described as reformative, still has punitive and deterrent overtones. It consists of strict discipline and hard work. H.M, Detention Centre, Glenochil is the only senior Detention Centre in Scotland.This study, involving 200 Detention Centre inmates, is exploratory and descriptive. It looks towards the development of an appropriate taxonomy of young offenders, utilising social, personal, legal and psychological data to describe types.The main findings were as follows: -1. The population showed some sign of personal and social disorganisation as reflected in their employment and offence related behaviour.2. There was a systematic relationship between offence related behaviour and psychological characteristics, notably emotional upset.3. Detention Centre inmates obtained a high score on the Introversion-Extraversion continuum, i.e. they are extraverted.4. The population approximated to Cattell's Delinquent Personality Profile.5. The population were highly hostile and extrapunitive and this is taken to indicate marked psychological or emotional upset.6. The Interpersonal Personality Inventory did not effectively discriminate between offenders in this studyThe most important finding was the relationship of psychological upset to offence categories, with its vital implications for the organisation of an adequate social response to the besetting problem of delinquency. The variety of other characteristics of these boys and the variety of taxa obtained, provide a basis for speculation and a stimulus to further study

100 Percent Population Testing and Concerns of Auditors With Limited Liability Exposure: Evidence From Retail Investors

This study investigates whether the type of evidence collected during an audit reduces retail investors concerns of CPA firms whose liability exposure is limited during an audit engagement. This study is motivated by calls for further research pertaining to the benefits and effectiveness realized by the use of big data during the audit engagement. Retail investors who responded to a 2 x 2 experiment did not perceive CPA firms’ independence to be impaired, regardless of the audit methodology used to gather audit evidence (100 percent population testing versus traditional sampling). These results are useful to accounting lawmakers who previously expressed concern that a reduction of liability would impair auditors’ judgement during the audit. Similarly, these results may assist accounting lawmakers in deciding whether or how to change auditing standards to reflect the benefits of big data in auditing. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board