Going concern opinions are not bad news : evidence from industry rivals

Abstract

This paper examines whether going concern audit opinions (GCO) affect the stock price performance of the announcing firms and their industry rivals. Our original evidence clearly suggests that such accounting event is asymmetrically perceived by the market depending on whether the firm is qualified by the auditor or not. In particular, firms receiving a GCO earn negative abnormal returns at the audit report’s disclosure date and over the following year whereas their industry rivals exhibit positive abnormal returns at the GCO date and in the subsequent one-month period. This is in contrast with the preevent abnormal returns, which, on average, are negative and significant for all firms operating within the industry. Overall, we highlight the relevance of audit opinions and mandatory accounting information for the timing of transactions in financial markets