Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Accounting
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
My dissertation investigates whether the reputational damage caused by a restatement varies based on the partner’s culpability and how auditors attempt to minimize the consequences. I identify two groups of partners: misstating partners – engagement partners who oversaw the audit from the beginning of the misstatement period through the restatement announcement – and correcting partners – engagement partners who oversaw the audit at the end of the misstatement period through the restatement announcement. I find that a restatement damages misstating partners’ reputations (i.e., more likely to be dismissed, a reduction in public audit clients). However, correcting partners do not experience a negative impact. Next, I examine whether the effects vary based on the method used to correct the misstatement (“Big R,” “little r,” or out-of-period adjustment (OOPA)). My finding suggests that a more conspicuous restatement (a “Big R”) is more damaging to a misstating partner’s reputation than a less conspicuous restatement (a “little r” or OOPA). Third, I examine the stock price response to restatement announcements. The findings suggest that the stock price response to a material misstatement is more muted when the misstatement is corrected using a less conspicuous method. Fourth, I find that clients of misstating partners are more likely to use a less conspicuous restatement method than correcting partners, indicating that misstating partners attempt to limit reputational damage by downplaying the misstatement. Finally, I demonstrate that a strong audit committee limits a misstating partner’s ability to downplay the misstatement. Overall, this study highlights the importance of individual audit partner reputation in the market for audit services and provides insight into U.S. audit partners’ incentives and the indirect costs of financial reporting misstatement correction.
Date
4-17-2024
Recommended Citation
Blush, Alisha, "Does a Restatement Damage an Audit Partner's Reputation" (2024). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 6425.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/6425
Committee Chair
Reichelt, Kenneth