Sarah E. Stein

Virginia Tech

Associate Professor

250 Drillfield Drive

Blacksburg, VA 24061

United States

SCHOLARLY PAPERS

18

DOWNLOADS
Rank 27,676

SSRN RANKINGS

Top 27,676

in Total Papers Downloads

3,890

TOTAL CITATIONS

5

Scholarly Papers (18)

The Importance of Audit Partners’ Risk Tolerance to Audit Quality

Contemporary Accounting Research 40 (4): 2512-2546 (2023)
Number of pages: 62 Posted: 08 Jan 2019 Last Revised: 03 Jan 2024
Jeffrey Pittman, Sarah E. Stein and Delia F. Valentine
Memorial University, Virginia Tech and University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Downloads 1,969 (17,321)
Citation 3

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audit partner, audit quality, risk tolerance, legal infractions

The importance of audit partners’ risk tolerance to audit quality

Contemporary Accounting Research, Forthcoming
Posted: 05 Oct 2023
Jeffrey Pittman, Sarah E. Stein and Delia F. Valentine
Memorial University, Virginia Tech and University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

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audit partner, audit quality, risk tolerance, legal infractions

2.

Challenges in Evaluating Corporate Governance: Evidence from Chief Audit Executives

Number of pages: 50 Posted: 20 Jan 2023 Last Revised: 17 Mar 2025
University of Tennessee - Haslam College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech
Downloads 405 (153,220)

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corporate governance, evaluation, internal audit, institutional theory, decoupling

3.

Imitation without Intention: A Qualitative Analysis of Isomorphic Audit Committee Disclosures

Number of pages: 55 Posted: 20 Oct 2022 Last Revised: 10 Apr 2024
University of Tennessee - Haslam College of Business, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Downloads 281 (227,635)

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audit committee, disclosure, proxy statement, isomorphism, legitimacy gap

4.

Does Tax Enforcement Inform Auditors’ Risk Assessment? Evidence from Key Audit Matters

Contemporary Accounting Research (forthcoming)
Number of pages: 60 Posted: 12 Jan 2023 Last Revised: 11 Feb 2025
University of Alabama, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University - Pamplin College of Business, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Virginia Tech
Downloads 227 (281,502)

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risk assessment, key audit matters, tax enforcement, monitoring

5.

Does the CFO’s Power Relative to the Audit Partner Affect Financial Reporting Outcomes? Evidence from Goodwill Impairment Decisions

Number of pages: 60 Posted: 27 Dec 2022 Last Revised: 10 May 2023
Matthew Cobabe, Sarah E. Stein and Delia F. Valentine
Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech and University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Downloads 191 (331,114)

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auditor-client relationship, relative power, negotiations, complex estimates, goodwill impairments

6.

Competing for Talent: Understanding the Recruiting Challenges and Strategies of Small Accounting Firms

Number of pages: 51 Posted: 06 Jan 2025
Kenneth L. Bills, Christie Hayne and Sarah E. Stein
Michigan State University - Department of Accounting & Information Systems, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Virginia Tech
Downloads 183 (344,366)

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small accounting firms, recruiting, field study, peripheral communication, central communication, organizational familiarity, organizational image, organizational legitimacy

7.

Evaluating Corporate Governance: Guiding Principles and Calls for Future Research

Accounting Horizons (forthcoming) [10.2308/HORIZONS-2023-082]
Number of pages: 35 Posted: 26 Jun 2023 Last Revised: 17 Mar 2025
University of Tennessee - Haslam College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech
Downloads 173 (361,881)

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corporate governance, evaluation, internal audit, chief audit executives JEL codes: G34

8.

Moving Towards Consensus: An Examination of Trends in Investment Fair Values

Number of pages: 56 Posted: 27 Feb 2023 Last Revised: 12 Nov 2024
Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University - Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M University - Mays Business School
Downloads 164 (379,201)

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fair value, investment security, verifiability, trends, insurance companies JEL classifications: G22, G31, M41

9.

Redefining Perceived Boundaries: Insights into the Audit Committee's Evolving Responsibilities

The Accounting Review (forthcoming)
Number of pages: 52 Posted: 28 Nov 2022 Last Revised: 20 Feb 2025
University of Tennessee - Haslam College of Business, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Downloads 154 (400,050)
Citation 2

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audit committee, corporate governance, evolving responsibilities, boundary work, boundary tactics

10.

The role of external auditors in the financial reporting process

Forthcoming. Handbook on the Financial Reporting Environment (edited by W. Ge, A. Koester, and S. McVay, 2025), Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Number of pages: 38 Posted: 03 Jan 2025
Lauren M. Cunningham and Sarah E. Stein
University of Tennessee - Haslam College of Business and Virginia Tech
Downloads 143 (424,778)

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audit, Big 4, regulation, information asymmetry, investors, materiality

11.

Collaborating with Competitors: How Do Small Firm Accounting Associations and Networks Successfully Manage Coopetitive Tensions?

Contemporary Accounting Research, 38 (1): 545-579, 2021
Posted: 21 May 2020 Last Revised: 22 Mar 2021
Kenneth L. Bills, Christie Hayne and Sarah E. Stein
Michigan State University - Department of Accounting & Information Systems, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Virginia Tech

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coopetition, transactional mechanisms, relational mechanisms, associations and networks, interorganizational relationships, small accounting firms

12.

Auditor Industry Specialization and Accounting Estimates: Evidence from Asset Impairments

Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 38 (2): 207–234 (2019)
Posted: 06 Feb 2019 Last Revised: 02 Jul 2019
Sarah E. Stein
Virginia Tech

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accounting estimates, asset impairments, auditor competencies, auditor industry specialization

13.

What’s in a Name? Initial Evidence of U.S. Audit Partner Identification Using Difference-in-Differences Analyses

The Accounting Review Vol. 94, No. 5: 139-163, 2019
Posted: 09 Nov 2018 Last Revised: 07 Oct 2019
University of Tennessee - Haslam College of Business, University of Kansas, Virginia Tech and James Madison University

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PCAOB, Rule 3211, Form AP, audit partner, audit quality, audit fees, difference-in-differences

14.

Determinants and Consequences of Timely Asset Impairments During the Financial Crisis

Journal of Business Finance & Accounting (2017)
Posted: 04 Oct 2017 Last Revised: 15 Feb 2023
Joshua L. Gunn, Inder K. Khurana and Sarah E. Stein
University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Missouri at Columbia - Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business and Virginia Tech

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asset impairments, monitoring, conservatism, debt contracting, bond illiquidity

15.

To Share or Not to Share: The Importance of Peer Firm Similarity to Auditor Choice

Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 83 (May): 1-24, 2020
Posted: 30 Jun 2017 Last Revised: 18 Jun 2020
Michigan State University - Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Virginia Tech, Memorial University and Virginia Tech

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auditor choice, product similarity, auditor knowledge, proprietary costs

16.

A Field Study on Small Accounting Firm Membership in Associations and Networks: Implications for Audit Quality

The Accounting Review 93 (5): 73-96 (2018)
Posted: 13 Dec 2016 Last Revised: 11 Feb 2019
Kenneth L. Bills, Christie Hayne and Sarah E. Stein
Michigan State University - Department of Accounting & Information Systems, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Virginia Tech

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Associations and Networks, Interorganizational Relationships, Small Accounting Firms, Audit Quality, Field Study

17.

Do Audit Fees Reflect Unique Characteristics of Individual Executives?

Accounting Horizons (forthcoming)
Posted: 05 Aug 2015 Last Revised: 23 Jul 2020
John Lauck, Joseph Rakestraw and Sarah E. Stein
Louisiana Tech University - School of Accounting & Information Systems, Florida Atlantic University - School of Accounting and Virginia Tech

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executive fixed effects; group connection; audit pricing; unexplained audit fees

18.

Auditor Industry Specialization and Evidence of Cost Efficiencies in Homogenous Industries

The Accounting Review 90 (5): 1721-1754, Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management Research Paper No. 2321741
Posted: 07 Sep 2013 Last Revised: 09 Sep 2015
Kenneth L. Bills, Debra C. Jeter and Sarah E. Stein
Michigan State University - Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Vanderbilt University - Accounting and Virginia Tech

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auditor industry specialization, audit fees, economies of scale, homogenous industries, complex industries