Does the SOX Definition of an Accounting Expert Matter? the Association between Audit Committee Directors' Accounting Expertise and Accounting Conservatism
53 Pages Posted: 8 Dec 2005
Date Written: July 29, 2007
Abstract
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act mandates the disclosure of whether at least one member of the audit committee is a financial expert. However, the final version of the rule adopted by the SEC defined experts to include both accounting and non-accounting experts. Did the SEC do the right thing? Are the non-accounting experts just as competent as the accounting experts in enhancing the quality of financial reporting? For a sample of S&P 500 firms we examine whether the audit committee's financial expertise is associated with accounting conservatism, a fundamental characteristic of financial reporting. Our results suggest that an audit committee's financial expertise is positively associated with conservatism when financial expertise is defined to include only accounting experts. Our findings are consistent with the notion that accounting expertise contributes to greater monitoring by the members of the audit committee which in turn enhances conservatism. However, this finding is conditional upon the firm's overall corporate governance, i.e., in weak boards accounting financial expertise is ineffective in promoting conservative accounting. Our findings have implications for regulators, corporate boards, and the accounting profession. Our findings are also relevant to regulators in other countries who are considering adopting measures to enhance corporate governance, particularly the effectiveness of the audit committees.
Keywords: Audit committee, Conservatism, SOX, Accounting expertise
JEL Classification: G34, M41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
Audit Committee, Board of Director Characteristics, and Earnings Management
By April Klein
-
Audit Committee, Board of Director Characteristics, and Earnings Management
By April Klein
-
Audit Committee Composition and Auditor Reporting
By Joseph V. Carcello and Terry L. Neal
-
Corporate Governance and Accounting Scandals
By Anup Agrawal and Sahiba Chadha
-
Audit Committee Characteristics and Auditor Reporting
By Joseph V. Carcello and Terry L. Neal
-
Earnings Management and Corporate Governance: The Roles of the Board and the Audit Committee
By Biao Xie, Wallace N. Davidson, ...
-
Restoring Trust after Fraud: Does Corporate Governance Matter?
-
Board Characteristics, Accounting Report Integrity, and the Cost of Debt
By Ronald C. Anderson, Sattar Mansi, ...
-
Does the Market Value Financial Expertise on Audit Committees of Boards of Directors?
By Mark L. Defond, Rebecca N. Hann, ...