دانلود رایگان مقاله نفوذ جریان مدیریت سود از طریق هزینه های حسابرسی بازخرید سهام افزاینده

Abstract

This study investigates whether auditor perceptions of risk are affected by accretive stock repurchases, which prior research has suggested is a form of earnings management. We argue that auditors are likely to view earnings management conducted through the use of accretive stock repurchases as a signal of increased risk, leading to higher audit fees. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find evidence of a positive and significant association between the use of accretive stock repurchases as an earnings management technique and audit fees. The results suggest that audit fees are 6.0% higher when accretive stock repurchases are used to manage earnings, which corresponds to an audit fee that is approximately $107,000 higher for the average firm-year observation in our sample.

5. Conclusion

This study investigates whether earnings management conducted through the use of accretive stock repurchases is associated with higher audit fees. Prior research finds that firms utilize share repurchases to manage earnings (e.g., Almeida et al., 2016; Bens et al., 2003; Cheng et al., 2015; Hribar et al., 2006; Myers et al., 2007); however, we are not aware of any study that examines whether auditors view this practice as affecting audit risk. We argue that auditors are likely to view the use of accretive stock repurchases to manage earnings as a signal of increased risk, leading to higher audit fees. We test our hypothesis using a sample of 19,136 firm-year observations from the period 2005–2013. Our results reveal a positive and significant association between the use of accretive stock repurchases as an earnings management technique and audit fees. The results indicate that audit fees are 6.0% higher when accretive stock repurchases are used to manage earnings, which corresponds to an audit fee that is approximately $107,000 higher for the average firm-year observation in our sample. By showing that managing earnings through the use of accretive stock repurchases is associated with higher audit fees, this study contributes to the streams of prior research that investigate (1) the use of accretive stock repurchases as an earnings management technique, and (2) the impact of earnings management on auditor risk assessments.