Keywords

Accounting, Auditor Liability, Auditing, Litigation, Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Internal Controls, Audit Committee

Abstract

This dissertation examines the litigation and legal liability exposure of auditors related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Three separate studies were conducted to examine how auditor's litigation exposure is evaluated by potential litigants (lawyers), and how auditor liability is evaluated by jurors, following the bankruptcy of a client. The first study examines whether the auditor's SOX Section 404 reporting decisions influence lawyers' assessments of their litigation exposure. The second study investigates whether voluntary disclosures of significant deficiencies in internal controls within the SOX Section 404 report, and the subjectivity of the internal control judgments made by the auditor, influence jurors' perceptions of auditor liability for negligence. The third study examines how the requirements of SOX Section 302 related to audit committee independence and audit committee expertise influence jurors' perceptions of auditor independence and auditor liability for negligence. Overall, these three studies provide insights on how different provisions of SOX, specifically the Section 404 report and audit committee requirements, influence the likelihood that auditors will be sued and the likelihood that they will be held liable by a jury.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2010

Advisor

Arnold, Vicky

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Business Administration

Department

Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting

Degree Program

Business Administration

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0003340

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0003340

Language

English

Release Date

July 2011

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Included in

Accounting Commons

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