Partha Mohapatra, Dina F El-Mahdy and Li Xu
The purpose of this study is to develop a research agenda on internal controls for offshored accounting processes. It further develops a linkage between internal controls of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a research agenda on internal controls for offshored accounting processes. It further develops a linkage between internal controls of offshored accounting processes and auditing of the organization. Offshoring of accounting processes has become a common business practice, pursued by firms to reduce costs and focus on core competencies. However, our understanding about internal controls of these offshored processes is limited.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded in theory that is supported by prior literature and interviews with practitioners, this paper attempts to develop a research agenda on internal controls for offshored accounting processes.
Findings
The main findings of our study suggest that while offshoring saves costs and allows the clients to focus on their core competencies, it also poses risks to the clients’ organizations. To mitigate these risks and comply with the regulatory requirements of the countries where the clients are located, clients and their offshore vendors need to effectively establish adequate internal controls for offshored business processes. Clients should seek those vendors who have appropriate processes in place and are willing to provide Service Organization Control (SOC) reports (or at least are capable of getting a SOC report in the near future). Moreover, clients should avoid offshoring the processes that would exist in defective internal control systems. Similarly, vendors should avoid undertaking those processes for which they are incapable of maintaining efficient internal controls.
Practical implications
Our study has implications for academicians as well as practitioners on understanding the determinants and consequences of internal control for offshored processes.
Originality/value
While internal controls for offshored accounting process and related regulatory changes have been increasingly important topics, little research has been devoted to explore their implications on accounting and auditing literature. We attempt to bridge this gap by synthesizing prior research on internal controls and auditing, and further developing a set of research questions for academic research. Our hope is to spur a new area of research that has not been explored before.
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Dina El Mahdy, Jia Hao and Yu Cong
The purpose of this study is to examine the association between audit committee expertise and asymmetric information in the US equity market.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the association between audit committee expertise and asymmetric information in the US equity market.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use measures of information asymmetry for 705 US firms (5,260 firm-year observations) over the period from 2007 to 2018, and use the theory of expertise (Ericsson and Smith, 1991) to examine the association between audit committee financial expertise and information asymmetry. The authors use multiple econometric approaches such as firm fixed-effect regression and two-stage ordinary least squares regression to control for possible endogeneity and reverse causality and find that the results remain the same.
Findings
The authors find that the existence of an audit committee with financial expertise is negatively and significantly associated with information asymmetry. The authors further provide empirical evidence through which audit committee financial expertise affects the firm’s informational environment. Additional analysis supports the argument that the audit committee’s financial expertise enhances the firm’s informational environment by increasing (decreasing) analyst following (dispersion).
Research limitations/implications
One limitation to consider, like most studies on audit committees, is that the authors do not examine the actual role performed by the audit committee. The authors focus on the characteristics stipulated by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act 2002 and stock exchange rules regarding the financial expertise of audit committee members only.
Practical implications
This study is useful to policy makers, standard setters, investors, activists, managers, lenders and various stakeholders who rely on the financial statements of firms with an expert audit committee on board. The outcome of this study promotes recruiting audit committees with financial expertise due to the assumed benefits of this trait to the US firm.
Social implications
The results of this study are not event-dependent and therefore have persistent effects, which is important to the evaluation of the usefulness of a regulation. This study promotes recruiting audit committees with financial expertise on boards because of the assumed benefits to the firm and investors.
Originality/value
This study is the first to document that financial expertise of audit committee characteristics is not only negatively related to the magnitude of information asymmetry but also driven by the financial expertise of audit committee members rather than chairs.