The Influence of Interim Auditor Reviews on the Association of Returns with Earnings
研究美国证监会要求审计师及时审阅期中收益报告后，发现及时审阅使季度回报与盈余的关联更同步，而回顾式审阅则导致回报领先盈余，表明及时审阅提高了盈余反映经济事件的时效性。
The Securities and Exchange Commission now requires auditors to review interim earnings reports on a timely basis. Previously, auditors could perform this review retrospectively, as part of the year-end audit. We investigate whether timely reviews are likely to increase the relevance and reliability of reported earnings, as reflected by the extent to which the earnings-return relation is contemporaneous. We find that when the auditor reviews interim earnings on a timely basis, the association between quarterly returns and earnings (and between quarterly returns and unexpected earnings) is predominantly contemporaneous. When the auditor reviews interim earnings retrospectively, however, the association between quarterly returns and earnings is not entirely contemporaneous; with retrospective reviews, returns lead interim earnings. We conclude from these findings that timely reviews increase the likelihood that accounting earnings reflect economic events contemporaneously with returns.