Does the Disclosure of PCAOB Inspection Findings Increase Audit Firms' Litigation Exposure?
研究发现PCAOB检查报告中披露的审计缺陷与审计事务所后续被起诉的数量正相关，尤其是在客户已发生诉讼触发事件且检查内容更具说服力时，这种效应仅适用于三年检查一次的审计事务所。
ABSTRACT We examine whether PCAOB inspection reports increase auditors' litigation risk. We find that inspection reports with audit deficiencies are positively associated with the number of lawsuits subsequently filed against the inspected auditor. These results are strongest when client-level lawsuit-triggering events have already occurred and when PCAOB inspection content is arguably more persuasive. Importantly, these results pertain exclusively to triennially inspected audit firms for which the set of other publicly available signals of audit quality is limited. Furthermore, we do not argue that inspection reports in isolation trigger lawsuits. Instead, once events such as restatement announcements or bankruptcies create the potential for legal action against the auditor, inspection reports provide a public signal about past noncompliance with auditing standards. This signal likely increases lawyers' perceived strength of case against the auditor before the lawsuit is filed and before lawyers have access to the audit workpapers.