Leader versus lagger: How the timing of financial reports affects audit quality and investment efficiency
研究了交错报告系统中企业报告时间差异如何影响审计质量和投资效率，发现领先企业的审计质量更高，且投资效率因报告时间和审计市场结构而异。
Abstract This paper examines how relative timing affects the quality of financial reports in a staggered reporting system in which some firms report earlier than others. We show that the audit quality of the leading firm exceeds that of the lagger. Investment efficiency also differs systematically across firms, depending on the relative reporting timing as well as the audit market structure. Audit regulations mitigate the misalignment of interests between auditors and investors but limit the effect of information spillovers. We characterize the socially optimal auditing standards and show how and why imposing minimum audit quality requirements complements and/or substitutes for adjusting auditors' legal liability. Overall, we show that a staggered reporting system dominates a simultaneous reporting system in enhancing audit quality and investment efficiency through regulation.