An Empirical Study of Error Characteristics in Accounting Populations.
利用20家公司五年审计中发现的错误数据，描述五个会计类别的误差特征，包括误差金额分布、类型及方向，并分析会计类别、行业和公司特征对误差率的影响。
Abstract ABSTRACT: This paper reports the error characteristics of five accounting categories using a new data set consisting of errors discovered during the audits of 20 companies throughout five years. The shape and variability of error amount distributions are described as well as the magnitude, direction, and types of errors making up these distributions. Four error rates are defined and their distributions presented and analyzed. Finally, three environmental factors (accounting category, industry, and firm-specific characteristics) are investigated for their impact on errors and error rates. In addition, the effect of firm size on error rates is tested.