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SubscribePublished Paper: Auditors' Quantitative Materiality Judgements: Properties and Implications for Financial Reporting Reliability
Paper Authors: Preeti Choudhary, Kenneth Merkley, and Katherine Schipper
Publication: Journal of Accounting Research
Abstract: We analyze data made available through the PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) to provide descriptive evidence on the properties of auditors’ actual quantitative materiality judgments and the implications of those judgments for financial reporting. Auditors’ quantitative materiality judgments do not appear to result simply from applying conventional rules-of-thumb, (e.g., 5% of pre-tax income), but instead are associated with size-related financial statement outcomes (income, revenues and assets), where the relative importance of the size-related outcomes varies with client characteristics such as financial performance. Using the distribution of actual materiality amounts reported by auditors to the PCAOB as part of the inspection process, we construct a materiality-judgment measure that locates a specific materiality amount within a normal range that is both comparable across varying client characteristics and supported by audit firm internal policy manuals. We find that looser materiality (an amount closer to the high end of a normal materiality range) is associated with fewer audit hours and lower audit fees, supporting the construct validity of this measure. We also find that looser materiality is associated with lower amounts of proposed audit adjustments and, in extreme cases, with a greater incidence of restatements, highlighting the importance of these decisions for financial reporting reliability.
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The economic research fellows and staff economists generate high-quality working papers that inform the oversight activities of the PCAOB and are disseminated to stimulate discussion and critical comment to the benefit of the public. Working papers are preliminary materials that have not been approved by the Board and reflect only the views of the author(s).
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