آزمون تجربی اجرای SEC در بازار حسابرسی An empirical test of SEC enforcement in the audit market

1. Introduction Confidence in public company financial reporting is essential to the strength and vitality of markets, especially in light of the recent increasing complexity of corporate transactions and the unprecedented development of financial products and services (PCAOB, 2012; SEC, 2013). In this context, the role of oversight bodies that regulate public company financial reporting occupies a position of utmost importance (Caramanis, Dedoulis, & Leventis, 2015). Further, in the internationally influential context of the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) operation is considered important because it contributes to safeguarding the quality of financial reporting and consequently the stability of the broader economic system (Gietzmann & Pettinicchio, 2013; Karpoff, Lee, & Martin, 2008a; PCAOB, 2012; SEC, 2013). According to the commission, “taken together, the entities in the SEC’s jurisdiction manage Americans’ savings for college, their hopes for a secure retirement, and their reserves for a rainy day” (SEC, 2014, p. 4). An important function of the SEC is issuing financial reporting disclosure requirements (Seetharaman, Gul, & Lynn, 2002) while also overseeing the work conducted by statutory auditors1 with regard to SEC registrants (Hanson, 2014). DeFond, Francis, and Hallman (2015, p. 1) explain that “the SEC’s mandate includes oversight of SEC registrants and their auditors, with broad powers to punish misconduct including delisting, civil fines and banning audit firms and individual auditors from the audits of SEC registrants.” However, like many modern organizations preoccupied by efficiency (Ghemawat & Ricart Costa, 1993; Sathe, 1983) and operating under certain resource constraints, the SEC’s must achieve its goals within a particular budget and according to a specific time limit (Kedia & Rajgopal, 2011). Therefore, a high probability exists that its enforcement policies are exercised on a selective basis and not “across the board” (Correia, 2012; see also Gunningham & Grabosky, 2004).