The Audit Analytics Accounting Quality + Risk Matrix (AQRM) makes it easy to identify accounting, audit, and governance red flags for public companies. This blog series breaks down the risks associated with specific firm-level events included in the AQRM. A public company’s … Continue reading
Author Archives: Derryck Coleman
Academic Spotlight: Auditor Ratification’s Impact on Audit Quality
Research shows that shareholder dissatisfaction improves audit quality. In June of 2020, Paul Tanyi, Gregory Martin, Dasaratha Rama, and K. Raghunandan published research in Accounting Horizons that measured shareholder votes against the ratification of an audit firm in the proxy statement. Their … Continue reading
Audit Firm Market Share of ERISA Benefit Plans
Entities, or sponsors, that offer post-employment benefit plans are required by ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) to disclose audited financial information to plan beneficiaries. Unlike the public company audit market, which is dominated by the Big … Continue reading
SEC Enforcement Highlights Late Filing Disclosure Risks
On April 29, the SEC’s Enforcement Division announced charges against eight companies for failure to disclose complete information in Form NT (non-timely). The companies delayed issuing financial statements due, at least in part, to errors in previously issued financial statements, … Continue reading
Audit Analytics Releases Third Annual Cybersecurity Report
Audit Analytics released its third annual Trends in Cybersecurity Breaches report last week. This report delves into trends in public company disclosures of cyber breaches since 2011. The analysis, covering 2011 through 2020, examines a full decade worth of data. … Continue reading
Debt Offerings Surged in 2020
Following the uncertainty of COVID-19, many companies took to the debt markets to ensure they could cover short-term obligations and operating expenses. The explosion of debt offerings culminated in the total amount of notes and bonds eclipsing $2 trillion based … Continue reading
How the SEC’s Focus on Climate Change Might Affect Comment Letters
On Wednesday, Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee directed the Division of Corporation Finance to begin focusing on climate-related disclosures. This is the first action the SEC has taken to address climate-related disclosure since the Commission’s 2010 Interpretive Guidance. The … Continue reading