Do goodwill impairments affect audit opinions? Evidence from China

There has been a steady growth of goodwill impairments in the Chinese stock market since the adoption of the impairment approach in accounting. The influence of goodwill impairments on a firm’s financial position and profitability give reason to doubt its current and future performance. We examine whether auditors, as a crucial external monitor, identify the information risks of goodwill impairments and express their concerns about financial reporting quality in their audit opinions. Using a sample of firms listed on China’s A-share market from 2007 to 2017, we test the association between goodwill impairments and the type of audit opinion received in the same financial period. Our findings are as follows. First, the probability of receiving a modified opinion increases with the amount of goodwill impairments. Second, the positive association between goodwill impairments and modified audit opinions is driven primarily by earnings management risks. Third, this positive association is more salient when auditors are industry experts and there is no auditor–client mismatch. Fourth, auditors are more sensitive to the amount of goodwill impairments than to their mere existence. Overall, we document that auditors perceive goodwill impairments as a signal of information risks and communicate their concerns to investors to avoid litigation.     

Local opinions on trophy hunting in Kyrgyzstan

As traditional international trophy hunting destinations are becoming less accessible due to hunting restrictions and regulations, new destinations are entering the scene, such as the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, located in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan has grown to be one of the top destinations for international trophy hunting of argali Ovis ammon and ibex Capra sibirica, both of which are in danger of extinction. Empirically, the article draws on a case study from the largest region in Kyrgyzstan, At-Bashy, and 395 questionnaires with local inhabitants from 5 villages, and 1 interview with an international trophy hunting tour operator. In this article, the impacts of trophy hunting as a tourism practice in a rural context is discussed in terms of its sustainability and through the opinions of the local inhabitants. In sum, the negative impacts of trophy hunting in At-Bashy seem to overrule the positive ones, and in its current form it is not sustainable. The local inhabitants report about a decrease in argali and ibex during the last years; they receive basically no economic benefits from hunting tourism; and not surprisingly, 70% of the population rejects the further development of the industry in its current shape.     

Je t'aime, moi non plus: Bilateral opinions and international trade

This paper studies the relationship between bilateral trade patterns and opinions. It uses the Eurobarometer public opinion surveys published by the European Commission, which provide data on the share of the population in each EU15 member country in favour of each CEEC joining the EU. Our results first suggest that bilateral opinions have a statistically robust and relatively large effect on imports, even when standard and new covariates capturing proximity between countries are controlled for. We interpret this effect as reflecting a positive impact of “bilateral affinity” on trade patterns. We also show that it is possible to go some way towards explaining the variance in bilateral opinions among our sample. Last we provide some preliminary attempt to determine causality between bilateral opinions and imports.     

Contagion or Competition: Going Concern Audit Opinions for Real Estate Firms

We examine whether intra–industry information transfers from going–concern audit opinion announcements create contagion or competitive stock price reactions for other real estate firms operating in the same line of business. Using returns from publicly-traded land subdivision/development firms and Real Estate Investment Trusts, we find modest evidence supporting a competitive effect among rival firms as a result of another real estate firm announcing the receipt of a Going Concern Opinion (GCO) from its independent auditors.     

The Wealth Effects of Fairness Opinions in Takeovers

This paper explores the wealth effects associated with a bidder's decision to solicit a fairness opinion in a takeover transaction. Using a hand‐collected sample with bidders’ filing proxy statements, this paper finds that the use of fairness opinions does not negatively affect bidder shareholders’ wealth, a finding that contradicts prior studies’ findings. In addition, I find a positive wealth effect associated with bidder use of fairness opinions in the post‐Rule 2290 period. Collectively, these results are consistent with a fairness opinion being used by bidder management as a means to facilitate transactions rather than a mechanism to entrench management.     

Balance sheet conservatism and audit reporting conservatism

Financial reports are prepared on a going‐concern (GC) basis rather than a liquidation basis even when companies are highly distressed. This allows distressed companies to report book values of assets that greatly exceed their liquidation values, implying a lack of conservatism in the balance sheet. We argue that auditors issue going‐concern opinions in order to warn investors about this lack of balance sheet conservatism. This argument leads to two testable hypotheses. First, for companies that are at risk of bankruptcy, auditors are more likely to issue GC opinions when the book values of assets under the GC assumption are high relative to the expected liquidation values of assets (i.e., when the GC assumption causes the balance sheet to lack conservatism). Second, for companies that enter bankruptcy, the issuance of a prior GC opinion has predictive information content with respect to the wedge between the book values of assets and the future liquidation values of those same assets. Our results strongly support both hypotheses. The findings are important because they indicate that conservative audit reporting helps to compensate for a lack of conservatism in the balance sheet, which arises because the GC assumption permits the book values of assets to exceed their liquidation values.     

Users expectations and the need for differential beach management frameworks along the Costa Brava: Urban vs. natural protected beaches

Beaches are social–ecological systems where plainly physical, ecological, social and economic dimensions interact, providing several functions and services leading to improved human well-being. Although these systems can provide several protective, recreational and natural functions, only recreation has been traditionally prioritized by managers. This has led to the homogenization of beach management practices, which are poorly adapted to beach settings and beach users. While public participation was highly encouraged, decision-making has traditionally been done by a single stakeholder following a strict hierarchic order. In two antagonistic beaches (natural protected vs. urban) we assess and compare users’ expectations and perceptions that could suggest the necessity of a differential management. Behind an apparent homogeneity, significant differences were detected between these two antagonistic beaches. Although certain normal preferences were common in both beaches, natural attributes were the priority in the natural protected setting, as well as facilities in the urban one. However, the influence of traditional mass tourism model on users’ expectations was undeniable. Particular management frameworks for beaches with singular natural characteristics are necessary. A special emphasis on education and information is needed, as a cornerstone for a sustainable use of these social–ecological systems.     

Opinion convergence in location: A spatial version of the Delphi method

This paper proposes a modified version of the Delphi method, starting from the assumption that in many situations the convergence of opinions can be considered in a spatial context. The Spatial Delphi we suggest is based, like the classical Delphi, on the judgments of experts, and it is useful in the consultations for decision and/or forecast purposes, provided that they concern matters of spatial location. The basis for the questionnaire is a map, on which each expert provides, as answer(s), one or more opinion-points, i.e., locations that, according to their opinion, are best for a specific purpose. We propose a method for narrowing the area of convergence along a multi-step procedure so that the final result of the consultation is a small portion of the initial territory with respect to the initial area considered. Besides a simulation study, we report also a prototype application with a panel of twelve experts.     

市场化进程、内部控制与独立审计

与以往研究不同,文章借鉴制度环境与公司治理机制之间的共生互动理论,考察在我国转轨经济的特定制度背景下,市场化进程与内部控制对独立审计治理机制的影响。研究发现:内部控制质量差的上市公司,越可能选择"非十大"所进行审计,审计费用越高,越可能获得"标准"审计意见;而且在市场化程度低的地区,更高的审计费用和"标准"审计意见的获得,基本上都是本地小所的执业结果。研究表明,审计治理效应的充分显现,不仅需要有效的内部控制和完善的市场化水平,而且更需要两者的互动与协同。     

上市公司审计意见类型影响因素实证研究——以2004年沪、深两市A股为例

以沪、深两市A股2004年年报和中国注册会计师协会发布的2004年《年报审计情况快报》为基础,采用实证方法研究了上市公司财务指标、上市年限长短、审计意见变更、事务所规模、事务所变更、是否ST、地域位置等因素与注册会计师出具的审计意见类型之间的关系。研究表明,当前影响我国上市公司审计意见类型的主要因素是反映上市公司偿债能力、盈利能力和盈余管理情况的财务指标。审计意见变更对审计意见类型有较大影响,但研究并未发现事务所规模、变更与审计意见类型之间具有显著的关系。