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An Experimental Investigation of Retention and Rotation Requirements
Author(s) -
Dopuch Nicholas,
King Ronald R.,
Schwartz Rachel
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of accounting research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.767
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1475-679X
pISSN - 0021-8456
DOI - 10.1111/1475-679x.00005
Subject(s) - audit , rotation (mathematics) , accounting , auditor independence , business , independence (probability theory) , computer science , mathematics , joint audit , internal audit , statistics , artificial intelligence
We provide results from an experiment designed to assess whether mandatory rotation and/or retention of auditors increases auditors' independence by reducing their willingness to issue reports biased in favor of management. Auditors' reporting is compared across the following four regimes: one that does not require either rotation or retention, a second that requires retention only, a third that requires rotation only, and a fourth that requires both rotation and retention. We find that the rotation requirements in the third and fourth regimes decreased auditor‐subjects' willingness to issue biased reports, relative to the two regimes in which rotation was not imposed. In these other two regimes, however, many manager‐subjects voluntarily retained the same auditor‐subjects over multi‐periods. While the long running interactions between manager‐ and auditor‐subjects resulted in more favorable reports by auditor‐subjects (a lower level of independence), the established relationships also induced manager‐subjects to make higher investments.