Keywords

audit report date, audit report delay, audit report lag, audit fieldwork completion

Abstract

Archival research in accounting often relies on the audit report date to capture the constructs of audit efficiency, audit timeliness, audit effort, or audit completion. Auditors’ view of what constitutes sufficient appropriate evidence to support the audit opinion, and consequently the date of the audit report, previously coincided with the substantial completion of audit fieldwork, which would be days or weeks before a 10-K filing. However, this view has shifted to coincide with the timing of the public issuance of clients’ financial statements (i.e., the 10-K filing date) following several regulatory actions, audit practice changes, and professional standard setting changes occurring since the turn of the century. In this study, we present evidence of this shift in auditor perspective and discuss implications for academic research and standard setting.

Original Publication Citation

Glover, S. M., J. C. Hansen, and T. A. Seidel. 2022. How has the change in the way auditors determine the audit report date changed the meaning of the audit report date? Implications for academic research. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 41 (1): 143-173.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2021

Publisher

Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Accountancy

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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