Are audit-related factors associated with financial reporting quality in nonprofit organizations?

Simple item page
dc.contributorHouston, Richard W.
dc.contributorMansfield, Edward R.
dc.contributorReitenga, Austin L.
dc.contributorRobbins, Walter A.
dc.contributor.advisorParsons, Linda M.
dc.contributor.authorGarven, Sarah Ann
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-26T14:22:23Z
dc.date.available2017-04-26T14:22:23Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.descriptionElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
dc.description.abstractIn this paper I examine the effects of various audit-related factors on financial reporting quality in nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Similar to for-profit organizations, NPOs have incentives to report favorable financial results. However, whereas for-profit organizations focus on earnings, of particular importance to NPOs is the program ratio - the proportion of total expenses dedicated to providing programs that fulfill an organization's mission relative to supporting the organization (i.e., fundraising efforts and administration). A nonprofit can inflate its program ratio by opportunistically shifting expenses away from administration and fundraising and toward programs. Although several for-profit papers have examined the impact of audit-related factors on financial reporting quality, especially with regard to earnings management, there is very little evidence on the effects of these factors on financial reporting quality in NPOs. Due to important audit environment and institutional differences between the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, results on audit-related factors in for-profit organizations may not necessarily hold for nonprofit organizations. Thus, the nonprofit sector provides a useful setting to test the generalizability of the effects of audit-related factors on financial reporting quality from the for-profit sector to other sectors. Using logistic regression analyses, my results suggest that audit fees, new auditors, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may have some effect on financial reporting quality in nonprofit organizations. In addition, auditor assessments related to auditee risk, going-concern issues, and reportable conditions over financial reporting also may be factors in nonprofit financial reporting quality. However, contrary to results found in for-profit studies, new auditors and reportable conditions over financial reporting appear to be associated with higher nonprofit financial reporting quality, and auditor size using the traditional Big 4/non-Big 4 designation, as well as audit lag, do not appear to be significant factors in determining nonprofit financial reporting quality. Results are mixed with respect to auditor specialization. Overall, my study provides some evidence that certain audit-related factors are associated with financial reporting quality in nonprofit organizations, and also confirms that, due to the uniqueness of the nonprofit audit environment, results from for-profit studies cannot necessarily be generalized to the nonprofit sector.en_US
dc.format.extent122 p.
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.otheru0015_0000001_0000956
dc.identifier.otherGarven_alatus_0004D_11140
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/2925
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Alabama Libraries
dc.relation.hasversionborn digital
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Electronic Theses and Dissertations
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Libraries Digital Collections
dc.rightsAll rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.en_US
dc.subjectAccounting
dc.titleAre audit-related factors associated with financial reporting quality in nonprofit organizations?en_US
dc.typethesis
dc.typetext
etdms.degree.departmentUniversity of Alabama. Culverhouse School of Accountancy
etdms.degree.disciplineAccounting
etdms.degree.grantorThe University of Alabama
etdms.degree.leveldoctoral
etdms.degree.namePh.D.

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
file_1.pdf
Size:
624.43 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations - Culverhouse School of Accountancy