SUMMARY
We obtain a novel dataset of workplace satisfaction ratings submitted by about 100,000 employees working for large public U.S. companies. We document that lower workplace ratings are associated with higher audit fees and longer audit report lags. Lower workplace ratings also increase the likelihood of firms receiving modified going concern opinions. Our study shows that organizational workplace environments affect auditor risk assessments and auditing outcomes and provide insights for practicing auditors and corporate executives. Our interviews with practicing auditors at large U.S. accounting firms also provide insights as to how workplace quality affects the corporate audit.
JEL Classifications: G3; J28; M14; M42.
Bolton, Scheinkman, and Xiong (2006) model a setting where investors disagree and short‐sales constraints cause pessimistic views of stock prices to be less influential, which leads to speculative stock prices. A theoretical implication of the model is that existing shareholders can exploit the speculative stock prices by (i) designing managerial compensation contracts that encourage short‐term performance, and (ii) subsequently selling their shares to more optimistic investors. We document empirical support for this theory by finding that an exogenous removal (Regulation SHO) of short‐sales constraints curbs the provision of short‐term incentives, an effect reflected in longer CEO compensation duration. The effect is concentrated among stocks with high investor disagreement and short‐term‐oriented institutional ownership. Consistent with prior work, we also find that longer CEO compensation duration leads to longer CEO investment horizons, less overinvestment, and less earnings management. Collectively, our results speak to the contributing role of speculative stock prices in corporate short‐termism. Finally, our study implies that effective policies to curb corporate short‐termism should address stock market speculation and promote mechanisms that tie executive compensation to longer‐term stock price performance.
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