Publications

Oct 2013
Conference Presentation

What Shapes the Gatekeepers? Evidence from Global Supply Chain Auditors

28 Mar 2014
Talk

Monitoring the Monitors: How Social Factors Influence Supply Chain Auditors

28 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Investor Lawsuits Against Auditors Are Falling, and That's Bad News for Capital Markets

Investors rely on corporate auditors to keep impartial watch on the accounting practices of the companies they invest in. Historically, investors have not been shy about launching litigation when they believed View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services; Accounting

2003
Working Paper

Auditor Independence, Conflict of Interest, and the Unconscious Intrusion of Bias

By: Don A. Moore, George Loewenstein, Lloyd Tanlu and Max H. Bazerman

4 Mar 2016
Conference Presentation

Improving Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Social Auditors

7 Oct 2014
Talk

Assessing and Improving Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Social Auditors

2004
Working Paper

Conflicts of Interest and the Case of Auditor Independence: Moral Seduction and Strategic Issue Cycling

By: Don A. Moore, Philip E. Tetlock, Lloyd Tanlu and Max H. Bazerman

January 2006
Article

Conflicts of Interest and the Case of Auditor Independence: Moral Seduction and Strategic Issue Cycling.

By: Don A. Moore, Philip E. Tetlock, Lloyd Tanlu and Max H. Bazerman

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Accounting Audits; Moral Sensibility; Strategy

Article

The Changing Landscape of Auditors' Liability

By: Colleen Honigsberg, Shivaram Rajgopal and Suraj Srinivasan

We provide a comprehensive overview of shareholder litigation against auditors since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA). The number of lawsuits per year has declined, dismissals have increased, and settlements in recent years have... View Details

Keywords: Auditor Litigation; Tellabs; Section 10(b); Section 11; Audit Quality; Janus; PSLRA; Class-action Litigation; Accounting Audits; Lawsuits and Litigation; Legal Liability

SSRN

March 2025
Case

Calyx Global: Rating Carbon Credits

By: Michael W. Toffel and Adam Chen

This case describes how rating agencies and other organizations are seeking to improve the quality of carbon credits sold in the voluntary carbon market to organizations seeking to use them to supplement their internal decarbonization efforts to meet their net zero... View Details

Keywords: Service Design; Certification; Auditing; Auditor Reputation; Carbon Credits; Carbon; Rating Agency Disagreement; Ratings; Climate Change; Business Model; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Conflict of Interests; Reputation; Business Strategy

Educators

Purchase

Fall 2016
Article

The Integrity of Private Third-party Compliance Monitoring

By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Government agencies are increasingly turning to private, third-party monitors to inspect and assess regulated entities’ compliance with law. The integrity of these regulatory regimes rests on the validity of the information third-party monitors provide to regulators.... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Compliance; Compliance Policies; Conflict Of Interest; Independent Third Party; Inspection; Audit Quality; Auditor; Audit; Environment; Safety; Conflict of Interests; Working Conditions; Labor; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governance Compliance; Accounting Audits

Read Now

2015
Working Paper

The Integrity of Private Third-party Compliance Monitoring

By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Government agencies are increasingly turning to private, third-party monitors to inspect and assess regulated entities’ compliance with law. The integrity of these regulatory regimes rests on the validity of the information third-party monitors provide to regulators.... View Details

SSRN

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Most Accountants Aren’t Crooks—Why Good Audits Go Bad

merely consulting daily foreign exchange rates—many others require interpretations of ambiguous information. Auditors and their clients have considerable leeway, for example, in answering some of the most basic financial questions: What's... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, George Loewenstein & Don A. Moore; Accounting; Financial Services

September 2016
Article

Monitoring Global Supply Chains

By: Jodi L. Short, Michael W. Toffel and Andrea R. Hugill

Firms seeking to avoid reputational spillovers that can arise from dangerous, illegal, and unethical behavior at supply chain factories are increasingly relying on private social auditors to provide strategic information about suppliers' conduct. But little is known... View Details

Keywords: Monitoring; Transaction Cost Economics; Industry Self-regulation; Auditing; Codes Of Conduct; Supply Chains; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Supply Chain; Globalization

April 2004 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Accounting Fraud at WorldCom

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David Kiron

The principal players in WorldCom's accounting fraud included CFO Scott Sullivan, the General Accounting and Internal Audit departments, external auditor Arthur Andersen, and the board of directors. The case provides sufficient detail to allow for a full discussion of... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Financial Reporting; Organizational Culture; Corporate Governance; Accounting Audits

Educators

Purchase

2024
Working Paper

Second- versus Third-party Audit Quality: Evidence from Global Supply Chain Monitoring

By: Maria R. Ibanez, Ashley Palmarozzo, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Capitalizing on the superior credibility and flexibility and potential lower cost of external assessments, many global buyers are relying less on their own employee (“second-party”) auditors and more on third-party auditors to monitor and prevent environmental and... View Details

Keywords: Auditing; Audit Quality; Working Conditions; Sustainability; Empirical Operations; Empirical Service Operations; Sustainability Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Supply Chain Management

SSRN

Read Now

February 1996 (Revised August 1998)
Exercise

Process Flow Design Exercise (C)

By: Janice H. Hammond

Provides detailed instructions for auditors to help them prepare for the factory demonstration day. Each audit position is described and a time line outlining responsibilities for the four phases of the simulation is provided. View Details

Keywords: Business Processes

December 2004 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Esrey & LeMay Sprint Options, The

By: Henry B. Reiling and Kevin Wall

Sprint's outside auditor simultaneously provided tax advice--including the recommendation of tax shelters related to Sprint options--to senior Sprint officers. These tax structures were called into question amid circumstances that raise a variety of conflicting issues... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Conflict of Interests; Governing and Advisory Boards; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Telecommunications Industry