Empirical research in auditor litigation : considerations and data

Studies in Accounting Research #33 provides guidance for conducting empirical research on auditor litigation and for using data on auditor litigation in teaching. To facilitate research and teaching, the monograph includes a CD with a Database. The Database has over 1,000 client observations with audit litigation involving the Big Five and their legacy firms. Non-Big Five firms are included on joint litigation. The Database includes litigation over allegations of audit failure on audits from 1960 through 1995, as long as legal actions were filed by end of 1995. The Database contains an extensive amount of information. For example, it has information on clients and auditors, accounting and auditing issues, legal characteristics and issues, regulatory actions, and litigation resolutions. All information is from public sources available through early 1999. The Database should be easily usable by academics, practitioners, and students alike. It is designed for use with Microsoft Access (the CD has three versions for Access 2.0, 97, and 2000). While the Database as published provides a rich source of litigation-related information, it is also designed so that users can customize it to meet their particular needs. For example, the Database can be updated with further information about the observations or with additional observations, such as audit litigation filed after 1995. The monograph makes a number of suggestions for using the Database in a variety of research settings. The Database is designed for stand-alone use or it can be used in combination with data from other sources. The discussion of research considerations and applications encompasses both the usefulness and limitations of the Database. Further, the Database can be used in teaching a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, including courses on financial accounting, financial statement analysis, auditing, securities litigation, accountant’s liability, governance, and professional regulation and institutions. The discussion of teaching applications includes suggestions on opportunities for bringing litigation-related topics into the classroom through supplementing lecture materials, promoting active learning, developing new teaching cases, extending and enriching existing case materials, and designing student projects, assignments, and other educational activities.