Private lenders’ demand for audit
Baylis,R.M. Burnap,P. Clatworthy,M.A. Gad,Mahmoud Pong,C.K.M.
Baylis,R.M.
Burnap,P.
Clatworthy,M.A.
Gad,Mahmoud
Pong,C.K.M.
Abstract
We study clauses in private lending agreements requiring auditors to assure lenders of borrowers’ compliance with financial covenants. Auditors are required under general purpose financial reporting to review covenant compliance. However, by informing lenders directly that they have no knowledge of default, auditors may increase their litigation risk. We find that auditor covenant compliance assurance clauses are significantly associated with more complex contractual adjustments to net income, the extent of reliance on accounting information in the contract, intangibility of borrowers’ assets, the number of lenders and loan maturity. We provide novel evidence of the audit market enhancing efficient contracting.
Description
Date
2017-08
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
auditing, financial reporting, debt contracts, M41 - Accounting, M49 - Other
Citation
Baylis, R M, Burnap, P, Clatworthy, M A, Gad, M & Pong, C K M 2017, 'Private lenders’ demand for audit', Journal of Accounting & Economics, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 78-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2017.06.001