Auditor reporting and the earnings report in developing countries: a case study

Abstract

The reasons that lead to modification of auditors’ opinions were investigated. Consider an alternate explanation that managers adjust accruals to report earnings that better predict future firm performance, which has the side-effect of placing them in conflict with their auditors. Consistent with prior research, there is no evidence of earnings management leading to an audit opinion modification. However, we do show that firms receiving inherent uncertainty modifications have greater persistence of earnings relative to other firms.