In: CESifo economic studies: a joint initiative of the University of Munich's Center for Economic Studies and the Ifo Institute, Band 52, Heft 2, S. 364-395
Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO discussed its review of the independent auditors' reports on the Department of Education's financial statements covering fiscal year (FY) 1998, focusing on: (1) weaknesses in the financial reporting process; (2) inadequate reconciliations of financial accounting records; and (3) inadequate controls over information systems."
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Financial Management Service's (FMS) computer controls in fiscal year (FY) 1999, focusing on: (1) the significant weaknesses GAO identified in its limited official use report and the recommendations that GAO had made; and (2) a follow-up on previously reported weaknesses."
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the general and application computer controls over key financial systems maintained and operated by the Financial Management Service (FMS), focusing on the results of GAO's fiscal year (FY) 1998 tests of the effectiveness of general and application controls that support key FMS automated financial systems and GAO's follow up on the status of FMS' corrective actions to address weaknesses identified in its FY 1997 audit."
AbstractResearch question/issueThe existing literature documents that the functional expertise of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in finance reduces poor performance risk, improves financial reporting quality, and mitigates audit risk. In this study, we examine the association between CEOs' financial background and internal control weaknesses (ICWs).Research findings/insightsUsing a sample of Iranian listed companies for the period 2007–2017, we find a significant negative association between CEOs with financial expertise and ICWs. Furthermore, we show that the negative association between CEO financial expertise and ICWs is stronger if the CEO is recruited from inside the firm. Our main results are robust after controlling for the potential selection issue, random effects at the firm level, and the impact of the new Iranian internal control regulations. Moreover, our results remain unchanged after controlling for other CEO characteristics, audit committee characteristics, audit fees, and using an alternative measure of financial expertise.Theoretical/academic implicationsOur study contributes to the extant literature by examining the association between CEOs' financial background and ICWs, a theme that remains largely unexplored in previous research. We also extend the literature on CEO succession origin.Practitioner/policy implicationsThis study has important implications for regulators regarding the improvement of financial reporting quality and the effectiveness of internal controls, especially in the emerging markets. Particularly, our findings may be of benefit to auditors when assessing the risks regarding their clients' material weaknesses, as well as to shareholders and boards of directors when hiring a new CEO.
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the internal control and compliance issues related to the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) custodial activities, focusing on: (1) previously reported internal control and compliance issues and related recommendations; (2) new issues identified during GAO's fiscal year (FY) 1998 financial audit, along with new recommendations to address those issues; and (3) additional issues identified from GAO's ongoing FY 1999 financial audit."
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Management Service's (FMS) overall security control environment continues to be ineffective in identifying, deterring, and responding to computer control weaknesses promptly. Consequently, billions of dollars of payments and collections are at significant risk of loss or fraud, sensitive data are at risk of inappropriate disclosure, and critical computer-based operations are vulnerable to serious disruptions. During its fiscal year 2000 audit, GAO found new general computer control weaknesses in the entity-wide security management program, access controls, and system software. GAO also identified new weaknesses in the authorization and completeness controls over one key FMS financial application. GAO's follow-up on the status of FMS's corrective actions to address weaknesses discussed in its fiscal year 1999 report found that, as of September 30, 2000, FMS had corrected or mitigated the risks associated with 35 of the 61 computer control weaknesses discussed in that report. To assist FMS management in addressing its computer control weaknesses, GAO made four overall recommendations in this public report."