... results are robust to alternative comparability and industry expertise measures, to various sampling methods, and to corrections for potential endogeneity problems. JEL Classifications: M41; M42. We thank Byron Song, Song Tang, and the participants at Central University of Finance and Economics...

... beat earnings benchmarks and firms that issue seasoned equities, we find that city-level auditor industry expertise and audit fees are associated with higher levels of real earnings management. We find similar, albeit weaker, results for the Big N auditors. Our paper suggests an unintended consequence...