The Effect of Auditor Expertise on Fair Value – Related Financial Reporting Quality

In this study, we examine the impact of auditor expertise on fair value-related financial reporting quality during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. We develop and test a measure of fair value specialization, as well as use a measure of industry specialization. We use these measures to determine whether and to what extent fair value specialization is incremental to industry specialization in a fair value context. Our primary measures of financial reporting quality are firm use of a one-time election to reclassify financial assets to avoid significant losses and discretionary accruals. We predict and find that the joint effects of industry and fair value specialization are associated with significant decreases in both the likelihood that a firm reclassifies fair value assets and the probability the firm uses high discretionary accruals to manage earnings. We test our predictions using a large sample of firms that represent a cross-section of countries, accounting standards, and industries. These results contribute knowledge and are of interest to audit practitioners, accounting and auditing researchers, investors, and regulators.