INTRODUCTION
The users of financial statements have long concerned whether the accounting numbers are accurate and reliable. Their potential to be manipulated has been brought to attention recently considering from the frequent appearance of the topic of earnings management in both the business press and academic journals. Nonetheless, existing research provides evidence that accounting data do have value-added to the decision making process. For instance, asserting that academic researchers tend to move toward the elimination of ratio analysis as an analytical technique in assessing the performance of the firm, Altman (1968) constructs accounting-based model to predict bankruptcy. The evidence indicates that accounting data are of value since his model can predict the bankruptcy of 36% of the 33 bankrupt sample firms five years before bankruptcy
Although there are many assumptions underlying the financial statement preparation (such as historical cost principle), financial statements prepared under generally accepted accounting principles can be a key source of information about the firm’s financial health. Based on conceptual framework, financials statements are purported to provide useful (reliable, relevant, and comparable) information to decision makers. An audit is done to offer a reasonable assurance that the entity's financial statements fairly present its financial position and results of operation in accordance with certain accounting principles. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a post-Enron world, any reporting errors may be punishable by imprisonment. As a result, the new generation of CEOs must personally vouch for their companies' financial statements (France et. al., 2004). As this situation continues at the cost of the firms, users gain benefits from greater reliable information
which is readily and publicly available.