abstract
This study attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships
among chief financial officers’ (CFOs’) professional qualifications, SOX Section 404
internal control weakness, CFOs’ turnover, CFOs’ qualification improvement, and
correction of material weaknesses. We find that firms receiving initial adverse SOX
404 opinions for 2004 have less qualified CFOs. Adverse SOX 404 opinion recipients
experience more CFO turnover in 2005, and these firms are more likely to hire CFOs
having improved qualifications. Results show that simply hiring a new CFO is not
associated with SOX 404 opinion improvement. Opinion improvement requires hiring a
better qualified CFO.
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