abstract
Internal control regulation effectiveness remains controversial given the recent financial
crisis. To address this issue we examine the financial reporting effects of the Federal
Depository Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA) internal control provisions.
Exemptions from these provisions for banks with assets under $500 million and
for non-US banks provides two unaffected control samples. Our difference-indifferences
method suggests that FDICIA-mandated internal control requirements
increased loan-loss provision validity, earnings persistence and cash-flow predictability
and reduced benchmark-beating and accounting conservatism for affected versus
unaffected banks. More pronounced effects in interim versus fourth quarters suggest
that greater auditor presence substitutes for internal control regulation.
& 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.