The determinants of audit opinions
Most of the prior studies could be distinguished as those that examine going-concern
and non-going concern modifications. Related to the latter are also studies that
examine falsified financial statements (Spathis, 2002; Spathis et al., 2002). However, as
Ireland (2003) points out, prior research on non-going concern and related audit
modifications is limited. A few studies also examine both going-concern and non-going
concern modifications (DeFond et al., 2000; Ireland, 2003).