HYPOTHESIS I. Andersen's clients experienced negative abnormal returns when news of Andersen's indictment was made public.
HYPOTHESIS 2. The indictmem-period abnormal returns are more negative for firms where perceived auditor independence is weak.
HYPOTHESIS 3. The abnormal return is more negative when a firm either replaces Andersen with a non-Big 4 auditor or defers the announcement of a replacement auditor than when it selects a Big 4 auditor to replace Andersen.