Critical Audit Matters: Possible Market Misinterpretation

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) recently expanded audit reports to disclose Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) and the audit procedures used to address them. We study the first wave of CAM disclosers from July 2019 to May 2020, which included large accelerated filers reporting on their 2019 fiscal year results. We examine whether market participants erroneously perceive firms with more extensive CAM disclosures to be riskier than firms with less extensive CAM disclosures. We find that firms with more extensive CAM disclosures are associated with increased perceived uncertainty: stock prices of these firms are significantly more volatile and analysts’ forecasts are significantly more dispersed than those of firms with less extensive CAM disclosures.