Document Type
Article
Keywords
Misstatement; Executive Loans; Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Identifier Data
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2006.05.002
Publisher
Science Direct
Publication Source
Journal of Accounting and Public Policy
Rights Management
Copyright © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Abstract
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was designed to improve the accuracy and reliability of financial reporting and prohibits public companies from granting loans to executives. Without considering the effects of executive loans on financial reporting, some researchers have questioned the appropriateness of the Act’s loan prohibition [Kahle, K., Shastri, K., 2004. Executive loans. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 39 (4), 791–811; Henderson, M., Spindler, J., 2005. Corporate Heroin: A defense of perks, executive loans, and conspicuous consumption. The Georgetown Law Journal 93 (6)]. We examine whether executive loans are associated with financial misstatements. We find a significant association between executive loans and financial misstatements. Our results suggest that a relationship exists between the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s loan prohibition and the Act’s objective of improving the accuracy and reliability of financial reporting.
