【正文】
nd any evidence that the e?ect is lessened by the use of a Big Four auditor. Additional analyses suggest that an adverse internal control opinion weakens the importance assigned to the balance sheet and ine statement in lending decisions and reduces lenders’ con?dence that ?nancial statements are presented fairly in conformance with generally accepted accounting principles. Introduction This paper reports the results of an experiment designed to examine the e?ect of internal control reports on bank loan o?cers’ assessments of a pany’ s creditworthiness. According to Section 404 of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX), the auditor must attest to,and report on, management’ s assessment of the e?ectiveness of internal control over ?nancial reporting. If 浙 江 工 商 大 學(xué) 財(cái) 務(wù) 與 會(huì) 計(jì) 學(xué) 院 本 科 畢 業(yè) 論 文 the system includes one or more material weaknesses, management may not conclude that internal control is e?ective, and the auditor must express an adverse opinion (PCAOB, 2021). Notwithstanding the regulatory mandate, the need for reporting on internal control e?ectiveness, attested by the auditor, is debatable. Generally Accepted Auditing Standards require the auditor to obtain a su?cient understanding of internal control as part of every engagement. Such an understanding is necessary to properly plan and conduct an audit (., the mix of tests of controls and substantive tests). Furthermore, the auditor can issue an unquali?ed opinion on ?nancial statements even if a pany has material weaknesses in internal control. The auditor’ s repor