Internal Control Weakness and Stock Price Crash Risk

Abstract

Considering that stock price crashes are positively associated with opaque financial reporting and that effective internal control over financial reporting is essential for reliable and transparent financial reporting, it is thus vital to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. In this paper, we investigate the impact of internal control weakness on stock price crash risk, using the disclosures under Section 404 of the 2002 Sarbanes­–Oxley Act. We find that material weakness in internal control over financial reporting increases information asymmetry by producing unreliable and/or opaque financial reporting, subsequently resulting in a stock price crash. Our study provides evidence that ineffective internal control over financial reporting is an indicator of future stock price crashes.