Title: Form 10-K filing lags during COVID-19 pandemic

Authors: Kam C. Chan; Barbara Farrell; Annie Wong

Addresses: Pace University, 861 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570, USA ' Pace University, 861 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570, USA ' Western Connecticut State University, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810, USA

Abstract: This study examines Form 10-K filing lags of US firms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. The findings suggest that filing lags relate negatively to firm size, profitability, hiring Big4 auditors, and filing status, but positively to ineffective internal control, ineffective disclosure control, and going concern opinion. Large accelerated and accelerated filers had shorter filing lags, and non-accelerated filers had longer filing lags in 2020-2021 than 2018-2019. Further analysis provides mild evidence that Big4 auditors contributed to the filing lag reduction in 2020-2021, echoing the view that adopting advanced audit technologies allows Big4 auditors to respond better to the external shocks brought by the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; 10-K; filing lag; Big4 accounting firms; technologies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSS.2024.140984

International Journal of Services and Standards, 2024 Vol.14 No.2, pp.114 - 125

Received: 04 Apr 2023
Accepted: 21 Dec 2023
Published online: 05 Sep 2024 *

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