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Adults in the room? The auditor and dividends in small firms: Evidence from a natural experiment

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Hakim Lyngstad{aa}s, Johannes Mauritzen

General Economics · Submitted 26 Jan 2023

abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review

The authors' main claim We consistently find that forgoing auditing led to a significant increase in dividends in small private firms.

how it is stated · asserted 1.00 read the record →

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arXiv ID2301.11079 (version 1)
Pith IDPZHCIV3B, Pith's permanent record of this paper and its review
CitationHakim Lyngstad{\aa}s, Johannes Mauritzen. "Adults in the room? The auditor and dividends in small firms: Evidence from a natural experiment." arXiv:2301.11079 (2023). https://pith.science/paper/PZHCIV3B
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The compiled record

The paper's own sentences, arranged. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.

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Compiled by classifier-1.13.0 via TypeSafe API, question bank abstract-p1-20260923, 2026-09-23: 1 request, 4,753 input tokens.

What the abstract itself states, as probabilities: claims first 0.03 · states limitation 0.07 · human participants 0.16 · controlled comparison 0.93 · randomized assignment 0.11 · states quantitative result 0.08 · compares with prior results 0.30 · mentions code or data availability 0.02.

The abstract, sentence by sentence

arXiv listing abstract v1. Results and the main claim are underlined; .

We examine the effect of auditing on dividends in small private firms. We hypothesize that auditing can constrain dividends by way of promoting accounting conservatism. We use register data on private Norwegian firms and random variation induced by the introduction of a policy allowing small private firms to forgo the use of an auditor to estimate the effect of auditing on dividend payout. Identification is obtained by a regression discontinuity around the arbitrary thresholds for the policy. Propensity score matching is used to create a balanced synthetic control. We consistently find that forgoing auditing led to a significant increase in dividends in small private firms.

background contribution method result interpretation main claim

What the classifier reports for each sentence. The number is the probability it gave the label.
#sentencerolethe authors' own workstates the main conclusionstrength
s0 We examine the effect of auditing on dividends in small private firms. contribution 0.95 0.86 0.03 unclear 0.70
s1 We hypothesize that auditing can constrain dividends by way of promoting accounting conservatism. interpretation 0.40 0.24 0.03 hedged possibility 0.87
s2 We use register data on private Norwegian firms and random variation induced by the introduction of a policy allowing small private firms to forgo the use of an auditor to estimate the effect of auditing on dividend payout. method 0.99 0.94 0.03 asserted 0.72
s3 Identification is obtained by a regression discontinuity around the arbitrary thresholds for the policy. method 1.00 0.90 0.02 asserted 0.99
s4 Propensity score matching is used to create a balanced synthetic control. method 1.00 0.93 0.02 asserted 0.91
s5 We consistently find that forgoing auditing led to a significant increase in dividends in small private firms. result 1.00 0.97 0.96 asserted 1.00

What kind of paper the classifier reports this is: empirical study 1.00 · evidence from analysis of existing data 0.99.

What was examined, and what was not

sources read
  • arXiv listing abstract v1
not examined
  • full text
  • figures and tables
  • references and citing sentences
  • relations to other papers
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  • P abstract
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  • S sections
  • T body sentences
  • C citations
  • R cross-paper relations

Every quoted sentence on this record is the authors'. Every label is from Pith's closed vocabulary, with the probability shown beside it. Every number in the measurements table is the authors', checked by code. Record as JSON

The paper
Original abstract

We examine the effect of auditing on dividends in small private firms. We hypothesize that auditing can constrain dividends by way of promoting accounting conservatism. We use register data on private Norwegian firms and random variation induced by the introduction of a policy allowing small private firms to forgo the use of an auditor to estimate the effect of auditing on dividend payout. Identification is obtained by a regression discontinuity around the arbitrary thresholds for the policy. Propensity score matching is used to create a balanced synthetic control. We consistently find that forgoing auditing led to a significant increase in dividends in small private firms.

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