Theses Doctoral

The Impact of Audited Financial Statements on Local Governments: Evidence from US School Districts

Dong, Qingkai

This paper investigates whether the audited financial statements of US independent school districts affect the districts' public provision of education services. Exploiting an increase in the regulatory threshold that exempts the school districts from preparing audited financial statements after 2015, I compare the newly exempted school districts with those that have never been exempted and those that have always been exempted. I find that the newly exempted school districts experience deteriorating financial and academic performance, population outflows, housing price decreases, and shrinking local tax revenues after the threshold increase. The evidence suggests that audited financial statements enhance the functioning of school districts.

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More About This Work

Academic Units
Business
Thesis Advisors
Rajgopal, Shivaram
Degree
Ph.D., Columbia University
Published Here
April 12, 2023