Global Journal of Management and Business Research, D: Accounting and Auditing, Volume 22 Issue 2

The results show that the average abnormal returns are negative before and after the event. These returns are significant, especially on the eve of the day event date (-0.83% with a Student's t of 2.02). After the event date, we can also observe an average abnormal return significantly different from zero at the 5% threshold on date t+5 (-1.26% with a t student of 3.06), which means that the informative content of the “disagreement on accounting rules and principles” reservation on the price of securities can be considerable. However, the magnitude of these results is less significant than the two aforementioned types of reservations, which is consistent with the level of seriousness of this reservation. In this work, the analysis of 4,402 reports and 2,049 consolidated reports concerning 691 French companies from 2010 to 2020, as well as the systematic study of the reactions of shareholders to the announcement of the reservations issued by the auditors, was undertaken. The results show that reservations and refusals to certify expressed by auditors hurt stock market prices. However, the choice of the announcement date is essential. Among the three hypotheses retained concerning the date of the event, it seems that fifteen days before the date of the general meeting, the announcement of reserves becomes public, and investors react unfavorably to this bad news. Regarding the reservations which are not formally expressed by the auditors in the annual or consolidated reports, but which contain elements of reservations according to CNCC standards, the results are also significant. These results show that, when the information elements concerning the reserves are mentioned in the annual and consolidated reports (even if this was not done subject to the reservations expressed in the paragraph reserved for the opinions of the auditors) the market reacts to this bad news. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that one of the significant difficulties concerning the interpretation of the auditor’s reports is the existence of several types of information, such as observation, remark, and observation, which are not expressed, in a standardized form. Although the presence of such data in auditors' reports may be considered valuable, it may nevertheless create confusion. In the case of refusal to certify, which constitutes the most severe reservation, the results show that the returns observed around the date of the event are not significant, even if they are often negative. However, the results should be interpreted with cautioned given the small sample size. The comparative results concerning event tests applied in the case of annual and consolidated reports show that, even though the reservations and refusals to certify mentioned in the writings of the auditors on the annual accounts, have an impact negative on stock market prices, the results are often not significant. It can be explained by the fact that the annual report is not the most critical piece of information for investors. Consolidated reports that contain all the information regarding groups of companies are used more often by external investors and bankers in the decision-making process. Concerning event tests carried out in the case of different types of reserves (uncertainty, limitation of the work of the statutory auditor, non-compliance with accounting principles, non-recognition of operations and provisions, and pension and holidays), as the results show, the average abnormal returns are negative around the date of the event. However, the extent of these results depends on the type of reservation, which is consistent with the level of seriousness of the reservations expressed by the statutory auditors on the accounts and financial statements of the companies. Unlike the studies carried out in the United States, this study covers all the reservations expressed on the accounts of listed companies. The discrepancy between the results of this study and those of studies carried out in other countries, particularly the United States, undoubtedly finds its explanation in institutional, economic, and cultural factors - not to mention the differences in terms of accounting standardization and auditing practice. However, given the current trend of harmonizing organizational standards and practices globally, it is clear that such contradictions will diminish. B ibliography 1. AFFI-SBF, 1991, “La Base de Données des Actions (1977 à 1990)”, document CEREG. 2. Asare, S.K., Wright, A.M. (2012). Investor, Auditors and Lenders Understanding of Message Coveyed by the Standard Audit Report on the Financial Statements. Accounting Horizons 26 (2): 193-217. 3. Assoumou Menye O. (2018) “Impact de l’étude d’évènement sur la variation du risque de l’action : une application au cas des divisions d’actions du marché boursier français, Revue Congolaise de Gestion, 2018/2 (numéro 26) pp. 103-144. 4. Bamber, Stratton, (1997). The information content of the information content of the uncertainty-modified audit report: Evidence from bank loan officers. Accounting Horizons, vol.11 (2): 1-11. 5. Bamber, Stratton, (1983). Usefulness of audit report in loan decision granting. Accounting Horizons. 6. BEAVER W. H., 1968, “The Informational Content of Annual Earnings Announcements”, Journal of Accounting Research , pp. 67-92. 7. Bédard, Gonthier (2014), Auditor commentary in the auditor’s report: an analysis of the French Informational Performance of Audit Reports Content: Case of French Companies Listed on the Stock Exchange during the Decade 2010-2020 17 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue II Version I Year 2022 ( )D © 2022 Global Journals VI. C onclusion