Germar Ebner, Matthias Höltken

• The main objective of international financial reporting under both US GAAP and IFRS is to provide information that is useful to iestors. However, it is questionable whether this goal can be fully realized without proper and strict enforcement, which ensures faithful and consistent application of the relevant accounting standards. Within the multiplicity of studies iestigating enforcement mechanisms and reactions to enforcement consequences, this paper provides an overview on the current state of research on enforcement as a corporate governance mechanism. We analyze prior enforcement literature from both internal and external corporate governance perspectives in order to show effects of enforcement on different mechanisms of financial reporting oversight. It becomes evident that most research does not address either efficiency or efficacy of enforcement mechanisms and that most causes and consequences of error announcements in the European setting have not been iestigated yet. Hence, we deduce further research opportunities focused on enforcement procedures and mechanisms in the European setting._x000D_ This HHL Working Paper 142 was revised and published as <link http://www.hhl.de/en/research/publications/detail-page/?tx_publikationen_pi1%5Buid%5D=4746 _blank external-link-new-window "Opens external link in new window">HHL Working Paper 150</link>.