The Role of Gender in the SEC Filing Review Process

Accounting and Management Control

Speaker: Ling Lei Lisic - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)

Room T004

Abstract:

We examine the role of employee gender in the SEC Division of Corporation Finance (DCF) filing review process. We find female reviewers issue longer comment letters, raise more issues, ask more accounting-specific questions, and are more likely to request filing amendments and follow up on issues from earlier rounds. We find little to no evidence that registrants respond to comments differently based on reviewer gender. Collectively, these results suggest that female reviewers conduct more thorough reviews. Despite this apparent difference in performance, we find a disproportionately lower percentage of females in high paygrades and leadership positions. Finally, we present evidence that some gender differences attenuate after the SEC establishment of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion in 2011. Our analyses provide an important first step in understanding the role of gender in financial reporting regulation.