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This study investigates the importance of firm-level green reputation on client-side financial watchdogs’ reactions characterized by audit fees and credit ratings. Using a comprehensive sample of US-listed firms over 2007-2020, we find that firms with high environmental reputation risk (ERR) are positively associated with higher audit fees, and they also tend to receive lower credit ratings. We further document that corporate governance emerges as a significant factor moderating the effect of ERR on the responses of financial watchdogs. This highlights the importance of strong governance practices in mitigating the adverse impacts of ERR on audit fees and credit ratings. Overall, our study contributes insights into the importance of green reputation for corporate decision-making from the lens of financial watchdogs.

Synopsis The research problem In this study, we examined the effect of an important informal institution, namely, national culture, on audit fees in an international context. Motivation In recent years, extant literature has increasingly focused on country-level differences in the audit environment, as these might have a significant influence on how financial statement audits are conducted across the globe. We contribute to this stream of literature by investigating the impact of national culture on audit fees. The test hypotheses Based on the demand- and supply-side perspectives of audit fees, we hypothesized that national culture dimensions — namely, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity — affect audit fees. Target population We used a sample of 27,670 firm-year observations across 22 countries over the 2002–2019 period. Adopted methodology We used ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions as baseline technique and entropy-balanced method (EBM) and system-generalized method of moments (GMM) to address endogeneity concerns. Analyses We examined the impact of Hofstede's four national culture dimensions — uncertainty avoidance, power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity — on audit fees. We also tested the robustness of results using alternative measures of national culture, subsample analyses, and additional firm-level factors. Findings Consistent with our hypotheses, we find that audit fees are higher (lower) in countries with higher uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity (power distance) scores. Our further analyses reveal that earnings management proxied by abnormal accruals does not impact the relationship; however, country-level creditor rights influence audit fees in high power distance and masculine cultures. We also note that national culture influences auditor choice and audit opinion. Our main findings are robust to alternate proxies and subsample analysis, as well as to address potential endogeneity concerns. Overall, our findings offer important implications for firms operating in global markets and for the audit profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate whether the significant policies and new auditing standards have substantial effects on audit effort and audit risk, and if such effects are reflected in audit fees. The observations from 2008 to 2021 were divided into three periods including "filing deadline reduction", "implementation of new auditing standards", and "border controls due to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic)". The empirical results indicate that both mandatory policies and the adoption of new auditing standards, as well as the significant changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, have a substantial impact on auditors' audit work and audit risk. As a response to these varying audit risks, auditors adjust their audit fees accordingly. This study validated that even in countries where audit fees are generally at lower level, auditors still reflect audit risk in audit fees. Therefore, audit fees can indeed serve as one of the indicators for assessing audit risk and a firm's risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SYNOPSIS: We examine the cost and consequences of switching auditors. Specifically, we consider several client costs (audit fees, going-concern opinions, and internal control opinions) in the last year of an audit engagement ("terminal year"). We find that outgoing auditors are more likely to charge higher audit fees, issue more going-concern opinions, and issue more adverse internal control opinions during the terminal years of their audits. These findings suggest that outgoing auditors gain greater bargaining power, are more likely to charge for additional hours of audit work, and are less likely to yield to client pressures. Overall, our results suggest that companies face real economic costs from the outgoing auditor in addition to the start-up costs of the incoming auditor. Data Availability: Data are publicly available from sources identified in the text. JEL Classifications: G31; G32; G33; M21. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a mixed method research design, this study is the first to provide comprehensive evidence of the impacts of Thailand's first implementation of the new audit report with key audit matters (KAMs), which took place in 2016. Survey evidence shows that the new audit report improves the informative value and effectively narrows the deficient‐standards and deficient‐performance gaps. Nonetheless, financial statement users have made new demands for information that lie beyond auditors' traditional responsibility. Moreover, marginally significant evidence from archival data shows that although the disclosure of KAMs increases audit fees and audit delays, it improves audit quality. However, the market does not value KAMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the trend of synergistic development of digitalization and greening, this paper investigates the impact of enterprise digital transformation on audit fees and its mechanism, by using textual analysis and performing empirical tests on the data of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2021. It is found that enterprise digital transformation significantly increases audit fees, and green innovation partially mediates this process. The study results are robust, even after a series of robustness tests. When financing constraints and environmental regulations are low, the mediating role of green innovation between digital transformation and audit fees is more significant. In addition, green innovation has a stronger mediating role between the use of underlying technology and audit fees, while green substantive innovation has a stronger mediating role between digital transformation and audit fees. This study investigates the effect of enterprise digital transformation on audit fees from the standpoint of green innovation. It offers a new perspective on how accounting firms make audit pricing decisions, provides guidance for enterprise digital transformation and green innovation, and gives an opportunity for China to promote the synergistic transformation and development of digitalization and greening to achieve the dual-carbon goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a firm's stock return asynchronicity through the auditor's perspective to distinguish whether this asynchronicity can proxy for the company's firm‐specific information or the quality of its information environment. We find a significant and positive association between asynchronicity and audit fees after controlling for auditor quality and other factors that affect audit fees, suggesting that stock return asynchronicity is more likely to capture a company's firm‐specific information than its information environment. We also find that asynchronous firms are more likely to receive adverse opinions on their internal controls over financial reporting, but are associated with lower costs of capital and auditor litigation, providing further evidence in support of the firm‐specific information argument. Asynchronicity's positive association with audit fees is driven by firms with higher accounting reporting complexity, suggesting stock return asynchronicity captures a firm's complexity, resulting in more significant efforts by the auditor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: We explore the impact of turnover within top executive teams, with particular emphasis on executives other than the CEO and chief financial officer (CFO), on auditors' perceptions of financial reporting risk. Consistent with upper echelon theory, we find that non-CEO/non-CFO executive team turnover increases perceptions of financial reporting risk even with continuity of the CEO and CFO. Additionally, we find that the effect of CEO and CFO turnover on perceptions of risk is primarily driven by concurrent turnover with other top executive team members. Further, the effect of other top executive turnover is more pronounced among firms that had higher-ability managers and that face greater constraints in replacing top talent. This effect is partially mitigated when the firm has an effective financial reporting environment and when the CEO who remains in place has greater operational involvement. These findings highlight the importance of other top executive turnover in risk assessments. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: G30; M12; M41; M42. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: We investigate whether the new critical audit matters (CAMs) disclosure requirement for auditors under the PCAOB Standard AS 3101 affects audited firms' financial reporting decisions in the context of goodwill impairment recognition. We argue that an auditor's intense engagement with management and the audit committee in the CAMs determination and evaluation process improves management's information sets. Specifically, we report that the propensity to recognize goodwill impairment loss increases for firms with goodwill-related CAM disclosure relative to those without. This result is more pronounced when the likelihood of expected impairment is higher, suggesting that CAMs reporting lowers managers' discretion in delaying impairment loss recognition. Additionally, we find that goodwill-related CAM disclosure increases the length and use of uncertain words in goodwill-related footnote disclosure by management but has no significant impact on audit costs. Overall, these findings suggest that adopting CAMs requirements can reduce management's discretion in financial reporting decisions. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M41; M42. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: This study investigates whether audit clients' blockchain activities (including crypto-related activities) affect audit risk by examining the association between blockchain disclosures in 10-K filings and audit fees. Focusing on U.S. firms between 2013 and 2020, we empirically show that audit fees are higher for companies disclosing blockchain activities in 10-K filings. We further find that this positive association is more pronounced for companies disclosing current blockchain implementation than for companies with plans for blockchain activities. The results indicate that clients' blockchain activities influence audit risk as assessed by external auditors. As blockchain technology and its applications are emerging, our findings have implications that should be considered by auditors, regulators, and top management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how corporate social responsibility and affects audit quality. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on a sample of 600 European firms over the period 2010 to 2022; the paper uses panel data regressions. This study applied structural equations models that specify both a direct and an indirect link between corporate social responsibility and audit quality. Findings: We find a positive association between CSR and audit quality, meaning that highly rated companies for CSR activities pay more audit fees. In addition, this study shows that board size mediates the relationship between corporate social responsibility and audit quality. Practical implications: The findings may be of interest to the academic researchers, investors, and regulators. For academic researchers, it is interested in discovering the dynamic relation between corporate social responsibility, audit fees, and board size. For investors, our results show that board size mediate the relation between CSR and audit fees. For regulators, our results advise the worldwide policy maker to give the importance of audit quality to improve the engagement firms in corporate social responsibility reporting. Originality/value: The paper extends the existing literature by examining the mediation effect of board size on the relationship between CSR and audit quality in European context. To the authors' knowledge, no research studies examined empirically the direct and indirect relationship between CSR, audit quality and board size. Therefore, the main contribution of this research is to show how corporate social responsibility affect audit quality measured by audit fees through board size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of NTU Management Review is the property of NTU Management Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study, we discuss how small audit firms (i.e. non‐Big 4 audit firms) address the staffing crunch during the busy season. Using monthly certified public accountant (CPA) employment data from Korea, we find that the number of CPAs in non‐Big 4 audit firms peaks before the busy season but drops afterward, suggesting the prevalence of part‐time or short‐term employment (i.e. flexible staffing). Flexible CPA staffing is more prevalent in audit firms with lower sales, higher sales growth and lower profitability. We further document that the standard deviation of the changes in monthly CPA numbers within a year is negatively associated with audit fees, implying that flexible staffing enables small audit firms to charge lower fees to clients. Additionally, we find no evidence that flexible staffing significantly impairs audit quality. We also report evidence that non‐Big 4 audit firms attract more clients when they are more flexibly staffed than otherwise. Collectively, non‐Big 4 firms reduce operating leverage via flexible staffing arrangements and share the benefits with clients without compromising audit service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine whether corporate political donations (CPDs) are associated with audit fees in the Australian setting. Our baseline results based on observations of Australian top 500 non‐financial companies show that, on average, firms with CPDs are associated with about 9% lower audit fees than firms without CPDs consistent with the strategic investment or resource dependency view. Using path analysis, we next show that high earnings quality resulting from strategic benefits of CPDs explains the association. Overall, these results confirm that firms use CPDs as strategic investments that are associated with lower earnings management, which leads to lower audit risk and hence reduced audit fees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the relation between the scale and scope of an individual auditor's client portfolio and audit quality. Using a sample of auditor-years for the period of 2001–2016 from China, where the personal identities of signing auditors are publicly disclosed, we find that auditors with large client portfolio scale (measured by an auditor's total audit fees from clients) provide higher quality audits (measured by discretionary accruals and the likelihood of issuing modified audit opinions). However, auditors with large client portfolio scope (measured by the number of industries where clients are located) provide lower quality audits. Further analyses indicate that auditors of higher ability and reputation tend to have larger client scales and wider client scopes. Overall, our results suggest that, at the individual auditor level, the scale of the client portfolio conveys the auditor's ability, and given the scale, the industry and geographic scope of clients reflects the auditor's workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the effects of clients' carbon risk on audit pricing. Using data from 438 EU companies for the period 2013–2019, we find a positive relationship between carbon risk (measured by the level of carbon emissions) and audit fees. Furthermore, we find that participation in the European Union's Emission Trading System, a limited market and regulation scheme to mitigate special industries' Greenhouse Gas emissions, strengthens the positive relationship between carbon risk and audit fees. Insights from additional tests indicate that auditors price carbon risk particularly for large clients that are under greater public scrutiny and that the increase in fees rather stems from a risk premium charged by the auditor than higher audit effort. With interest in climate change developing rapidly across society, practice and research combined with the increasing importance of reducing carbon risk, our findings are timely and should thus appeal to a wide variety of recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The current study uses an advanced machine learning method and aims to investigate whether auditors perceive financial statements that are principles-based as less risky. More specifically, this study aims to explore the association between principles-based accounting standards and audit pricing and between principles-based accounting standards and the likelihood of receiving a going concern opinion. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses an advanced machine-learning method to understand the role of principles-based accounting standards in predicting audit fees and going concern opinion. The study also uses multiple regression models defining audit fees and the probability of receiving going concern opinion. The analyses are complemented by additional tests such as economic significance, firm fixed effects, propensity score matching, entropy balancing, change analysis, yearly regression results and controlling for managerial risk-taking incentives and governance variables. Findings: The paper provides empirical evidence that auditors charge less audit fees to clients whose financial statements are more principles-based. The finding suggests that auditors perceive financial statements that are principles-based less risky. The study also provides evidence that the probability of receiving a going-concern opinion reduces as firms rely more on principles-based standards. The finding further suggests that auditors discount the financial numbers supplied by the managers using rules-based standards. The study also reveals that the degree of reliance by a US firm on principles-based accounting standards has a negative impact on accounting conservatism, the risk of financial statement misstatement, accruals and the difficulty in predicting future earnings. This suggests potential mechanisms through which principles-based accounting standards influence auditors' risk assessments. Research limitations/implications: The authors recognize the limitation of this study regarding the sample period. Prior studies compare rules vs principles-based standards by focusing on the differences between US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS) or pre- and post-IFRS adoption, which raises questions about differences in cross-country settings and institutional environment and other confounding factors such as transition costs. This study addresses these issues by comparing rules vs principles-based standards within the US GAAP setting. However, this limits the sample period to the year 2006 because the measure of the relative extent to which a US firm is reliant upon principles-based standards is available until 2006. Practical implications: The study has major public policy suggestions as it responds to the call by Jay Clayton and Mary Jo White, the former Chairs of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to pursue high-quality, globally accepted accounting standards to ensure that investors continue to receive clear and reliable financial information globally. The study also recognizes the notable public policy implications, particularly in light of the current Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Andreas Barckow's recent public statement, which emphasizes the importance of principles-based standards and their ability to address sustainability concerns, including emerging risks such as climate change. Originality/value: The study has major public policy suggestions because it demonstrates the value of principles-based standards. The study responds to the call by Jay Clayton and Mary Jo White, the former Chairs of the US SEC, to pursue high-quality, globally accepted accounting standards to ensure that investors continue to receive clear and reliable financial information as business transactions and investor needs continue to evolve globally. The study also recognizes the notable public policy implications, particularly in light of the current Chair of the IASB Andreas Barckow's recent public statement, which emphasizes the importance of principles-based standards and their ability to address sustainability concerns, including emerging risks like climate change. The study fills the gap in the literature that auditors perceive principles-based financial statements as less risky and further expands the literature by providing empirical evidence that the likelihood of receiving a going concern opinion is increasing in the degree of rules-based standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research contributes to understanding the spillover effect of customer digital transformation along the supply chain. We take a supply chain relationship perspective to explore the influence of customers’ digital transformation on suppliers’ audit fees and find a significant reduction in such fees when customers undergo digital transformation. An economic mechanism analysis reveals that this transformation reduces audit fees by lowering the risks and costs encountered by auditors. This is achieved by mitigating suppliers’ business risks and improving earnings quality. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact of customers’ digital transformation on suppliers’ audit fees is more pronounced when the supply chain is geographically distant, suppliers with more specific investments and with high levels of market competition.

We examine whether audit quality inputs are related to the conformity of financial statements to Benford's law. We find that overall financial statement conformity increases with audit fees, nonaudit fees, and audit report lag, and decreases with audit firm tenure. We also find that these audit quality inputs are more strongly associated with income statement conformity than with cash flow statement conformity. Our findings document the role that auditing plays in enhancing the conformity of financial statements to Benford's law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information asymmetry and economic uncertainty are features of the capital market in today's complex business environment, which increase audit risk and litigation risk, and can be effective in explaining audit fees. The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of legal claims risk, information asymmetry and economic uncertainty in explaining audit fees. The time domain of the research is the period from 2013 to 2021 and the research sample includes 120 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Research findings, based on analysis using multivariable regression models on combined data, show that among the macroeconomic variables investigated (including economic growth rate, inflation rate, exchange rate, and interest rate), both economic growth rate and inflation rate have a direct and significant relationship with the audit fee. Additionally, there is a direct and significant relationship between the risk of lawsuits and information asymmetry with the audit fee. The results indicate that the risk of lawsuits, economic uncertainty and information asymmetry play an effective role in explaining auditors' fees. IntroductionAudit fees indicate the amount of auditors' effort to reduce the audit risk to the reasonable level. It is a measure to control financial risk and some legal claims that are threatening audit firms. According to litigation risk, auditors try to control this risk by increasing their efforts and audit fees. Chen (2019) and Frino et al. (2022) state that information asymmetry and economic uncertainty increase audit risk and litigation risk, and can influence audit fees. In other words, audit services are necessitated by the conflict between shareholders and managers. Information asymmetry and economic uncertainty increase agency costs, thereby heightening the necessity for auditing to control and manage these costs. Consequently, auditors increase audit fees to manage audit risks and ensure the thoroughness of their audit work. Therefore, this research aims to explain the effect of litigation risk, information asymmetry, and economic uncertainty on audit fees. MethodologyOur data were collected using financial statements, notes, and audit reports in CODAL[1] database and Rahavard-e-Novin[2] software. The final sample for a period of 2013-2021 consists of 1080 firm-year observations. In addition, the GARCH models were employed to measure the independent variables. To test the first and second hypotheses of this research, model 1 is used:Afeet= litig riskt+ Asymmetryt+ Sizet+ INVRECt +Levt + ROAt+ losst+ CHANGEt +Adu sizet + Specialistt+ LIQUIDt + SALEt +Year Effects+ Industry Effects (1)To test the third hypothesis of research, model 2 is used:Afeet= Economic Growtht-1+‏ Inflation Ratet-1+ Exchange Ratet-1+ Interest Ratet-1+ Sizet+ INVRECt +Levt + ROAt+ losst+ CHANGEt +Adu sizet + Specialistt+ LIQUIDt + SALEt +Year Effects+ Industry Effects (2)Where, SIZE represents the natural logarithm of total assets; INVREC denotes the amount of inventory and receivables divided by total assets; Lev indicates total liabilities divided by total assets; ROA signifies net profit divided by total assets; LOSS is assigned 1 if a firm has experienced a loss in any of the last three years, and 0 otherwise; CHANGE is assigned 1 if a firm has changed its auditor, and 0 otherwise; LIQUID represents current assets divided by total assets; SALE represents the ratio of sales to assets; Adu size is a dummy variable that equals 1 if the audit firm was either the Iran Audit Organization (IAO) or Mofid Rahbar (an audit firm belonging to IACPA), and 0 otherwise. SPECIALISR is assigned 1 if the auditor is an industry specialist, and 0 otherwise. Audit Fee (AFEE): is the natural logarithm of the audit fee.Information Asymmetry (Asymmetry): According to the model of Venkatesh and Chiang (1986).Economic Uncertainty (RM): Economic uncertainty is the inability of agents to accurately predict the outcomes of decisions. In this research, it has been measured by four indicators, including the fluctuation of economic growth, inflation rate, exchange rate, and interest rate. In addition, a GARCH model was used to index these criteria. For this purpose, a volatile measure of changes in the Gross National Product (GNP) index was considered to be an indicator of the risk of macroeconomic factors that the firm faces in its financial and production decisions. The results of the estimation of the GARCH model led to conditional variances, which ultimately lead to the standard deviation or the concept of uncertainty upon taking the square root.Litigation Risk (Litig risk): We measure this variable based on Lowry and Shu (2002), Krishnan and Zhang (2005), and Sun and Liu (2011). ConclusionThe results of testing the first and second hypotheses indicate that the risk of lawsuits and information asymmetry have a positive and significant relationship with audit fees. In the third hypothesis, the effect of lack of economy on remuneration was investigated. In this research, four indicators including economic growth, inflation rate, exchange rate, and interest rate have been used to measure the economic uncertainty of macroeconomic variables. In this regard, the results of the hypothesis testing show that economic uncertainty based on inflation and economic growth criteria has a positive and significant relationship with audit fees. Additionally, economic uncertainty based on interest rate criterion has a negative and significant relationship with audit fees. However, the exchange rate indicator does not have a significant effect on audit fees. Therefore, it can be seen that audit risk as an indicator of determining audit fees is influenced by some economic variables such as inflation and economic growth.In order to strengthen the results and address potential endogeneity in the research models, we redefined the dependent variable as imaginary (bivariate) and re-estimated the initial models of all three hypotheses. The results of these re-estimations confirmed the findings of the least squares regression in the first model for the first and second hypotheses. In the third hypothesis regarding economic uncertainty, economic growth and inflation rate criteria, as well as exchange rate, lead to an increase in the audit fee, while interest rate causes a decrease in the audit fee. Additionally, new control variables were added to the initial models based on the information provided in previous sections. The results of these additions confirm the findings of the initial estimation of the hypotheses.

Research aims: Fair value accounting, fairness, and transparency are the basis for other comprehensive income (OCI), profit, and equity attributable. This research aims to analyze the impact of adding this information on external audit fees, considering that the content of financial reports becomes more extensive with a longer format. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study tested the influence of aggregate OCI, OCI to be reclassified, profit and equity attributable, and control variables (size, ROA, leverage, period, type of industry) on audit fees in 238 companies registered on IDX in all business sectors for the 2015-2021 period with data 1,666 observations. Research findings: Additional information on OCI, profits, and equity attributable has been proven to influence external audit fees because the inherent properties of OCI, such as the level of management subjectivity, sensitivity to externals, high volatility and exposure, as well as the complexity of the holding company reflecting the attribution value, could increase audit work and audit risk in assessing the fairness of OCI presentation and attribution. Theoretical contribution/ Originality: This study provides empirical evidence in Indonesia on how OCI disaggregation (reclassification), profit, and equity attributable affect external audit fees. Practitioner/Policy implication: For management, it can be an input in predicting the amount of audit fees, and for external auditors, it can be a consideration in determining the amount of audit fees by taking into account additional audit procedures due to OCI and profit attribution. Research limitation/Implication: The limitation of this research is that in measuring OCI reclassification, it only included the holding company, while OCI in subsidiaries and associations was not involved.

Using 41,648 firm-year observations from 30 countries during the period 2000–2011, we investigate the relation between analyst coverage and audit fees. We also examine whether the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and shareholder protection at the country level interacts with analyst coverage to affect audit fees. We find that auditors charge firms higher fees when the firms have greater analyst coverage. This supports our argument pertaining to analyst pressure. The positive impact of analyst coverage on audit fees is weaker for firms that adopt IFRS and in countries where there is high shareholder protection. This study enhances an understanding of the effect of analyst coverage on audit fees in relation to IFRS adoption and shareholder protection levels in an international setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research indicates that the CEO has a significant impact on financial reporting decisions. However, there is limited research on the implications of CEO succession origin (hiring a CEO from the inside as opposed to from the outside) for auditors. We find that on average, audit fees are greater by about 8% when a CEO is hired from the outside than when a CEO is promoted from within. We also find that the CEO's in-house experience (the number of years the CEO has worked in the firm before becoming the CEO) is negatively associated with audit fees, suggesting that the CEO's in-house experience enhances the CEO's competence in understanding how the firm's performance should map into the financial statements, resulting in lower audit risk. Finally, our findings suggest that the CEO's in-house experience plays an important role in mitigating audit risk in firms with poor corporate governance quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine whether Audit Fee Regulation (AFR) enhances auditors' bargaining power in setting audit fees, consequently leading to superior quality audit services using the Iranian audit environment. We posit two hypotheses of "symbolic" and "substance" compliance. We find that neither audit fees nor audit quality has increased in the post-AFR era, supporting the symbolic hypothesis. The results are robust to several sensitivity tests, including difference-in-difference analysis. Contrary to the regulator's expectation, our findings suggest that arbitrarily stimulating suppliers' incentives without considering the priority and importance of demand-side incentives in a compliance-driven audit market and the flexibility to bypass the regulation result in symbolic (de jure) compliance with the regulation. We provide policy, practice, and research implications by suggesting that positive intended consequences of regulations in a compliance-driven audit market can be achieved when the regulation is robust with less latitude for discretion symbolic compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As audits of public companies are labor intensive, require a variety of team members, and involve year-round work, practitioners and academics have increasingly focused on identifying audit production factors that drive audit quality. Using proprietary data, we analyze the cost-benefit tradeoffs of two audit production characteristics, client expertise and the relative amount of auditing done during the early phases of the audit, and find that both are associated with more effective audits and higher fees. We analyze whether the influence of these characteristics varies across audit team members. We find that middle manager production characteristics explain audit effectiveness and higher fees and relatively more so than those of lead/review partners. These results extend the literature and practitioner discussions about drivers of audit quality by highlighting the importance of middle management, which, to our knowledge, has largely been overlooked by the archival audit literature and regulatory guidance on audit quality indicators. Data Availability: This paper exploits proprietary PCAOB data. Data descriptions are available in the text. JEL Classifications: D20; D22; J24; L23; M11; M4; M42; M48. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synopsis The research problem This paper examined whether firms' decision to switch from the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to the new Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in the United Kingdom (New UK GAAP) affects their audit fees. Motivation The New UK GAAP was introduced by the UK regulators to enhance the comparability of financial reports and to reduce the high financial reporting costs associated with IFRS. We aimed to provide evidence on whether the reduced frameworks of IFRS, like the New UK GAAP, are a more cost-effective option. Furthermore, only very few studies analyzed the impact of abandoning IFRS on audit fees, and these found inconsistent results using the public firm data. We aimed to extend the current literature by using the private firm data. The test hypotheses Our first set of hypotheses considered whether the switch from IFRS to the New UK GAAP is associated with audit fees. Our second hypothesis tested whether there is a difference in any such association between larger and smaller firms. Target population We focused on the UK private (i.e., nonlisted) firms that have previously voluntarily adopted the IFRS. Adopted methodology We used regression analyses, difference-in-differences (DID) analyses, various matching methods for robustness, and analyses of firms' financial reports. Analyses Using the UK private (i.e., nonlisted) firm data for the period 2014–2019, we examined the impact of switching from IFRS to the New UK GAAP on audit fees. The data for regression and DID analyses were obtained from the FAME database. We also downloaded the financial reports of two firms from Companies House to analyze the differences in their reports before and after the switch to the New UK GAAP. Findings We found that firms' decision to switch from IFRS to the New UK GAAP significantly reduced their audit fees, with larger firms experiencing an additional reduction in their audit fees following the switch. Through examining the real examples of firms' financial reports, we found consistent evidence that firms turning away from IFRS did take advantage of the disclosure exemptions contained within the New UK GAAP, resulting in reduced disclosure, which may explain the reduced audit fees. Overall, our findings suggest that using full IFRS may still be burdensome for the sampled firms that previously voluntarily adopted the IFRS. The findings also imply that an accounting standard consistent with IFRS but requiring less disclosure, such as the New UK GAAP or the IFRS for Small and Medium-sized Entities, may be welcomed by practitioners and represents a useful alternative for standard setters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: We investigate whether client employee training facilitates a more efficient audit. Our hypothesis is that training improves the ability of the client personnel to process transactions accurately, improve internal control, and contribute to evidence gathering and information sharing in the conduct of the audit. Using a large sample of Belgian private firms with data on employee training, we find that a one standard deviation increase in clients' training cost (hours) reduces audit fees by approximately 3.4 percent (1.7 percent). The effect is stronger for clients with highly educated employees. Using the Belgian labor status reform of 2014 as a natural experiment, we show that improving job security also reduces audit fees and enhances the negative association between training and audit fees. Consistent with higher audit efficiency, we also find a negative association between training and report lags. However, we find no association between training and audit quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: We examine whether audit engagements where the client has never switched auditors (original auditors) are associated with different audit fee and audit quality outcomes, relative to engagements that have experienced an auditor change. We document that clients with original auditors accrue nontrivial audit fee savings. Further, we find original auditor engagements are associated with lower levels of discretionary accruals and lower likelihood of misstatements, implying higher audit quality. We also find that investors appear to recognize the audit fee and quality benefits, as these auditors receive fewer votes from investors against their ratification. These results are consistent with a reduction in information asymmetry from greater client specific knowledge with original auditors, leading to more efficient and effective audits. Finally, we document that the audit fee and audit quality benefits diminish for engagements that exceed 40 years, providing some support for the benefit of an eventual fresh look in the audit. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: G18; H83; M4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Empirical Studies of Financial Accounting is the property of Allameh Tabatabai University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite regulators' on‐going concerns on the high concentration of the current audit market, the effects of concentration on auditors' behavior is still debated. We provide an answer to this unresolved issue by considering the role of legal regime in shaping auditors' pricing strategy in a concentrated market. Using data from 33 countries, we find no significant association between audit market concentration and audit fees in the pooled international sample. However, a country's legal regime changes this association dramatically: the association is significantly positive in countries with a weak legal regime but becomes weaker and eventually turns negative as countries' legal regime becomes stronger. Our study highlights the importance of country‐level institutions in determining how market structure affects market participants' behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to extend research on the effect of PCAOB inspections on audit firm behavior by examining generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) type PCAOB inspection deficiencies, separately, to reveal the differential effects on audit fees in subsequent years. We empirically examine the audit fees of 98,393 client firm‐year observations for auditors who received a PCAOB inspection report during 2004–2021 via multivariate regression analyses. We find that GAAS (GAAP) deficiencies are associated with higher (lower) audit fees in the years following the reported deficiency. Our results suggest that the PCAOB inspection process modifies audit firm behavior when GAAS deficiencies are reported leading to the firm charging higher audit fees to defray the costs of addressing the deficiencies, but due to the severity of GAAP deficiencies that are identified, audit firms are willing to negotiate lower fees to retain the client. Our results are primarily driven by annually inspected audit firms. These results suggest that auditors respond to GAAS and GAAP PCAOB inspection deficiencies differently. The results of our study are useful to regulators and policymakers, such as the SEC and the PCAOB, in understanding how auditors respond to PCAOB inspection deficiencies and their due diligence to correct those deficiencies. PCAOB inspections are intended to evaluate compliance with accounting and auditing standards to improve audit quality and our study helps to extend the research to date which has not yet clearly demonstrated whether or not this has been accomplished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study whether heterogeneity in pay‐performance sensitivities (PPS) across top management team (TMT) members influences audit fees. Evidence from current literature reveals that the heterogeneity in PPS among TMT affects TMT managers' motivation to coordinate their activities to manipulate earnings. Since the quality of earnings lowers auditors' financial reporting risk, we posit that audit fees will be lower when dispersion in the PPS among TMT is high. We demonstrate that audit fees are negatively linked with dispersion in PPS among TMT members. This finding is robust to numerous sensitivity testing. Overall, our findings suggest that firms benefit from the heterogeneity in PPS among TMT members in the form of lower audit fees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of firm financial misconduct on its director‐interlocked firms from the perspective of auditors. We argue that when a firm engages in financial misconduct, auditors tend to perceive its director‐interlocked firms as having higher audit risks. This is because accounting policies, procedures and corporate governance can propagate via common directors. Using a sample of listed US firms from 1999 to 2018, we find that auditors charge higher fees for firms whose director‐interlocked firms engage in financial misconduct. Further analyses show that this spillover effect is stronger when focal firms are riskier (when they are financially distressed or have worse earnings quality) or they have weaker alternative monitoring mechanisms (as evidenced by lower institutional shareholding). The effect is also more prominent when the tainted directors hold important positions or the financial misconduct is more severe. We also find that the higher auditor fees arise from not only risk premium but also greater audit effort. Our results are still valid after conducting a series of robustness tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how auditing changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in two countries, Norway and Ghana. The two countries reflect different levels of digital infrastructure and of government support. We interviewed 23 audit partners and managers during the pandemic (February 2020 to May 2023). The analysis of the responses using the theory of adaptive governance reveals three key findings related to audit adaptation during the 39 months of the pandemic. First, we find an increase in auditors' and clients' willingness to work digitally. In Ghana, the digitalization may be done by scanning documents and uploading them to a shared drive or by using a Shared Service Center (SSC). Second, we find an increase in audit fees over time as inflation increased during the pandemic. Finally, as the pandemic progressed, a shortage of audit staff became a major concern in both countries as auditors left the profession for other jobs. Data Availability: Data are available from the authors upon request. JEL Classifications: M42. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective was to analyze whether companies that restated Financial Statements (FS) experienced changes in auditor fees and replaced the audit firm the year after the event. Method: Data from 323 non-financial companies listed in B3 were analyzed, totaling 2,712 observations (companies/year) between 2010 and 2020. Data were collected from the websites of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM), ComDinheiro, and the Perlin data repository (2020). Descriptive statistics, the test for difference between means, and regression with panel data were adopted. Results: The companies that restated financial statements paid higher auditor fees in the year after the event and were more likely to replace the audit firm. Contributions: This study is relevant for auditors and members of audit and governance committees as it provides evidence that can support decisions on hiring and dismissing independent auditors. Additionally, it shows that higher fees may compensate for perceived risk while replacing an audit firm after a restatement is a form of punishment and is intended to protect a company's reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]