Audit Quality and Banks' Assessment of Disclosed Accounting Information

The objective of this paper is to investigate whether banks view the information on the off-balance sheet liabilities (specifically, operating leases) disclosed in the notes to the financial statements as more reliable when it is audited by brand name auditors (i.e. a Big 4 audit firm). To the extent that banks assess a higher likelihood that the financial statements could have material misstatements if it is not audited by a Big 4 audit firm, they should charge a higher interest rate on private loans. Our findings suggest that the impact of operating leases on the interest rate is higher if the firm is audited by non-Big 4 audit firms.     

Discretionary Accruals and Auditor Behaviour in Code-Law Contexts: An Application to Failing Spanish Firms

This study examines the relationship between earnings management and auditor behaviour in the pre-bankrupt client segment of the Spanish audit market. As proxies for auditor behaviour, we use type of audit firm (Big N/non-Big N) and type of audit report. In contrast to the USA, audit reports in Spain often include modifications other than a going-concern opinion. This allows us to study the relationship in more detail than is possible with US data. The results of our study show that discretionary accruals are negatively related to going-concern opinions but are positively related to reports modified for reasons other than going-concern problems. However, unlike Butler et al. (Journal of Accounting and Economics, 37, pp. 139–165, 2004) the negative relationship is explained not by liquidity survival tactics but by auditor conservatism. We find this conservatism not only in the value of discretionary accruals but also in the qualifications that accompany a going concern. In these cases GAAP violations have a much greater income effect and a stronger relationship with the reversal of manipulation accumulated over the years than with the manipulation introduced during the last year. Finally, our results suggest that Big N differentiation in a code-law country is context-specific and depends on the business risk parameter of the ‘audit risk model’. In particular, for high-risk firms, Big N auditors show a significantly lower level of discretionary accruals and a greater propensity to issue a going-concern opinion.     

Are the ‘Big Six’ ‘big’ in Belgium?

Studies in the United States, Europe and Australia have shown that the market for audit services is highly concentrated and largely dominated by the same ‘Big Six’ international audit firms. This paper measures the degree of concentration in the Belgian audit market through an empirical study of the number of professionally qualified auditors employed by each audit firm and some characteristics of their clients. Our calculations show that the concentration ratios, however measured, are low when compared with other countries, possibly due to the low value attached to the certification of financial statements by a professionally qualified auditor. This lack of importance can be explained by characteristics of the Belgian environment (e.g. a relatively passive capital market, dominated by a few large holding companies) which may induce companies to chose cheaper (domestic) audit firms. We also calculate Spearman rank correlations between the rankings of the audit firms based upon the different audit firm revenue proxies. All the correlations show it is of no importance which measure is used to rank audit firms.     

The future international tax environment and European tax harmonization: a personal view

This study examines whether the decision to voluntarily (i.e. without a statutory obligation) employ two audit firms to conduct a joint audit is related to audit quality. We use separate samples and empirical designs for public and privately held companies in Sweden, where a sufficient number of companies have a joint audit on a voluntary basis. Our empirical findings suggest that companies opting to employ joint audits have a higher degree of earnings conservatism, lower abnormal accruals, better credit ratings and lower perceived risk of becoming insolvent within the next year than other firms. These findings are robust to the use of a propensity score matching technique to control for the differences in client characteristics between firms that employ joint audits and those that use single Big 4 auditors (i.e. auditor self-selection). We also find evidence that the choice of a joint audit is associated with substantial increases in the fees paid by the client firm, suggesting a higher perceived level of quality. Collectively, our analyses support the view that voluntary joint audits are positively associated with audit quality in a relatively low litigious setting both for public and private firms.     

Audit Market Response to PCAOB Censures of US Big 4 Firms

Abstract

Subsequent to the first-ever Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) censure of a US Big 4 firm (Deloitte) in December 2007, there were two other PCAOB US Big 4 firm censures as of 2016 year-end. We examine whether these two post-2007 PCAOB censures of US Big 4 firms conveyed new information to the audit market. For both censures, we find little or no evidence of any change in the factual audit quality of the censured firm over a three-year window surrounding the censure. Our findings suggest that the quality control deficiencies (identified during inspection of specific audit engagements) that triggered the PCAOB censure were isolated occurrences rather than systemic to the firm at large, i.e., the censures do not imply an impairment in the US Big 4 firm's overall factual audit quality. We also find that the negative response of investors and audit committees documented in prior research for the 2007 Deloitte censure disappeared for the later US Big 4 firm censures. Given that the PCAOB inspects (and can censure) non-US auditors who audit US-listed foreign companies, our findings are of potential interest to regulators, investors and audit committees outside the US.     

CPA-Firm Merger: An Investigation of Audit Quality

It would be interesting to know how the theories and hypotheses in auditing developed for a mature economy work in an emerging market. This paper uses the merger of Diwan, Ernst & Young and J.T. Lai & Co., CPAs in Taiwan in 2000 as a target to study the effects of a CPA-firm merger on audit quality, measured by discretionary accruals. Diwan, Ernst & Young and J.T. Lai & Co., CPAs belonged to Big 5 and non-Big 5 CPA firms in Taiwan, respectively, before they merged. The magnitudes of the increased size and reputation caused by the merger are different between the two firms. Therefore, we also analyse whether the merger has different effects on audit quality of these two firms. The empirical evidence shows that after the merger, the discretionary accruals of the two firms' clients significantly decrease. In addition, the magnitude of the change is greater for the clients of J.T. Lai & Co., CPAs than for those of Diwan, Ernst & Young. The results are consistent with predictions of both size and reputation effect hypotheses.     

A descriptive analysis of audit price changes in the UK 1991–95

This paper examines changes in the audit fees of quoted public limited companies in the UK during the period from 1991 to 1995. After controlling for changes in the size, complexity and risk of auditees, it is shown (based on a logarithm audit fee model) that the audit market experienced a 9.7% reduction in inflation-adjusted fees over this five-year period. The results also provide evidence of overall fee reductions by each of the Big Six. On closer examination, a mixture of fee increases, decreases and no changes were observed for auditees of the Big Six and for the groups of medium-sized and small audit firms investigated. These results, which pertain to a period when market concentration increased markedly (Beattie and Fearnley, 1994; Peel, 1997; Pong, 1999), offer some amelioration of the concerns of the purchasers of audit services that, in general, audit fees will rise in response to an increase in dominance by a few large firms.     

The Impact of the Big 8 Mergers on Market Power: Evidence from the Hong Kong Market

This study examines the impact of the Big 8 mergers on market power in an audit market where the merging firms have little presence. Audit fee changes for each merger participating firm are identified and fee changes for several post‐merger years are examined. The pre‐merger differential market power between the merging and non‐merging long‐established Big 8 firms (Price Waterhouse and KPMG Peat Marwick) in Hong Kong provides a unique opportunity to examine whether the mergers could help the merging firms to increase their market power. The results are consistent with the hypotheses that the audit fees of the merging firms were significantly lower than that of the non‐merging, long‐established Big 8 firms before the mergers, but the audit fees of the merged firms increased significantly to a level comparable with that of the latter group after the mergers. In addition, the market share of the merged firms increased significantly after the mergers. However, no association is found between market concentration and market power. Overall, the results show that the Big 8 mergers have helped the merged firms increase their market power and market share in the Hong Kong audit market where they had little presence.     

Audit Fees in a Joint Audit Setting

Abstract

This paper uses the uniqueness of the French audit environment to conduct an in-depth study of audit pricing issues associated with the requirement to hire two independent auditors (joint audit). I use a model derived from Simunic's [(1980). The pricing of audit services: Theory and evidence. Journal of Accounting Research, 18(1), 161–190] seminal work to examine to what extent audit fees are influenced by the number of Big 4 joint auditors (zero, one, or two). After controlling for well-known drivers of audit fees that are specific to audit client firms (size, complexity, and risk), for governance characteristics and for auditor selection, the paper shows that the decision to hire two Big 4 auditors as joint auditors does not require the payment of a higher Big 4 premium compared to the choice of one Big 4 auditor paired with a smaller auditor, other things being equal. The choice of two Big 4 auditors thus appears to be a rational economic choice for large and international firms.     

The international firms as new entrants to the statutory audit market: an empirical analysis of auditor selection in Greece, 1993 to 1997

This paper investigates choice of statutory auditor in Greece in the five years subsequent to the 1992 liberalization of the audit market. We analyse auditor choices by 205 companies which, by 1997, represented almost 90% of companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. We find that the level of shareholdings by foreign shareholders is positively associated with choice of a Big Six versus any other auditor both immediately after liberalization in 1993 and still in 1997, indicative of the role of the Big Six in providing audit credibility in the eyes of international investors. In addition, Big Six auditors strengthened their position in the finance sector and, outside the finance sector, among larger companies over the period studied. We also find that in both 1993 and 1997 Big Six firms were distinguished specifically from the second-tier international firms, consistent with the view that, in post-liberalization Greece, companies by their choice of auditor appear to be distinguishing Big Six firms from all others but not between second-tier international firms and local auditors. These findings shed light on the hitherto unresearched area of which companies Big Six auditors target in order to gain market share when they are new entrants in an environment radically changed by regulatory reform. In addition the research extends the auditor name brand reputation debate by its finding that, in post-liberalization Greece, second-tier international firms appear to be distinguished from the Big Six but not from the local audit firms.     

控制权安排、事务所定价策略和审计质量——来自Ａ股市场的证据

本文通过对2003 ～ 2009年A股上市公司审计费用的分析,讨论控制权安排和事务所定价策略对审计质量的影响.研究结果表明,中央政府控股和地方政府控股的国有上市公司的审计费用会显著低于民营上市公司;国内十大所对中央政府控股的上市公司会采取低价竞争策略.研究结果表明政府行为对事务所定价策略产生重要影响,为今后完善法律制度环境、推动事务所做大做强提供了经验支持.     

Enforcement Actions and Auditor Changes

In this paper, we examine whether the uncovering of erroneous financial statements by German enforcement agencies is related to subsequent auditor changes. We argue that enforcement actions are likely to reveal information about the client or its auditor, which might affect auditor choice by initiating an update of mutual expectations. Our empirical findings indicate that firms with erroneous financial statements indeed have an increased probability of subsequent auditor changes. Firms also tend to change from a non-Big4 auditor to a Big4 auditor in this situation, suggesting that clients increasingly seek the reputation and services of Big4 auditors. Big4 auditors in turn do not appear to refrain from taking over error-firms as new clients in the German setting, which is characterized by limited auditor liability. Additionally, auditor changes are more likely to occur before the public announcement of an error, indicating that firms take action as soon as the uncovering of an accounting error becomes sufficiently certain.     

会计师事务所合并、审计市场结构与审计定价

以2006年至2009年初发生的8起"强强联合"会计师事务所合并案为研究对象,分析合并发生前后审计市场结构与审计定价的变化后发现:随着会计师事务所合并案的增多,市场结构呈现出市场集中度增加以及大所之间竞争更为均衡的特点,国内本土所的市场力量在逐渐增强,但与国际"四大"之间还存在着十分明显的差距。从单变量检验来看,合并后会计师事务所对同一客户的审计收费较合并前显著增加,但在控制其他影响审计定价的因素后,合并因素对审计定价虽仍有正向作用,但是在统计上并不显著。     

董事会特征对会计信息披露质量的影响——来自我国上市公司的经验证据

检验了我国董事会制度改革对强制性和自愿性信息披露质量的影响。研究发现:独立董事比例、独立董事超过1/3、"二元"领导权结构、财务专业背景的独立董事比例、审计委员会的存在、以及公司规模和雇佣"四大"与会计信息披露质量成显著正相关;灰色董事和内部董事超过1/3、配股动机与会计信息披露质量成显著负相关;而董事会规模、董事会会议次数、CEO变更、董事持股比例和财务杠杠与会计信息披露质量不显著。此外,还发现独立董事超过1/3、"二元"领导权结构、财务专业背景的独立董事比例和审计委员会的存在是影响强制性和自愿性信息披露质量最为显著的因素。     

独立审计质量的经济学分析

本文通过对审计质量的经济学分析,提出高质量的审计是增进契约效率的内生需要,中小股东和上市公司之间的“隐性契约”是推动审计质量提高的重要力量。我国特有的经济环境背景,决定了审计质量的提高存在着制度性障碍,审计质量是各方利益相互均衡的结果。     

Mixed oligopoly, foreign firms, and location choice

We investigate a mixed market in which a state-owned, welfare-maximizing public firm competes against n domestic private firms and m foreign private firms which are all profit-maximizing. A circular city model with quantity-setting competition is employed. We find that the equilibrium location pattern depends on m. All private firms agglomerate in the unique equilibrium if m is zero or one. Two foreign firms induce differentiation between domestic and foreign private firms. More than two foreign firms yield differentiation among the foreign firms. Regardless of n and m, agglomeration of all domestic private firms appears in equilibrium. We provide several conditions in which eliminating the public firm from the market enhances social welfare. We extend the basic model and investigate three issues concerning multiple public firms, inefficiency of the public firm, and entries by private firms. We obtain some additional implications of welfare and equilibrium locations.     

The impact of litigation risk on the association between audit quality and auditor size: Evidence from China

We examine whether audit quality varies across different sizes of CPA firms under high or low auditor‐specific litigation risk exposure. We measure audit quality by the issuance of modified audit opinions and the audit fees charged to clients, and we use the organizational form of CPA firms as the proxy for auditors’ litigation risk exposure, where a partnership (limited liability) CPA firm represents a high (low) litigation risk exposure. Built on Choi, Kim, Liu, and Simunic's (2008) theoretical framework, we hypothesize that the litigation risk exposure of CPA firm moderates the association between auditor size and audit quality. Our results show that when the auditor's liability is capped (i.e., registered as a limited liability form of CPA firm), larger size CPA firms are associated with higher audit quality when compared to smaller size CPA firms. However, this positive association between auditor size and audit quality disappears for audit firms that are subject to high litigation risk exposures (i.e., registered as a partnership form of CPA firm). Our research provides new insights on the impact of auditor‐specific litigation risks on the relation between audit quality and auditor size. In particular, we show that only when auditor‐specific litigation risk is limited, do large CPA firms appear to perform higher quality audits than small CPA firms.     

会计师事务所外部治理效用探究——基于创业板上市公司IPO审计的面板数据分析

基于2009--2012年257家创业板上市公司的432个IPO审计样本，检验审计质量与企业长期资本市场回报、投资回报率的关系，实证结果表明：应计利润和审计收费显著地表明了审计质量的高低，同时有微弱证据表明行业专长代表了较高的审计质量；事务所声誉与企业经营业绩呈正相关，但是与企业长期资本市场回报呈现显著负相关，该结果源于中国资本市场的非效率性。总体上说，会计师事务所在IPO审计市场上起到了一定的外部治理效用，但仍然有待加强。     

Audit firm tenure and audit quality: A cross‐European study

Directive 2014/56/EU and Regulation (EU) No. 537/2014, which came into effect in June 2016, introduced the mandatory rotation of audit firms after a maximum period of 10 years with the same client. We conduct a cross‐European study with the aim of assessing whether long audit firm tenures are associated with lower levels of audit quality. The sample for the study is based on the constituents of the Standard & Poor's Europe 350 index for the years between 2009 and 2016, and we utilize three different sets of proxies for audit quality: discretionary accruals, differences between reported earnings and earnings benchmarks, and accounting restatements. The main result of the study finds that companies with more than 10 years of tenure with their auditors do not have a lower audit quality than other firms. In fact, this study provides some evidence of a higher audit quality for these firms. The results are robust to various checks. Therefore, if there does not seem to be a problem of a lack of audit quality associated with long audit firm tenures, the necessity of establishing a maximum tenure, as the new European regulation does, may be questioned.     

Welfare impacts of a non-profit firm in mixed commercial markets

Utilizing a model that allows for the welfare of the commercial NPO’s stakeholders directly in terms of their consumer surplus, and indirectly in terms of NPO profits, we explore the impact of changes in the NPO’s “social concern” for consumers on market efficiency. Three separate Cournot mixed market scenarios are analyzed: competition between the NPO and a private for-profit firm, competition between the NPO and a public firm, and a market scenario that includes all three firms. We find that the technical efficiency of the NPO vis-à-vis the profit maximizer is crucial in determining whether social welfare rises or falls as the NPO places more weight on their stakeholders’ surplus. In particular, if the NPO is less technically efficient than the profit maximizer or public firm, somewhat paradoxically social welfare may fall as the NPO shows a greater social concern for consumers. In other words, a movement away from pure profit maximizing behavior by a NPO may well be detrimental in these mixed commercial markets. We also show the additional sources of revenue available to a NPO may decrease the overall welfare in these mixed market situations.