Quasi Rents to Audit Firms from Longer Tenure

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aloke (Al) Ghosh ◽  
Subprasiri (Jackie) Siriviriyakul
Keyword(s):  
Sample Selection ◽  
Auditor Independence ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Jel Classifications

SYNOPSIS We offer an economic explanation for why audit firms oppose mandatory firm rotation. Using an innovative sample that overcomes sample selection biases, we find that fees for Big 4 audit firms increase noticeably over the audit firm's tenure. In contrast, fees for non-Big 4 audit firms decline as tenure lengthens. Using audit report lag as a proxy for audit cost, we find that audit cost declines over the audit firm's tenure, and this decline is even larger for Big 4 auditors. Our results indicate that Big 4 engagements become more profitable or earn “quasi rents” over time, which may explain why Big 4 audit firms are so opposed to firm- but not partner-rotation. Whether non-Big 4 auditors earn any quasi rents remains doubtful. Our findings suggest a need to better monitor auditor independence and audit judgments when tenure is long, especially for Big 4 auditors, because economic bonding between the audit firm and client tends to increase over time. JEL Classifications: M40; M42.

Industry Audit Experts and Ownership Structure in the Syndicated Loan Market: At the Firm and Partner Levels

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 749-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Lung Chin ◽  
Wei-Ren Yao ◽  
Pei-Yi Liu
Keyword(s):  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Loan Market ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Syndicated Loan Market ◽  
Syndicated Loan

SYNOPSIS The PCAOB has recently issued two concept releases that seek feedback on a proposal that requires audit firms to disclose the name of the engagement partner in the audit report. This paper provides evidence about the efficacy of this proposal by examining whether industry audit experts at the partner level are valued by stakeholders—lenders in the syndicate loan market. Our paper is based on the unique data in Taiwan, where the audit report is issued in the name of two signing auditors, as well as the audit firm. Prior research suggests that lead arrangers prefer to hold a lower share of the loan and to have a larger number of other lenders. First, we find no evidence that Big 4 audit firms are related to the lower share of a syndicated loan held by the lead arrangers, after controlling for industry audit expertise; we also find no evidence that firm-level expertise alone is associated with the share held by lead arrangers. However, we do find that partner-level industry audit experts, either alone or in conjunction with a firm-level industry audit expert, are associated with the lower share of syndicated loans held by lead arrangers. Second, we find that the number of lenders in general (or the number of foreign lenders in particular) in a loan is the largest when borrowers retain industry audit experts at both the firm and partner levels.

Spatial Competition at the Intersection of the Large and Small Audit Firm Markets

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth L. Bills ◽  
Nathaniel M. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Market Share ◽  
Spatial Competition ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Jel Classifications

SUMMARY In this paper, we study spatial competition in the U.S. audit market while accounting for its two-tiered nature. We provide evidence on the differential impact that market share distances within and between the players in the large and small audit markets have on competition. We find that the market share distance from small audit firm competitors has a greater effect on the Big 4's audit fees than distances from other Big 4 competitors. This finding suggests that small audit firms play a significant part in the competitive landscape in local markets. Further, we find that audit fees are increasing with the distance between a small audit firm and its closest competing small audit firm while audit fees are decreasing with the distance between a small audit firm and its closest competing large audit firm. This suggests that while obtaining separation in market space from competing small audit firms reduces competitive pressure from other small audit firms, as a small audit firm gets closer to the market space of a large audit firm it is perceived as being more like the larger audit firm and is able to obtain a fee premium like that attained by the larger audit firms. JEL Classifications: M4; M40; M41; M42; M49.

Audit firms and industry specialization in an emerging economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-362
Author(s):  
Karim Hegazy ◽  
Mohamed Hegazy
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Brand Name ◽  
Industry Specialization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the implications of audit industry specialization on auditor’s retention and growth within an emerging economy. Factors such as whether the firm is a Big 4, a firm with international affiliation, a local firm and the type of industry were studied to analyse the reasons behind audit firm retention and growth.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on a field study related to audit firms providing services to listed companies in an emerging economy. The sample includes the top 100 publicly held companies’ in the Egyptian stock market during 2006-2011 for which their annual reports are analysed to determine the audit firms’ retention and growth. An assessment of the continuity of the auditors and the increase in the number of audit clients were also measured.FindingsThe results confirm that industry specialization has an important effect on the auditor’s retention, especially for industries where capital investment is significant such as buildings, construction, financial services, housing and real estate. Big 4 audit firms retained their clients because of their industry specialization and brand name. Evidence was found that good knowledge of accounting and auditing standards resulted in audit firms with international affiliation competing with the Big 4 for clients’ retention and growth.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature, as it is among the first to provide empirical evidence on auditor retention, growth and auditor’s dominance in an emerging economy such as Egypt.

The Impact of PCAOB AS5 and the Economic Recession on Client Portfolio Characteristics of the Big 4 Audit Firms

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph H. Schroeder ◽  
Chris E. Hogan
Keyword(s):  
Financial Risk ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Risk Characteristics ◽  
The Impact

SUMMARY We examine the impact of PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 5 (AS5) and the economic recession on risk characteristics and degree of auditor/client misalignment in the publicly traded client portfolios of Big 4 firms. AS5 and the economic recession both likely resulted in an increase in audit firm personnel capacity as well as a decline in current and future revenue prospects, leading to concerns that the Big 4 firms may pursue clients that present greater risk to the portfolio. We find that the overall portfolio in 2009 presents greater financial risk, attributable to the impact of the recession on continuing clients. A net decrease in audit and auditor business risks is also attributable to continuing clients over this period, as increases for new clients are offset by reductions due to departing clients. Overall, the results, which should be of interest to regulators, indicate that Big 4 firms continued to balance their portfolio with risk in mind. Data Availability: Data are publicly available from sources identified in the paper.

scholarly journals Signing Auditor-Specific Characteristics And Audit Report Lag: A Research From Turkey

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murat Ocak ◽  
Evrim Altuk Ozden
Keyword(s):  
Educational Level ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
Firm Age ◽  
Audit Opinion ◽  
Gender And Education ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Positive Effect

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of signing auditor-specific characteristics on the audit report lag using 968 firm-year observations from Borsa İstanbul in the period 2008-2013. The main findings indicate that the gender and education level of signing auditor have a positive effect on audit report lag. Also big4 audit firms in Turkey encourage auditees to present financial statements timely and they play a substantial role in the reporting. Audit opinion directly affects audit report lag. Firm performance and firm age inversely affect audit report lag. Moreover, big 4’s female signing auditors lead to more audit delay. The higher educational level of signing auditors leads to more audit report lag. Signing auditors who hold master’s or Ph.D. degrees and also female signing auditors are associated with more audit report lag in firms audited by big4 and non-big4 firms.

scholarly journals FAR Research Project: The loss of talent: a threat for audit quality?

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 268-273
Author(s):  
Isabella Grabner ◽  
Judith Künneke ◽  
Frank Moers
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Recent Survey ◽  
New Professionals ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Labor Inputs

The main priority of the audit industry is to maintain and improve audit quality. While audit quality has been an important topic in both accounting academia and practice, there is still a lack of understanding of what drives audit quality. Given that people are the most valuable asset an audit firm has, we focus on examining the labor inputs as a driver of audit quality. Specifically, we argue that a key threat for audit quality that so far has been largely neglected is the loss of talent across the hierarchy. A well-known problem for audit firms is that they invest enormous resources in new professionals only to have many with talent leave (Patten, 1995; Vera-Muñoz, Ho & Chow, 2006; ACCA & ACRA, 2012). A recent survey by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants finds that only about 38% are satisfied with their career and only 35% plan to stay beyond three years, with no significant differences across Big 4 and midtier firms (ACCA and ACRA, 2012).

scholarly journals Audit Research Summaries

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 244-249
Author(s):  
Philip Wallage
Keyword(s):  
Audit Fees ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Fee

Ook deze maand presenteren wij weer enkele “Audit Research Summaries” uit de database van de American Accounting Association (www.auditingresearchsummaries. org). De eerste samenvatting betreft een onderzoek van Sharma, Tanyi en Litt naar de kosten van verplichte audit partner-rotatie in de VS. Hiertoe wordt nagegaan of partner- rotatie gerelateerd is aan de hoogte van de audit fee en het tijdsverloop tussen einde boekjaar en datum afgifte van de controleverklaring (audit report lag). Uit het onderzoek blijkt onder andere dat een positieve en significante associatie bestaat tussen partner-rotatie en audit fees. Ook blijkt dat deze associatie met name bestaat voor grotere klanten en voor de niet-Big 4-audit firms. Een vergelijkbare associatie bestaat voor rotatie en de lengte van de audit report lag. De volgende samenvatting betreft een experiment van Kim en Harding onder Australische en Zuid Koreaanse accountants naar het effect dat gepercipieerde expertise van een leidinggevende heeft op de besluitvorming van een ondergeschikte. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat de invloed van de vooraf bekende preferentie van de leidinggevende op een te nemen besluit groter is naarmate de leidinggevende meer deskundigheid wordt toegedicht. Er wordt geen verschil geconstateerd tussen Australische en Zuid Koreaanse accountants.

Auditors’ judgment subordination and the theory of planned behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1189-1211
Author(s):  
Dominic Cyr ◽  
Sylvie Héroux ◽  
Richard Fontaine
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Planned Behavior ◽  
Planned Behavior ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine circumstances under which auditors subordinate their judgment. More specifically, the authors investigate factors associated with auditors’ propensity to accept client-preferred accounting methods that conform to accounting standards but do not faithfully represent the entity’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows. Design/methodology/approach Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the authors developed a survey that was sent to auditors at a non-Big 4 audit firm. Findings Main results suggest that auditors tend to agree with a client’s preferred accounting method when they anticipate little fallout from this decision, they believe they can easily justify the method, and they perceive that colleagues, shareholders and creditors would also agree with the decision. Practical implications Results benefit auditing standard setters and regulators and are relevant for accounting institutes and audit firms because practitioners can learn about circumstances under which auditors subordinate their judgment. Originality/value This study contributes to the audit literature by using the TPB to identify factors associated with auditors’ judgment subordination. In addition, it applies the TPB in a context where a client-preferred accounting method is considered acceptable but is not the most appropriate in light of the audited entity’s specific circumstances.

Small Audit Firm Membership in Associations, Networks, and Alliances: Implications for Audit Quality and Audit Fees

2015 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 767-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth L. Bills ◽  
Lauren M. Cunningham ◽  
Linda A. Myers
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Matched Control ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Association Member ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
Control Samples

ABSTRACT In this study, we examine the benefits of membership in an accounting firm association, network, or alliance (collectively referred to as “an association”). Associations provide member accounting firms with numerous benefits, including access to the expertise of professionals from other independent member firms, joint conferences and technical trainings, assistance in dealing with staffing and geographic limitations, and the ability to use the association name in marketing materials. We expect these benefits to result in higher-quality audits and higher audit fees (or audit fee premiums). Using hand-collected data on association membership, we find that association member firms conduct higher-quality audits than nonmember firms, where audit quality is proxied for by fewer Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection deficiencies and fewer financial statement misstatements, as well as less extreme absolute discretionary accruals and lower positive discretionary accruals. We also find that audit fees are higher for clients of member firms than for clients of nonmember firms, suggesting that clients are willing to pay an audit fee premium to engage association member audit firms. Finally, we find that member firm audits are of similar quality to a size-matched sample of Big 4 audits, but member firm clients pay lower fee premiums than do Big 4 clients. Our inferences are robust to the use of company size-matched control samples, audit firm size-matched control samples, propensity score matching, two-stage least squares regression, and to analyses that consider changes in association membership. Our findings should be of interest to regulators because they suggest that association membership assists small audit firms in overcoming barriers to auditing larger audit clients. In addition, our findings should be informative to audit committees when making auditor selection decisions, and to investors and accounting researchers interested in the relation between audit firm type and audit quality.

How do audit fees change? Effects of firm size and section 404(b) compliance

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-437
Author(s):  
Alexey Lyubimov
Keyword(s):  
Audit Fees ◽  
Section 404 ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Control Effectiveness ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
Second Tier ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the size of the audit firm and compliance with Section 404(b) on how audit fees change over time. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel data and an OLS regression to examine the relationship between audit fee changes, firms’ size and Section 404(b) compliance. Findings Section 404(b)-compliant companies experience a larger change in audit fees if they are audited by Big 4 firms than second-tier firms. Second-tier audit firms increase the fees primarily for the companies which do not comply with Section 404(b). Practical implications Regulators have been concerned with the Big 4 fee premium for four decades. This study informs regulators that the Big 4 continue increasing their fees at a higher rate than second-tier firms for their Section 404(b)-compliant clients (even though recent research shows that second-tier firms have increased quality to match the Big 4). This suggests that the Big 4 fee premium increases for this subset of clients, adding to the regulatory concerns. Originality/value While prior research has established the existence of the Big 4 fee premium, little is known about how this premium changes over time. Prior research shows that audit fees increase when internal controls are weak; however, little is known about how Section 404(b) compliance (once control effectiveness is controlled) affects fee changes. This paper addresses these voids in research.

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