Audit Quality Differences Among Auditors: The Case of Hong Kong

2015 ◽  
pp. 75-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyrone M. Carlin ◽  
Finch Nigel ◽  
Tran Dung Manh
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Goodwill Impairment ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Audit Firms

Audits play a critical role in satisfying the public interest in strengthening accountability and supporting confidence in financial reporting. Conventionally, audit quality is defined as a probability that financial statements are free from material misstatements. The existence of a positive relationship between audit firm size and audit quality has long been accepted in previous literature. This has resulted in numerous studies collecting evidence of differential audit quality relative to the size of audit firms, both large and small. Consequently, the conclusion has been asserted that larger audit firms produce a higher and more homogenous audit quality. The collapse of Arthur Andersen, however, has undermined the premise that large audit firms provide higher audit quality than smaller firms. This research investigates audit quality based on the extent of compliance levels with disclosure requirements pertaining to goodwill impairment of large listed Hong Kong firms in the third year transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The result found that audit firm identity appears to be a significant proportion of cross-sectional variation, in which compliance levels and disclosure quality varied considerably among auditors.

scholarly journals Are Audits of Financial Statements Born Unequal?

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Manh Dung Tran ◽  
Van Anh Doan ◽  
Thi Thuy Bui ◽  
Manh Cuong Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Goodwill Impairment ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Arthur Andersen

Audit is getting more and more importance in assuring the reliability of financial information including financial statements for all parties. Commonly, quality of an audit is viewed as probability that financial reports are free from material irregularities. In the previous literature, there is a positive relationship between size of audit firm and audit quality that has long been understood. This has resulted in many publications to gather evidence of differential audit quality relating to audit firm size. In consequence, the conclusion has been focused that bigger audit firms produce higher audit quality than smaller ones. However, the collapse of many big international audit firms, typically Arthur Andersen has reduced the statement that large audit firms have higher audit quality than small ones. Therefore, this study looks into audit quality basing on the extent of compliance with disclosure requirements pertaining to goodwill impairment of large listed firms in Hong Kong context in the second year transition to IFRS. We found that audit firm identity appears to be a substantial variation, in which compliance levels changed significantly among auditors in the context of Hong Kong.

Audit quality and earnings management: evidence from Jordan

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebraheem Saleem Salem Alzoubi
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Jones Model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the association between audit quality and earnings management (EM). Audit quality studies documented that accruals would reduce when the auditor is independent or the audit firm is large. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses generalised least square regression to investigate the influence of audit quality on EM. The sample contained 86 companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2007 to 2010. The cross-sectional modified Jones model was employed to measure discretionary accruals as a proxy for EM. Findings – This paper revealed that there is a significantly negative association between audit quality and EM. The result inferred that EM level is significantly lower among companies using the services of independent auditors. Moreover, this study exposed that the level of EM is significantly less among companies hiring a Big 4 audit firm, as compared to companies utilising the service of a non-Big 4 audit firm. Research limitations/implications – The measurement error, which is a rigorous concern for studies on EM, is one of the limitations in this study. Hence, the current study wholly inherited the limits of the modified Jones model. Practical implications – The findings based on the current study would provide beneficial information for regulators in Jordan and other countries with an institutional environment similar to that of Jordan. Moreover, the results provided valuable information to investors in assessing the influence of audit quality on financial reporting quality (FRQ). Originality/value – The current study contributed to auditing and corporate governance literature and its influence on EM among Jordanian companies. This research will be of value to companies seeking to reduce EM and enhance FRQ.

The Effect of Audit Duality on Audit Quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-89
Author(s):  
Lawrence Chui ◽  
Oksana Kim ◽  
Byron J. Pike
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Regulatory Environment ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Potential Reduction ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Jel Classifications

ABSTRACT The Russian regulatory environment offers a unique audit duality situation in which public companies receive two separate financial statement audits by the same audit firm: one based on Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) and the other on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We assess whether audit duality influences audit quality, measured by modifications to the standard audit report. Using a sample of public Russian companies from 2004 to 2016, we find that audit duality significantly reduces auditors' propensity to modify the audit opinions for both the RAS and IFRS audits as compared to companies that engage a different firm for each audit. This potential reduction in audit quality is mitigated when the company is in a loss position. The presence of Big N dual auditors does not diminish the observed findings and, in fact, appears to translate into lower-quality RAS-based audits of financially distressed companies. JEL Classifications: M42; M48.

Auditor rotations and audit quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devi Sulistyo Kalanjati ◽  
Damai Nasution ◽  
Karin Jonnergård ◽  
Soegeng Sutedjo
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Using Data

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between audit rotation – at the audit partner and audit firm level – and audit quality. As mentioned in the literature, audit rotation has several benefits, and one of them is it can bring a fresh look to audit tasks and subsequently improve audit quality. Moreover, audit itself can help a client to improve its financial reporting. However, ineffective communication between predecessor and successor audit partners or audit firms, and pseudo-rotation can hamper that benefit. Design/methodology/approach This study uses multivariate regression analysis to test its hypotheses. Using data from companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the sample consists of 688 company-year observations covering the period 2003–2016. Findings This study finds that the cumulative number of audit partner rotations is positively associated with audit quality, indicating that rotations at the audit partner level will enhance audit quality. Conversely, it finds that the cumulative number of audit firm rotations is negatively associated with audit quality. Practical implications The study’s findings may assist regulators in crafting standards regarding audit rotation. As the findings show, audit partner rotation will improve audit quality, but the audit firm rotation will decrease audit quality. As this study tries to explain the decreasing audit quality from audit firm rotation could be a consequence of ineffective communication or pseudo audit firm rotation. Regulators should try to tackle these problems. Originality/value Instead of using tenure as a proxy for a rotation, this study creates a new proxy named the cumulative number of audit partner and audit firm rotations to provide evidence on the benefits of audit rotation.

scholarly journals If auditors are like Belgian beers, which style would you prefer?

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (9) ◽  
pp. 341-347
Author(s):  
Herman van Brenk ◽  
Liesbeth Bruynseels
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Internal Working ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Auditing Standards ◽  
Zoom In ◽  
Audit Team

Recent research by Francis, Pinnuck, and Watanabe (2014) has shown that financial reporting outcomes are influenced by the audit firm’s unique audit style. They argue that audit firm styles are driven by their “unique set of internal working rules that guide the auditor’s application of accounting and auditing standards” (Francis, Pinnuck & Watanabe, 2014). In our discussion, we zoom in on this study and call for further research on the factors that determine audit styles. Specifically, we emphasize the importance of extending this research from the audit firm level to the level of the audit office, audit team, and individual auditor. We conclude with the notion that intense collaboration between audit firms and academia is instrumental in opening the black box of audit styles to extend our knowledge on the root causes and drivers of audit quality.

scholarly journals A longitudinal study of audit quality differences among independent auditors

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manh Dung Tran ◽  
Khairil Faizal Khairi ◽  
Nur Hidayah Laili
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Goodwill Impairment ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
High Level

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences of audit quality of financial statements among auditors, including Big 4 and non-Big 4 auditors. Design/methodology/approach By employing cross-sectional analysis of compliance (a proxy of audit quality) of goodwill impairment testing of listed firms in the context of Hong Kong, the variation of audit quality of financial statements of auditees has been shown. Findings Audit quality of Big 4 auditors is viewed to be higher than that of non-Big 4 audit firms and the homogeneity of audit quality among Big 4 auditors is not long accepted, but variation. Practical implications Even though unqualified opinions have been given on the auditors’ reports, the quality of financial statements audit is a skeptical issue because of the high level of non-compliance of goodwill impairment testing under International Financial Reporting Standards. Originality/value This study does emphasize the higher audit quality of financial statements of Big 4 auditors than that of non-Big 4 auditors and stresses the variation of audit quality among Big 4 auditors.

scholarly journals Audit Firm Size, Audit Fee, Audit Reputation and Audit Quality: The Case of Listed Companies in Vietnam

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngoc Kim Pham ◽  
Hung Nguyen Duong ◽  
Tin Quang Pham ◽  
Nga Thi Thuy Ho
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms

Audit quality is considered as an essential factor affecting the reliability of financial information. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of audit firm characteristics, including audit reputation, audit fees and audit firm size, on audit quality. A sample of 192 companies listed on Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange for the period of 2006-2014 was selected. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. The findings show that Big 4 auditors in Vietnam provide high audit quality than non-Big 4 auditors. Interestingly, in Vietnam context, except for the audit firms in the Big 4 group, the findings suggest that smaller audit firms provide better audit quality. Additionally, the results reveal that the more audit fees the auditors receive, the lower audit quality they provide. The critical role of audit quality has attracted significantly scholarly attention, however, prior studies have mainly focused on firms in developed countries. Little is known about audit quality in an emerging economy context such as Vietnam. This study adds to the limited number of studies on audit quality of listed companies in emerging economies. 

Do Audit Firm Tenure and Size Moderate Changes in Financial Reporting Quality Due to Mandatory IFRS Adoption?

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-224
Author(s):  
William N. Riccardi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Ifrs Adoption ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Mandatory Adoption

SUMMARY Regulators have expressed concerns that auditors become less effective external monitors as the length of the auditor-client relationship increases. I examine how audit firm tenure is associated with changes in financial reporting quality due to mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. I argue that auditors were integral in proper implementation of IFRS and could have mitigated potential negative consequences associated with IFRS adoption. My findings suggest that short audit firm tenure was associated with a decrease in quality, relative to those with medium length tenure. Differences between clients with medium and long tenure are generally not significant. Other results indicate that companies with a Big 4 auditor had greater improvements, or smaller decreases, in reporting quality relative to non-Big 4 clients. My results do not support concerns that longer tenure impairs audit quality. My study is also relevant to standard setters as they evaluate the results of IFRS adoption.

An Empirical Investigation of IPO Underpricing and the Change to the LLP Organization of Audit Firms

2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Muzatko ◽  
Karla M. Johnstone ◽  
Brian W. Mayhew ◽  
Larry E. Rittenberg
Keyword(s):  
Initial Public Offering ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Limited Liability ◽  
Litigation Risk ◽  
Ipo Underpricing ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Legal Structure ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Public Offering

This paper examines the relationship between the 1994 change in audit firm legal structure from general partnerships to limited liability partnerships (LLPs) on underpricing in the initial public offering (IPO) market. The change in legal structure of audit firms reduces an audit firm's wealth at risk from litigation damages and reduces the incentives for intrafirm monitoring by partners within an audit firm. Prior research suggests that underpricing protects underwriters from litigation damages, and that the level of underpricing varies inversely with both the amount of implicit insurance provided by the audit firm and the quality of the audit services provided. We hypothesize the change in audit firm legal structure reduced the assets available from audit firms in IPO-related litigation and indirectly reduced audit quality by lowering intrafirm monitoring. As a result, underwriters have incentives as a joint and several defendant with the audit firms to increase IPO underpricing, particularly for high-litigation-risk IPOs, following audit firms' shifts to LLP status. Our findings are consistent with this hypothesis.

The Effect of Office Changes within Audit Firms on Clients' Audit Quality and Audit Fees

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-99
Author(s):  
Carl W. Hollingsworth ◽  
Terry L. Neal ◽  
Colin D. Reid
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Additional Analysis ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Audit Partner Rotation

SUMMARY While prior research has examined audit firm and audit partner rotation, we have little evidence on the impact of within-firm engagement team disruptions on the audit. To examine these disruptions, we identify a unique sample of companies where the audit firm issuing office changed but the audit firm did not change and investigate the effect of these changes on the audit. Our results indicate that companies that have a change in their audit firm's issuing office exhibit a decrease in audit quality and an increase in audit fees. In additional analysis, we partition office changes into two groups—client driven changes and audit firm driven changes. This analysis reveals that client driven changes are more likely to result in a higher audit fee while audit quality is unchanged. Conversely, audit firm driven changes do not result in a higher audit fee but do experience a decrease in audit quality.

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