We examine the association between professionally qualified human capital and office audit quality. Using hand-collected data from 2009 to 2014 on Big 4 audit firm office CPA levels from 30 U.S. cities, we find that offices with relatively more professionally qualified human capital deliver...

During the time surrounding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Big 4 firms either spun-off or downsized their consulting practices. However, in recent years, consulting service lines of the large accounting firms have seen a dramatic resurgence and growth. Regulators have taken notice and...

This paper examines the demand and supply side factors associated with audit partner selection and assignment in the United States. First, we examine whether audit partner gender and experience are associated with board and management gender and experience. Second, we investigate whether...