The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) acknowledges that developing independent estimates likely reduces the influence of management bias when auditing accounting estimates. We test this notion, finding evidence that both confirms and contradicts the PCAOB's perspective. We find...

This study identifies auditors who have 100% market shares in a city-industry audit market (hereinafter, monopolist auditors) and examines their pricing strategy. I document that monopolist auditors charge lower fees than do industry specialist auditors. This result is consistent with a...

We provide theory and experimental evidence that, in cases of undetected fraud, professional evaluators (i.e. experienced auditors) do not evaluate auditor performance any more favorably when the auditor more accurately assessed a heightened risk of fraud. This occurs despite professional...

In this study, we explore a topic of primary concern to small audit firms – attracting new clients. A potential avenue available to small audit firms to enhance their visibility and legitimacy among potential audit clients is to join an association of accounting firms. We examine whether small...

Leveraging job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, we investigate two mechanisms to reduce accountants’ end-of-day fatigue during busy season. We conduct a field study of public accountants during normal and busy season work periods, collecting bi-daily logs to examine whether the use of...

We use large detailed data on individual auditor employment to examine the antecedents of turnover decisions and subsequent career paths of diverse individuals in public accounting – namely women and racial minority groups (Asian, Black, and Hispanic). Consistent with the principle of...

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced unprecedented challenges to the audits of public companies. In response, the SEC made available a unique one-time 45-day extension to file the audited annual report. This study examines the likelihood and consequences of late filings during COVID-19. We leverage...

In this study we examine the effect of auditor economic bonding (financial dependency on a client) on audit quality. We consider financial dependency as either abnormally high fees in relation to expected hours or vice versa. We consider audits to have credence goods properties where the client...