This paper investigates the common, yet previously opaque, practice of using foreign audit firms (component auditors) to conduct portions of audit work for U.S. public companies. U.S. regulators have expressed concern for the transparency and quality of audits using component auditors. Employing...

The mandatory retirement age within U.S. audit firms ranges from 55 to 62, which has resulted in both controversy and legal scrutiny. The potential cost of requiring partners to retire at an age that is far younger than in other countries and related professions is the loss of their connections,...

This paper investigates whether financially constrained firms use costly audit signals to facilitate their access to external financing. We document that when facing higher financial constraints, firms pay higher audit fees and have their audit opinion reports completed sooner. The higher audit...

Limited data availability on the internal audit function (IAF) has constrained research on the topic. This study uses unique, manually collected data from LinkedIn on internal audit personnel that overcomes certain limitations of previous survey-based data. Using this longitudinal data, we test...

PCAOB inspections repeatedly indicate deficiencies in audits of FV estimates, resulting in efforts by regulators to improve the related guidance and auditing standards (PCAOB 2017a). Nevertheless, regulators cannot fully resolve the complexity and inherent subjectivity in auditing fair value...

We use new data to examine auditor response to negative media coverage of client environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. This coverage can be indicative of an increased risk of material misstatement, which is an important assessment in client retention and pricing decisions....

This paper investigates the common, yet previously opaque, practice of using foreign audit firms (component auditors) to conduct portions of audit work for U.S. public companies. U.S. regulators have expressed concern for the transparency and quality of audits using component auditors. Employing...

This study examines whether influenza (flu), a potential threat to the conduct of public company audits in the U.S., is associated with audit outcomes. Because the peak months of flu season overlap with audit busy season, audit offices most impacted by the flu may be adversely affected. The...

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...

We contribute to the literature on auditor’s task-specific expertise by examining the role of auditor experience in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), a complicated and increasingly prevalent corporate event that can give rise to misreporting. We find that in industries with more complex...