We identify endogenously formed same-race audit pairings based on the estimated race of audit partners and auditee executives in the nonprofit sector and show that these pairings occur at a significantly greater than random frequency. Using within auditor-year variation, we find that same-race...

Audits by private, third-party auditors are frequently mandated to ensure compliance with regulations (e.g., accounting or environmental standards). We examine how such mandates shape the market for audits. In our empirical examination, we focus on one of the oldest and most prominent audit...

Auditing standards and anecdotal evidence suggest that accounting personnel's lack of financial reporting competencies can increase audit risk. This study draws on human capital theory to measure the quality of accounting personnel based on their education level and obtains evidence of how the...

This paper studies whether and how Big-4 firms provide higher quality audits than non-Big-4 firms. Specifically, we first examine a Big-4 effect and then explore three sources of the Big-4 effect. To test the Big-4 effect, we use a unique dataset of individual audit partners for a large sample...

Using proprietary data, we analyze how a variety of audit composition and team characteristics are associated with audit effectiveness and efficiency. We find that more time allocated prior to the final phase of the audit is associated with more effective audits. We also decompose the time...

This study tests whether an association exists between the geographic location of industry sector leaders in an auditing firm and differences in audit pricing for that same auditing firm's industry clients. Using organizational learning theory and human capital theory, we predict that the...

Extensive debate exists among policy makers and economists about the employment of highly skilled immigrants in the U.S. It remains unclear whether these immigrants perform complementary tasks in addition to their substitutive role relative to native graduates. Empirical studies examining these...

The CPA exam provides an evaluation of auditors' professional competence in the early stages of their careers. Using Swedish data, this paper shows that:i) auditors at Big 4 firms are younger when they take the exam, ii) younger auditors and auditors at Big 4 firms perform better in the exam,...

We investigate the audit fee response to CEO behavioral integrity (BI). BI refers to the perceived congruence between an individual's words and deeds (Simons 2002). Because low word-deed congruence should result in more explanations when communicating, we use variation in explanations beyond...

This paper studies whether and how Big-4 firms provide higher quality audits than non-Big-4 firms. Specifically, we first examine a Big-4 effect and then explore three sources of the Big-4 effect. To test the Big-4 effect, we use a unique dataset of individual audit partners for a large sample...