The main role of the external auditor in the classical corporate governance scheme is to verify the accounting information provided by the firms’ managers. Lengthy audit engagements are viewed as a main threat to preserve auditor independence, and therefore regulators have established...

The Enron/Arthur Andersen scandal has raised concerns internationally about auditor independence, audit quality, and the need for regulatory action such as mandatory auditor rotation. China's unique institutional features provide us with a setting in which to compare comprehensively the various...

This study investigates how audit firm quality indicators relate to audit quality at the engagement-level. Specifically, eight input and two output audit firm quality measures are constructed and related to a broad range of engagement-level input and output audit quality measures. We find that...

This study investigates the audit firm's decision to protect its partners' personal assets by becoming a limited liability partnership (LLP). We find that the likelihood of an audit firm switching from unlimited to limited liability is increasing in its size and exposure to litigation risk. We...

We examine the association between U.S. audit market structure and both audit price and quality. The significant consolidation of the largest audit firms and its effect on market structure has raised international concern among policy makers. We address this concern by examining the association...

Regulators and the public are concerned about accounting firms lobbying politicians on behalf of their own audit clients because it could impair auditor independence. In this study, we examine whether these lobbying activities by accounting firms are associated with their clients' audit quality....

Using audit firm size measured by audit firm revenues, the number of offices, and professional headcounts, we find that audit firm size measured as continuous variable is positively associated with engagement-level audit quality proxied by discretionary accruals and modified opinions, and is...

This study examines the effect of individual auditor quality (below the partner level) on overall audit quality. We aggregate audit employee-level performance evaluations to create a measure of auditor quality at the office level. We find that high quality audit offices are associated with a...

Objective – The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of audit firm tenure and audit firm size on audit quality. This study applies explanatory research in which questionnaire and interviews serve as the primary data. The population of this study is public accounting firms which are...

Purpose – This paper investigates the relationship between audit quality (as measured by auditor size and industry specialization) and earnings management (as measured by unexpected accruals) for Taiwan IPO firms.Design/methodology/approach – First uses unexpected accruals in the modified...