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 find that economic conditions at the time an auditor enters the labor market have a long-term impact on her judgment and decision making. Specifically, engagement partners who started their career during economic downturns issue audit adjustments more frequently. For the subsample of...

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...

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 examine whether auditors respond to cybersecurity risks by investing more heavily in cybersecurity human capital. Additionally, we explore auditors’ role in helping their non-breached clients in raising cybersecurity awareness and investing in cybersecurity personnel. We find that audit...