Does Independent External Auditing Play a Role in Corporate Governance？ An Empirical Study on Chinese A-Share Listed Firms

In China, an emerging economy, where investor protection is relatively weak, it is worthwhile and interesting to investigate whether independent external auditing, a sort of external corporate governance mechanism, exerts its influence. Using a sample of all A-share listed firms in 2005, this paper investigates the effects of independent external auditing on corporate governance via three aspects： （1） choice of auditing institution; （2） auditing fee; and （3） auditing opinion for annual reports. Empirical results show that, with worse agency problems in firms, the possibility of employing the “Big 41” to audit its annual reports is bigger. When determining auditing fees, auditing institutions take both firms＇ agency problems and the firm size into account. When issuing qualified opinions for poor-performing firms, auditors do not consider agency problems embedded in concentrated ownership. Overall, external independent auditing plays a limited role in corporate governance.

Audit Committee Attributes on Audit Fees： The Impact of Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance （MCCG） 2007

The evolution of corporate governance has created a competitive environment among the companies to catch the attention of investor＇s confidence. This paper aims to examine the relationship between the audit committee attributes and the audit fees. Specifically, this paper aims to examine the effects of audit committee expertise （number of financial-related director＇s trainings and experience） on audit fees. The data are obtained from annual reports of the population of Bursa Malaysia listed companies for both Main and Ace markets in year 2008. The results show that audit committee size is significant and has a positive association with audit fees. However, audit committee＇s financial related training is significant and has a negative association with audit fees. These results suggest that financial training of audit committee could have an impact on the lower audit fees. However, audit committee expertise is significant and has a positive association with audit fees. This suggests that financial-related training is needed in order to enhance the expertise of audit committee members.

On determinants of audit fee： New evidence from China

Summarizing many audit service pricing models, we use the method ‘stepwise’ of OLS to establish our audit service pricing. And then, we get a result that the four factors determine audit fees and total assets at year-end and sales of the current year are complementary each other in measuring the auditee size better than respectively.

Association Between Independent Auditor Fees and Firm Value： A Study of Brazilian Public Companies

This article investigates the relationship between fees for audit and non-audit services with Tobin＇s Q. Using a sample of Brazilian public companies in the period from 2009 to 2011, we estimate the association between Tobin＇s Q and the auditors＇ remuneration scaled by total assets. Additionally, to strengthen the conclusions, we present a second model with the remuneration of the auditors in absolute terms. The results suggest a significant relationship between Tobin＇s Q and audit and non-audit fees, positive and negative, respectively. Specifically, increases in audit fees and non-audit fees respectively increase and decrease the Tobin＇s Q of the audited company. The results of this study have important implications for those interested in good corporate governance practices. Managers and board members concerned with value carefully evaluate the remuneration and nature of services creation, when engaging independent auditors, should provided.

Board of Directors, Independent Directors and Audit Fees： Based on the Empirical Data of the GEM of China

As one of the alternative variables of audit quality, audit fees have been researched widely in the Mainboard of China stock market, but empirical research based on the GEM （Growth Enterprise Market） of China is very few. From the perspective of GEM of China, this article observes and studies the impact of corporate governance structure represented by board of directors and independent directors on audit fees. This article selects the data of 348 listed companies in the GEM of China in 2012, proves that there is a positive correlation between the number of meetings, independent directors＇ salaries and audit fees through the use of multiple linear regression model, and accordingly proposed suggestions that improve the corporate governance structure of the GEM of China.

Audit fees and audit quality

The audit industry in China has developed rapidly in recent years, the formulation of national policy also needs the support of audit industry. The number of accounting firms has been increasing, and the final audit quality in the audit is one of the most concerned by the public. Any product quality and price are equivalent, the higher the cost of investment, the better the quality, the higher the price. The audit process is also the case. This paper is mainly based on the relevant audit fees and audit quality is the summary of the existing research results on the relationship between the two for further exploration, consider the audit pricing regulation and audit industry brand and scale effect, and put forward to improve the audit fees and audit quality relationship advice.

Spillover effect of digital transformation along the supply chain:From the perspective of suppliers’audit fees

This research contributes to understanding the spillover effect of customer digital transformation along the supply chain.We take a supply chain relationship perspective to explore the influence of customers’digital transformation on suppliers’audit fees and find a significant reduction in such fees when customers undergo digital transformation.An economic mechanism analysis reveals that this transformation reduces audit fees by lowering the risks and costs encountered by auditors.This is achieved by mitigating suppliers’business risks and improving earnings quality.Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact of customers’digital transformation on suppliers’audit fees is more pronounced when the supply chain is geographically distant,suppliers with more specific investments and with high levels of market competition.

The Relationship Between Financial Reporting Standards （FRS） 139 and Audit Pricing： The Case of Malaysia

This study provides some insights for auditors to gauge the complexity of the financial statements verification process to comply with the ambiguous standard, namely, Financial Reporting Standards （FRS） 139 in Malaysia. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the adoption of FRS 139 and the audit fees charged to clients. The final sample consists of 1,050 finn-year observations covering the period from 2006 to 2008 from the non-financial companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia. In this study, the static panel data analysis is used to provide richer interpretation and a powerful understanding of the effect of standard adoption on audit pricing. The regression results from the random effects Generalized Least Squares （GLS） suggest that FRS 139 adoption has not significantly increased audit fees. The small number of observations for FRS 139 voluntary adoption is suspected to be the main limitation factor contributing to the insignificant result of the hypothesis. It is suggested that the limitation of small observations of FRS 139 voluntary adopters might be encountered during the period of mandatory adoption. Therefore, future research might investigate the impact of mandatory FRS 139 adoption.

Directors＇ Board Characteristics and Audit Quality： Evidence From Belgium

This study investigates the relationship between board characteristics and external audit quality on a sample of 97 Belgian listed companies during the period 2003-2007. Board characteristics proxies are the composition of the board, its independence, its structure in terms of duality or independence and its diligence. Our results are consistent with board independence and size being complements with external audit, rather than substitutes

Voluntary resignation of independent directors and auditor responses:Empirical evidence from Chinese A-share listed firms

We examine auditor responses to the voluntary resignation of independent directors.We show that auditors respond by increasing audit fees or rescinding engagement with their clients,but not by increasing their audit effort.Mechanism tests reveal that independent directors’voluntary resignation leads to increased regulatory sanctions and negative media coverage,these relationships are more pronounced after the New Securities Law.Auditor response strategies follow an order of priority:at an acceptable level of perceived risk,auditors increase audit fees;when perceived risk exceeds this level,auditors will discontinue the client relationship.Auditors associate greater risk with firms that have(vs.have not)experienced consecutive voluntary resignations by independent directors.Mandatory resignation has no such effect.

CFO narcissism and audit fees: Evidence from listed companies in China

This paper examines the effects of CFO narcissism on audit fees in China.Using the size of CFO signatures in annual audit reports to measure individual narcissism,we find that CFO narcissism is associated with higher audit fees.We find empirical evidence that CFO narcissism significantly increases the audit fees of listed companies,and this effect is stronger in state-owned enterprises.This paper also explores the mediating effects of financial information and the engagement of prestigious Big-4 and Big-10 firms.The results show that companies with narcissistic CFOs have lower quality financial information and prefer more prestigious firms,which leads to higher audit fees.This research highlights the importance of CFO narcissism in corporate performance and provides new evidence that will be useful for listed companies that plan to hire senior executives.

Corporate governance and audit fees:Evidence from companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange

This study uses data from companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and audit fees. Full sample results reveal a significant negative relationship between corporate governance and audit fees, and subsample results further show that corporate governance's influence on audit fees is affected by corporate growth. The negative relationship between corporate governance and audit fees is economically and statistically significant in sample companies that grew moderately during the sample period, and mixed or insignificant in companies that experienced overly fast or negative growth.

Risk-preparedness mechanism and audit quality:Evidence from mandatory increase of professional indemnity insurance and professional risk fund

We examine the risk-preparing benefits of Chinese audit firms’professional indemnity insurance(PII)and professional risk fund(PRF)by using the Notice on Adjusting the Application Requirement of Audit Firms for Securities Qualifications as an exogenous shock.This policy requires audit firms to raise the sum of the cumulative compensation limit of their PII and PRF from 6 million to 80million yuan.It is found,first,that the capital market regards this policy revision as a signal to strengthen investor protection and responds positively;client firms with high audit risks have a stronger response.Second,auditors’governance of financial information has strengthened,resulting in the significant improvement of their clients’financial reporting quality,with a stronger effect on firms with higher earnings management risk.There is no evidence that audit firms pass the costs on to their clients.Finally,the mismatch between auditors and new client firms is alleviated.We show that in an emerging market with weak investor protection,establishing a sound risk-preparedness mechanism for audit firms and strengthening the capacity for civil compensation ex post greatly improve the adaptive degree between international auditing standards and the legal environment of China,thereby enhancing the overall service quality of the audit market.

Audit pricing and nature of controlling shareholders:Evidence from France

This study examines whether auditors are employed as a monitoring mechanism to mitigate agency problems arising from different types of controlling shareholders. In a context of concentrated ownership and poor investor protection, controlling shareholders can easily expropriate wealth from minority shareholders and profit from private benefits of control. However, this agency conflict has been rarely studied, as the most commonly assumed agency conflict occurs between managers and shareholders. Using an audit fee model derived from , we study the impact of the nature of controlling shareholders on audit fees in French listed firms. Our results show: (1) a negative relationship between audit fees and government shareholdings; (2) a positive relationship between audit fees and institutional shareholdings; and (3) no relationship between audit fees and family shareholdings. These results illustrate the mixed effects of the nature of ownership on audit fees.

Adjustment costs of institutional tax changes from the audit pricing perspective: Empirical evidence from the VAT reform

Institutional changes inevitably impose adjustment costs on firms while also generating benefits.However,empirical evidence regarding the adjustment costs of institutional changes is limited,with much of the focus centered on benefits.Using data on China’s A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2018 and the nation’s staggered adoption of the"business tax to value-added tax reform"(hereafter,"VAT reform")as a natural experiment,we examine the impact of this reform on a particular corporate cost:audit fees.We find audit fees to be 8.11%higher for VAT reform firms than for non-VAT reform firms.This difference does not exist before or after the reform year.That is,it is only observed in the year of VAT reform implementation.This indicates the existence of an adjustment cost specifically related to the VAT reform.Furthermore,we observe larger fee increases among firms audited by Big 4 international audit firms,firms that require more audit work,firms that are more complex,and firms with weak internal controls.From the audit pricing perspective,we provide evidence of the economic consequences of tax reform.The corporate adjustment costs that arise from institutional changes deserve more attention from decision-makers.

Do supply shocks in the audit partner labor market affect auditor choice?Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

We examine whether supply shocks in the audit partner labor market induce clients to switch audit partners.We argue that audit partners in their early careers(i.e.,junior partners)charge low audit fees to attract clients,which induces client firms to switch from senior partners to junior partners when there are more junior partners available.Utilizing the Big4 localization policy,we find that Big4 clients are more likely to replace senior auditors with junior auditors to cut costs after the policy.Furthermore,the results are mainly driven by clients who are charged high fees.Our empirical evidence enriches the understanding of auditor choice determinants and informs the ongoing debates surrounding new regulations for Big4 firms in China.