| 论文简介 |
Regulators suggest that small audit firms join international accounting networks to reduce their
resource constraints in serving large clients and providing high-quality service. Bills,
Cunningham, and Myers (2016) investigate the issue in the United States and find that both audit
fees and quality are higher for members of international accounting networks (i.e., member audit
firms). We investigate the effects of network membership on audit fees and quality in China, a
relatively weaker institutional environment than the United States. Using data of Chinese listed
companies audited by non-Big N audit firms from 2001 to 2010, we find that member audit firms
charge 3.9% higher fees than nonmember audit firms, much lower than the 30% fee premiums
charged by U.S. member audit firms. We do not find consistent evidence that audit quality is
higher for member audit firms. Overall, our results demonstrate that China's weak institutional
environment may overwhelm the quality control brought by international accounting networks
and that it may weaken or even offset the benefits of audit firms' participation in these networks,
resulting in smaller or even no effects of membership on audit fees and quality. |
(创新港)
