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Is audit quality impacted by auditor relationships?

Author

Listed:
  • Ball, Fiona
  • Tyler, Jonathan
  • Wells, Peter

Abstract

The objective of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the association of audit quality with audit tenure which would support the argument for auditor rotation being prescribed by regulation. Auditor tenure is measured having regard to both the duration of relations between the lead audit partner and client firm management (person-to-person relations), as well as the duration of the audit firm's engagement by the client (firm-to-firm). Using the setting of when Australian firms were adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), we examine 266 publicly listed Australian firms and find evidence of a negative association between the length of tenure between the lead audit partner and client firm management (person-to-person relations) and audit quality. Conversely we find a positive relation between audit firm engagement by the client (firm-to-firm) and audit quality. This suggests there may be quality benefits from prescribing audit partner rotation, and quality costs from prescribing audit firm rotation.

Suggested Citation

  • Ball, Fiona & Tyler, Jonathan & Wells, Peter, 2015. "Is audit quality impacted by auditor relationships?," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 166-181.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jocaae:v:11:y:2015:i:2:p:166-181
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcae.2015.05.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Krutwig Michael C. & Tanțău Adrian, 2018. "Obligatory versus voluntary energy audits: are there differences in quality?," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 12(1), pages 522-532, May.
    2. Khansa Shahibah & Bambang Hariadi & Zaki Baridwan, 2020. "The effect of quality control system on audit quality: Professional skepticism as the moderator variable," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(4), pages 419-425, July.
    3. Chen, Lihong & Xiao, Tingting & Zhou, Jia, 2023. "Do auditor changes affect the disclosure of critical audit matters? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    4. Astrid Rudyanto, 2017. "Audit Firm Reputation versus Auditor Capability: Their Effect on Audit Quality in Indonesia," GATR Journals afr147, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    5. Nahla Abdulrahman Mohammed Raweh & Hasnah Kamardin & Mazrah Malik @ Malek & Abdulwahid Ahmed Hashed Abdullah, 2021. "The Association between Audit Partner Busyness, Audit Partner Tenure, and Audit Efficiency," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 11(1), pages 90-103, January.
    6. Reshma Kumari Tiwari & Jasojit Debnath, 2021. "Joint Provision of Non-audit Services to Audit Clients: Empirical Evidences from India," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 46(3), pages 153-165, September.
    7. Sakthi Mahenthiran & Berta Silva Palavecinos & Hanns De La Fuente-Mella, 2020. "The Effect of Board Links, Audit Partner Tenure, and Related Party Transactions on Misstatements: Evidence from Chile," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-21, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Audit quality; Auditor independence; Auditor rotation; IFRS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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