IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/joares/v60y2022i4p1419-1462.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Involvement of Component Auditors in Multinational Group Audits: Determinants, Audit Quality, and Audit Fees

Author

Listed:
  • ELIZABETH CARSON
  • ROGER SIMNETT
  • ULRIKE THÜRHEIMER
  • ANN VANSTRAELEN

Abstract

We study what determines the involvement of component auditors in multinational enterprise (MNE) group audits and the association with audit quality and audit fees. Using unique Australian disclosures of group audit fees paid to the principal and component auditors, we first document that MNE complexity, MNE internationalization, and auditor characteristics are associated with component auditor involvement, and extent and type of component auditor involvement. Next, we find that involvement of component auditors benefits audit quality as long as the principal auditor conducts a substantial amount of work. Once the involvement of component auditors exceeds a certain level, audit quality decreases. We also document that audit fees are higher in the presence of a component auditor and increase with the extent of involvement, irrespective of component auditor type. Our results contribute to the emerging literature on group audits and provide empirical evidence on regulatory concerns about group audit quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth Carson & Roger Simnett & Ulrike Thürheimer & Ann Vanstraelen, 2022. "Involvement of Component Auditors in Multinational Group Audits: Determinants, Audit Quality, and Audit Fees," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 1419-1462, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:60:y:2022:i:4:p:1419-1462
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12418
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12418
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1475-679X.12418?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yang Xu & Elizabeth Carson & Neil Fargher & Liwei Jiang, 2013. "Responses by Australian auditors to the global financial crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(1), pages 301-338, March.
    2. Aobdia, Daniel, 2019. "Do practitioner assessments agree with academic proxies for audit quality? Evidence from PCAOB and internal inspections," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 144-174.
    3. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2010. "The worldwide governance indicators : methodology and analytical issues," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5430, The World Bank.
    4. David Godsell & Michael Welker & Ning Zhang, 2017. "Earnings Management During Antidumping Investigations in Europe: Sample‐Wide and Cross‐Sectional Evidence," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 407-457, May.
    5. Xavier Giroud, 2013. "Proximity and Investment: Evidence from Plant-Level Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(2), pages 861-915.
    6. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    7. Timothy B. Bell & Rajib Doogar & Ira Solomon, 2008. "Audit Labor Usage and Fees under Business Risk Auditing," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 729-760, September.
    8. Jenna J. Burke & Rani Hoitash & Udi Hoitash, 2020. "The Use and Characteristics of Foreign Component Auditors in U.S. Multinational Audits: Insights from Form AP Disclosures," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(4), pages 2398-2437, December.
    9. Kenneth J. Reichelt & Dechun Wang, 2010. "National and Office‐Specific Measures of Auditor Industry Expertise and Effects on Audit Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 647-686, June.
    10. Elizabeth Carson & Neil Fargher, 2007. "Note on audit fee premiums to client size and industry specialization," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 47(3), pages 423-446, September.
    11. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    12. Wei Chen & Paul Hribar & Samuel Melessa, 2018. "Incorrect Inferences When Using Residuals as Dependent Variables," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 751-796, June.
    13. Daniel Aobdia & Saad Siddiqui & Andres Vinelli, 2021. "Heterogeneity in expertise in a credence goods setting: evidence from audit partners," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 693-729, June.
    14. Hanes, Denise R., 2013. "Geographically distributed audit work: Theoretical considerations and future directions," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-29.
    15. Lennox, Clive & Wu, Xi & Zhang, Tianyu, 2016. "The effect of audit adjustments on earnings quality: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 545-562.
    16. Fung, Simon Yu Kit & Raman, K.K. & Zhu, Xindong (Kevin), 2017. "Does the PCAOB international inspection program improve audit quality for non-US-listed foreign clients?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 15-36.
    17. Antle, R & Nalebuff, B, 1991. "Conservatism And Auditor-Client Negotiations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29, pages 31-54.
    18. Barrett, Michael & Cooper, David J. & Jamal, Karim, 2005. "Globalization and the coordinating of work in multinational audits," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-24, January.
    19. Kamran Ahmed & John Goodwin, 2007. "An empirical investigation of earnings restatements by Australian firms," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 47(1), pages 1-22, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elizabeth Carson & Yi (Dale) Fu & Ulrike Thürheimer & Yang Xu, 2023. "The audit market for listed Australian companies from 2012 to 2018: A state of play," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 48(3), pages 524-549, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Beck, Matthew J. & Gunn, Joshua L. & Hallman, Nicholas, 2019. "The geographic decentralization of audit firms and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1).
    2. Kharuddin, Khairul Ayuni Mohd & Basioudis, Ilias G & Farooque, Omar Al, 2021. "Effects of the Big 4 national and city-level industry expertise on audit quality in the United Kingdom," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    3. Jeffrey Pittman & Baolei Qi & Yi Si & Zi-Tian Wang & Chongwu Xia, 2024. "Individual Auditor Social Responsibility and Audit Quality: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(1), pages 119-144, September.
    4. Vlad‐Andrei Porumb & Abe De Jong & Carel Huijgen & Teye Marra & Jan Van Dalen, 2021. "The Effect of Auditor Style on Reporting Quality: Evidence from Germany," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(1), pages 1-26, March.
    5. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    6. Alessandro Paolo Rigamonti & Giulio Greco & Mariarita Pierotti & Alessandro Capocchi, 2024. "Macroeconomic uncertainty and earnings management: evidence from commodity firms," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1615-1649, May.
    7. Matthias Breuer & Harm H. Schütt, 2023. "Accounting for uncertainty: an application of Bayesian methods to accruals models," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 726-768, June.
    8. Meiying Hua & Pervaiz Alam, 2021. "Audit Quality and Environment, Social, and Governance Risks," International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), Computer Science Journals (CSC Journals), vol. 12(2), pages 50-75, April.
    9. Shivaram Rajgopal & Suraj Srinivasan & Xin Zheng, 2021. "Measuring audit quality," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 559-619, June.
    10. Miguel Minutti‐Meza, 2013. "Does Auditor Industry Specialization Improve Audit Quality?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 779-817, September.
    11. Tharindra Ranasinghe & Lin Yi & Ling Zhou, 2023. "Do auditors charge a client business risk premium? Evidence from audit fees and derivative hedging in the U.S. oil and gas industry," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 1107-1139, June.
    12. Chy, Mahfuz & De Franco, Gus & Su, Barbara, 2021. "The effect of auditor litigation risk on clients' access to bank debt: Evidence from a quasi-experiment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1).
    13. Paul J. Coram & Noel Harding & David C. Hay & Jahanzeb Khan & Ashna Prasad, 2021. "Comments of the AFAANZ Auditing and Assurance Standards Committee on Proposed International Standard on Auditing 600 (ED 600)," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5879-5890, December.
    14. Donghui Wu & Qing Ye, 2020. "Public Attention and Auditor Behavior: The Case of Hurun Rich List in China," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 777-825, June.
    15. Wu, Bin & Wu, Yaqian & Zhang, Min & Li, Jiyuan, 2024. "Opening the black box of human resource allocations in audit firms: The assignment of audit partners to audit engagements," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(2).
    16. Xingqiang Du & Yiqi Zhang & Shaojuan Lai & Hexin Tao, 2024. "How Do Auditors Value Hypocrisy? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(3), pages 501-533, May.
    17. Huai Zhang & Jin Zhang, 2023. "Political corruption and accounting choices," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3-4), pages 443-481, March.
    18. Marcus M. Doxey & James G. Lawson & Thomas J. Lopez & Quinn T. Swanquist, 2021. "Do Investors Care Who Did the Audit? Evidence from Form AP," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 1741-1782, December.
    19. Boland, Matthew & Godsell, David, 2020. "Local soldier fatalities and war profiteers: New tests of the political cost hypothesis," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1).
    20. Rigamonti, Alessandro Paolo & Greco, Giulio & Capocchi, Alessandro, 2024. "Futures, provisional sales, and earnings management in the global gold mining industry," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:60:y:2022:i:4:p:1419-1462. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-8456 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.