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Managerial overconfidence and audit fees

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  • Duellman, Scott
  • Hurwitz, Helen
  • Sun, Yan

Abstract

We investigate the association between managerial overconfidence and audit fees, as well as the effect of a strong audit committee on this relation. Overconfident managers tend to overestimate their ability and the future payouts of projects but underestimate the likelihood and impact of adverse events. If auditors perceive managerial overconfidence as increasing audit risk, they will charge additional fees to compensate for the increased audit effort. Conversely, audit fees for companies with an overconfident manager will be lower if managers demand less audit services due to either hubris in their companies' financial reporting or a desire to reduce auditor scrutiny over aggressive accounting practices. We find evidence of a negative relation between managerial overconfidence and audit fees for companies lacking a strong audit committee. Additionally, we find that overconfident managers are less likely to use an industry specialist auditor.

Suggested Citation

  • Duellman, Scott & Hurwitz, Helen & Sun, Yan, 2015. "Managerial overconfidence and audit fees," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 148-165.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jocaae:v:11:y:2015:i:2:p:148-165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcae.2015.05.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Eka Sari Ayuningtyas & Iman Harymawan, 2022. "Risk Management Committee and Textual Risk Disclosure," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, February.
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    4. Adnan Safi & Xianrong Yi & Salman Wahab & Yingying Chen & Hassan Hassan, 2021. "CEO overconfidence, firm-specific factors, and systemic risk: evidence from China," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(1), pages 30-47, June.
    5. Akbar Salami & Ahmad Aslizadeh & Mohammad Reza Asgari, 2017. "Management Overconfidence and Co-Financing Decision in Tehran's Securities Stock Exchange," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(6), pages 59-67.
    6. Santanu Mitra & Bikki Jaggi & Talal Al-Hayale, 2019. "Managerial overconfidence, ability, firm-governance and audit fees," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 841-870, April.
    7. Sanjukta Brahma & Agyenim Boateng & Sardar Ahmad, 2023. "Board overconfidence and M&A performance: evidence from the UK," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1363-1391, May.
    8. Jennifer Kunz & Lara Sonnenholzner, 2023. "Managerial overconfidence: promoter of or obstacle to organizational resilience?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 67-128, January.
    9. Sumiyana Sumiyana & Ainun Na’im & Albertus H. L. Nugroho & Firdaus Kurniawan, 2023. "Multiple measurements of CEOs’ overconfidence and future earnings management: evidence from Asia-Pacific developing countries," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    10. Sanaz Aghazadeh & Lili Sun & Qian Wang & Rong Yang, 2018. "Investors’ perception of CEO overconfidence: evidence from the cost of equity capital," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1129-1150, November.
    11. Imen Tebourbi & Irene Wei Kiong Ting & Hanh Thi My Le & Qian Long Kweh, 2020. "R&D investment and future firm performance: The role of managerial overconfidence and government ownership," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(7), pages 1269-1281, October.
    12. Sun, Xuan Sean & Habib, Ahsan & Bhuiyan, Md. Borhan Uddin, 2020. "Workforce environment and audit fees: International evidence," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1).
    13. Iman Harymawan & Aditya Aji Prabhawa & Mohammad Nasih & Fajar Kristanto Gautama Putra, 2021. "Risk Management Committee, Auditor Choice and Audit Fees," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-16, August.
    14. Yan, Lina & Ling, Xuan & Wang, Zhitao & Xu, Yinuo, 2023. "Can mixed-ownership reform boost the digital transformation of state-owned enterprises?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 647-663.
    15. Shan, Yuan George & Troshani, Indrit & Tarca, Ann, 2019. "Managerial ownership, audit firm size, and audit fees: Australian evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 18-36.
    16. Xing-Xing He & De-Cong Xie & Ze-Min Hu & Xing-Li Bao & Lin Li, 2020. "Impact of managerial overconfidence on abnormal audit fee: From the perspective of balance mechanism of shareholders," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-13, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Overconfidence; Audit fees; Specialist auditor; Audit committee;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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