Audit Quality and Auditor Reputation: Evidence from Japan
研究日本中央青山审计失败事件，发现其被暂停后约四分之一客户流失，表明在诉讼作用极小的环境下，审计师声誉对维持客户至关重要。
ABSTRACT We study events surrounding ChuoAoyama's failed audit of Kanebo, a large Japanese cosmetics company whose management engaged in a massive accounting fraud. ChuoAoyama was PwC's Japanese affiliate and one of Japan's largest audit firms. In May 2006, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) suspended ChuoAoyama for two months for its role in the Kanebo fraud. This unprecedented action followed a series of events that seriously damaged ChuoAoyama's reputation. We use these events to provide evidence on the importance of auditors' reputation for quality in a setting where litigation plays essentially no role. Around one quarter of ChuoAoyama's clients defected from the firm after its suspension, consistent with the importance of reputation. Larger firms and those with greater growth options were more likely to leave, also consistent with the reputation argument. Data Availability: All data in the paper are publicly available from the sources described in the text.