Do Firms That Have a Common Signing Auditor Exhibit Higher Earnings Comparability?
研究发现，当公司由同一签字审计师审计时，盈余可比性更高，且这种效应在大型审计事务所、资深审计师和团队合作稳定的审计师中更强，同时还能降低分析师预测误差和分歧。
ABSTRACT We hypothesize that if individual auditors possess unique audit styles that they consistently apply to different audit engagements, then client firms with a common signing auditor will exhibit higher earnings comparability. Using a large sample of Chinese firms, we find that client firms report more comparable earnings when they are audited by the same individual auditor than when they are audited by (1) different audit firms, (2) the same audit firm, but different audit offices, and (3) the same audit office, but different individual auditors. The individual auditor style effect is stronger for larger audit firms, senior signing auditors, and signing auditors with more stable teamwork experience. We also document that having a common signing auditor is associated with lower analyst earnings forecast error and dispersion for client firms. This study contributes to the literature by showing that individual auditors have a significant impact on client firms' earnings comparability.