Common Auditors and Private Bank Loans*
研究发现，当银行和借款企业聘用同一家审计公司时，借款企业能获得更低的贷款利率，这一效应主要出现在信息不透明的借款企业，且当同一审计办公室同时审计银行和借款企业时效果最强。
ABSTRACT We show that when banks and borrowers share the same audit firm, borrowers receive lower interest rates, after controlling for potentially confounding director connectedness. The common auditor effect is observed only for opaque borrowers, and is greatest when the same audit engagement office audits the bank and borrower. A common auditor connection also matters more for longer‐tenured auditors, for geographically proximate borrowers, and when the syndicate involves fewer lenders. The effect does not hold for auditors recently sanctioned by the PCAOB. Finally, the interest rate discount is not the consequence of homophily or biased decision making, based on a comparison of postloan performance of firms with common auditor loans versus those with noncommon auditor loans.