Does Internal Competition among Audit Partners Affect Audit Pricing Decisions?
研究美国审计合伙人数据发现，同一办公室的同行竞争压力会促使合伙人降低审计收费，这种效应在首次审计、竞争激烈的市场以及合伙人特征相似时更明显，但行业专家合伙人受影响较小，且内部竞争会降低非四大客户的审计质量。
SUMMARY This study examines whether competitive pressure from peers within a local office (i.e., internal competition) affects audit partners’ audit pricing decisions. Using U.S. audit partner data from 2016 to 2022, we find that audit partners respond to internal competition by charging their clients lower audit fees. The effect is more pronounced for initial audit engagements, in more competitive local audit markets, and when peers share similar personal attributes, such as sex and experience. However, the effect is weaker for industry specialist audit partners. We also find evidence that internal competition is negatively associated with audit quality for non-Big 4 clients. Overall, this study provides initial evidence of the effect of internal competition among audit partners on audit outcomes.