Do Audit Firms’ Financial Statements Provide Information about Audit Quality?
研究了审计事务所的财务报表是否包含审计质量信息，发现员工成本、有形资产和IT软件投资增加以及诉讼准备金减少与审计质量改善相关，且这些信息未在透明度报告或监管检查报告中体现。
ABSTRACT Whether audit firms should disclose financial statements is controversial among investors, practitioners, and regulators. The debate centers on whether audit firms’ financial statements provide information about audit quality. Using hand-collected data from U.K. audit firms’ financial statements, we construct four measures that capture audit firms’ resource investments (i.e., human capital, workplace environment, technologies) and risk exposures (i.e., litigation provisions). We find that increases in audit firms’ staff costs, investments in tangible assets and IT software, and reductions in litigation provisions are associated with improved audit quality. The information in audit firms’ financial statements is not contained in their transparency reports or regulatory inspection reports. Additional tests show that increases in audit firms’ staff costs and tangible assets, as well as reductions in litigation provisions, are associated with improved audit efficiency. JEL Classifications: M40; M42.