The effect of CPA Firms, Audit Fee and CPA Rotation on Earnings Quality (Case Study: IT Industry in China)

In recent years, there are many researches on the relationship between CPA firms and earnings quality. However, the manipulation of profit and loss by listed companies still exists. Different from previous studies, this paper selects all the information technology industry of Chinas listed companies in 2019 as the research object, and uses the fuzzy-set/ qualitative comparative analysis method (fs/QCA) to explore the impact of accounting firm size, audit fees and accounting rotation on earnings quality. The results show that regular rotation of accountants and separation of two rights are the key factors to improve earnings quality. On this basis, small-scale companies in the development stage need to pay more public audit fees to obtain professional advice, but they do not need to hire large-scale CPA firms; For large-scale companies with system, the public audit fee should not be too high, and whether to employ large-scale firms does not affect the earnings quality; For a company with poor financial structure, it is not necessary to employ large-scale CPA firms and the public audit fee should not be too high.

The effects of quality control system on professional skepticism and its implications to audit quality with peer review as a moderating variable (A case study on Public Accounting Firms in Semarang)

Purpose - This study aims to assess the role of CPA Firms related to the quality control system in maintaining the professional skepticism level of auditors affecting the quality of audits provided by the Public Accountants.Method - Population and samples used in this research were the whole auditors working for the CPA Firms in Semarang. The researcher collected the samples using a purposive sampling technique. The number of samples in this study was 31 auditors. The researcher collected the data using online questionnaires sent through email to each CPA Firm. Data analysis was conducted using a Structural Equation Modeling - Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) with WarpPLS 4.0 software.Result - The results of this study indicated that the quality control system did not affect the auditor’s professional skepticism. Peer review did not moderate the quality control system. The auditor's professional skepticism variable has a significant effect on audit quality. Then, quality control system did not affect audit quality through auditor’s professional skepticism.Implication - To maintain audit quality, CPA Firms in Semarang needs to improve the competence, experience, and professionalism of auditors performing the audit assignments that the professional skepticism of the concerned personnel can be properly maintained.Originality - This study has presented a moderating variable in the relationship between peer review and quality control system affecting professional skepticism.

IDENTIFYING KEY FACTORS FOR ADOPTING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-ENABLED AUDITING TECHNIQUES BY JOINT UTILIZATION OF FUZZY-ROUGH SET THEORY AND MRDM TECHNIQUE

In today’s big-data era, enterprises are able to generate complex and non-structured information that could cause considerable challenges for CPA firms in data analysis and to issue improper audited reports within the required period. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled auditing technology not only facilitates accurate and comprehensive auditing for CPA firms, but is also a major breakthrough in auditing’s new environment. Applications of an AI-enabled auditing technique in external auditing can add to auditing efficiency, increase financial reporting accountability, ensure audit quality, and assist decision-makers in making reliable decisions. Strategies related to the adoption of an AI-enabled auditing technique by CPA firms cover the classical multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) task (i.e., several perspectives/criteria must be considered). To address this critical task, the present study proposes a fusion multiple rule-based decision making (MRDM) model that integrates rule-based technique (i.e., the fuzzy rough set theory (FRST) with ant colony optimization (ACO)) into MCDM techniques that can assist decision makers in selecting the best methods necessary to achieve the aspired goals of audit success. We also consider potential implications for articulating suitable strategies that can improve the adoption of AI-enabled auditing techniques and that target continuous improvement and sustainable development.

Peer Firms in Audit Pricing: Evidence Under High Uncertainty Settings

Drawing on prior studies regarding the use of peers for investment decisions and compensation practices and the recent reports which suggest that firms use peer information for audit pricing, we examine the effect of peer groups on the audit pricing process under high information asymmetry environment. Using observations from the emerging markets of China, we find that peer group information is used in audit pricing with peer groups defined as the Industry, Industry/Region, Industry/Big4, Industry/Size, and Industry/Region/Big4. This is consistent with above complementary theories. We also find evidence that peer group information is more likely to be used by firms from low-technology industries, less developed regions, and firms audited by non-Big 4 CPA firms than those from high-technology industries, more developed regions, and firms audited by Big 4 CPA firms. Also, peer group information is more likely to be used in clients firms with shorter auditor tenure and with lower analyst following compared with their counterparts. Finally, we find that clients with lower audit fees than their peer groups in the previous period are more likely to increase audit fees in the current period. Our results are qualitatively the same regardless of whether we use an overall sample across different industries or for each industry separately. These results are consistent with the peer group literature and also indicate that peer group information is more likely to be used in conditions when information asymmetry is high.

Does Availability of Audit Partners Affect Audit Quality? Evidence From China

In this study, we examine whether Chinese Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms with more partners available to perform audit engagements deliver higher quality services. Based on a sample of 2,990 company-year observations over the period of 2002 to 2015, we find that CPA firms with smaller staff–partner ratios are associated with a lower likelihood of restatements of their clients’ financial statements. Interestingly, we find that this association is less evident when engagement partners have excessive workloads, suggesting the need to balance workloads across partners within a firm. Overall, our results highlight the importance of considering partner availability and its impacts on audit quality, which echo regulators’ growing concern about the inadequate mix of audit experience, expertise, and supervision within CPA firms. Our study is timely and the results are informative to the recent policy debate. From a public policy perspective, our results suggest that CPA firms should be required to disclose information about the deployment of audit partners to help financial statement users make inferences about the quality of their work.

Organizational learning and job satisfaction of trainee auditors: a case study of Chinese CPA firms

Purpose This study aims to investigate the organizational learning of trainee auditors who represent the young generation of new entry-level professionals in CPA firms, and examines the possible associations between organizational learning and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey is administered among the target group of trainee auditors to explore possible approaches to their organizational learning in CPA firms. The results are used to generate organizational learning variables, which enable us to empirically test the research hypotheses regarding the association between organizational learning and job satisfaction. Findings The authors conclude that there are three main dimensions of organizational learning for new entry-level professionals in CPA firms, namely: workplace interactions, supervising and monitoring and supportive informational systems. The authors also find that workplace interactions and supportive information systems are significantly associated with job satisfaction. The authors show that the females and males prefer different approaches to organizational learning in CPA firms. The authors also find that trainee auditors who work for bigger CPA firms enjoy more job satisfaction than those working for smaller CPA firms, and that male trainee auditors are more easily satisfied with audit jobs than female trainees. Research limitations/implications This study is limited in that its sample is composed of trainee auditors, who are used to proxy for entry-level professionals in CPA firms. Future studies can include a direct focus on the organizational learning of junior auditors in CPA firms. Future studies can also investigate organizational learning in the firm-wide context in which CPA firms and their employees are considered as part of a larger situational process of organizational learning. Practical implications The conclusions can help to improve practice management and human resource policies in CPA firms. The findings highlight the importance of establishing an effective organizational learning culture, and suggest how this can be achieved by providing friendly and instructive workplace interactions, helpful supervisory and mentoring relationships, and better information support. Originality/value This study contributes to the audit literature by identifying the three dimensions of organizational learning for entry-level professionals in CPA firms. The authors substantiate the argument that mentor-protégé relationships in CPA firms have different effects on job satisfaction for female and male trainee auditors.