Topic: Do Individual Auditors Affect Audit Quality? Evidence from Archival Data
Donghui Wu，Associate Professor in accounting, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Time: June 17, 2011（Friday）3:00—4:30PM
Venue: Room 501, Jiageng Bld 2
Chair： Jun Ruan, assistant professor in finance, IFAS
Abstract：
This study examines the importance of individual auditors in determining audit quality using a large set of archival Chinese data. We find that there is a significant variation in audit quality across individual auditors. The effects that individual auditors have on audit quality are both economically and statistically significant, and stronger than the corresponding effects of audit firms. We also find that the individual auditor effects on audit quality can be partially explained by the auditors’characteristics such as educational background, Big N audit firm experience, rank in the audit firm, and political background. Our work highlights the importance of analyzing audit quality at the individual auditor level.
Presenter Introduction：
Dr WU Donghui has B.A. and M.A. degrees in accountancy from Xiamen University, and a Ph.D. in accountancy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is currently an associate professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His main research interest is in the use of accounting numbers in contracting and capital market. He has published refereed articles in several academic journals, including China Accounting and Finance Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Management Accounting Research, and The Accounting Review.
Download paper：IndividualAuditorsandAuditQuality201106.pdf