Name
Disentangling Reputation from Effort: How Audit Team Structure Drives Fee Premiums and Audit Quality
Date & Time
Monday, July 6, 2026, 9:20 AM - 9:45 AM
Description

We examine whether audit fee premiums and audit quality associated with Big 4 and industry specialist auditors (ISAs) reflect reputation or audit team engagement effort. Using detailed partner, senior, and junior hours for Korean listed firms, we find that fee premiums are driven by team effort rather than reputation. Big 4 premiums correspond to greater senior and junior involvement with fewer partner hours, while ISA premiums are driven by senior hours. We find that Big 4 and ISA clients are less likely to meet or beat earnings targets and to restate financial statements, but these associations weaken once team effort is considered. Greater involvement across ranks, especially senior hours, reduces the likelihood of meeting or beating earnings targets, and partner and senior hours are most predictive of restatement outcomes. Our evidence disentangles auditor effort from reputation and demonstrates that effort is the primary determinant of audit pricing and audit quality.

Sarowar Hossain
Keywords
Auditor reputation, Audit fee premiums, Audit quality, audit partner hours, senior auditor hours, junior auditor hours
Theme
AUDITING
Author 1
Sarowar Hossain
Author 2
Eun (Grace) Hye Jo
Author 3
Jung Wha (Jenny) Lee