Auditor career concerns, audit fees and audit quality

This study examines how engagement signing auditors’ career concerns affect audit fees and audit quality. Based on a sample of listed companies in China, we find that audit fees and audit quality are lower for firms audited by auditors in their early years of being signing auditors. Moreover, we find that the results are more pronounced for signing auditors in local Chinese audit firms than those in Big 4. These results may be attributed to differential quality control mechanism and incentive systems. Our results have implications for regulators and audit firms in formulating standards and guidelines on monitoring newly promoted signing auditors.