Externalities of Disclosing Audit Partner Identity in the US: Evidence from Form AP

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Wang, Ke

• SSHRC IDG awarded 2019: In December 2015, after several rounds of consultation, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) adopted a new rule (i.e., Rule 3211) to require disclosure of the audit engagement partner’s name in Form AP (PCAOB 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015). This requirement is meant to enhance the transparency of audit process and the accountability of individual audit partners. The objective of this research is to examine a potential spillover effect of the disclosure of the audit partner’s name in the US, and, in a broader sense, explore possible positive externalities of US reporting requirements. Specifically, we investigate whether a foreign audit firm provides higher quality audit services in its home market and other markets outside the US after mandatorily disclosing its engagement partner identity in the US. The issue of spillovers and externalities is intriguing, because understanding this issue potentially provides policy implications and, more specifically, allows auditing standard setters (US or foreign) to better assess future policy initiatives on audit partner identification.

• Date created

  2019-02-01

• Subjects / Keywords

  • IDG
  • Insight Development Grant
  • SSHRC
  • Auditing
  • Partner Identity Disclosure
  • Audit Transparency
  • Audit Quality
  • PCAOB
  • Litigation Risk
  • Externality
  • Accounting
  • Business Administration
  • North America
  • International

• Type of Item

  Research Material

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-jjp7-zc28

• License

  ©️Wang, Ke. All rights reserved other than by permission. This document embargoed to those without UAlberta CCID until 2024.