Attributes Influencing Clients’ Auditor Choices: The Expectation Gaps between Auditors and Board Members
Current Issues in Auditing 14 (2), A1-A14
Posted: 10 Nov 2018 Last revised: 18 May 2021
Date Written: March 12, 2020
Abstract
This paper reports the results of a survey of board members who participate in auditor appointments and audit firm partners and (senior) managers on attributes influencing clients’ auditor choice decisions. We identify several “expectation gaps” between the importance that board members assign to attributes and the importance that auditors expect board members to assign to the same attributes. The results indicate that board members deem low audit fees, as well as a good relationship with the audit partner to be less important than audit partners and managers expect. We find the opposite for attributes related to audit quality, such as technical competence and industry expertise, as well as professional skepticism and independence of mind, and business know-how of the audit firm, which board members assess as more important than audit partners and managers expect. The findings have important implications for auditors in audit tenders.
Keywords: audit fees, auditor-client relationships, clients’ auditor choices, expectation gap
JEL Classification: M30, M41, M42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation