Business Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2018
Publication Title
International Journal of Accounting Information Systems
Keywords
Audit pricing, IT capability, Audit fees
Disciplines
Accounting | Business
Abstract
This paper explores the question: “How does a client's information technology (IT) capability influence audit pricing?” Company data for the years 2004 through 2012 are employed. Firms appearing on the InformationWeek 500 (IW500) annual list of U.S. organizations with superior IT functions serve as a proxy for companies with superior IT capability. Our findings suggest that companies with superior IT capabilities incur higher levels of audit fees. In addition, as client size increases, the audit fees of firms with advanced IT capabilities increase at a greater rate than firms without such capabilities. These findings contrast with prior research by Chen et al. (2014) that found in the immediate post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) period for the years 2004 through 2007, client IT capability reduced audit fee increases. In addition, we replicate the Chen et al. (2014) results and find that IT capability did not influence audit fee increases during the subsequent recession and recovery periods. Further, superior capability clients see smaller audit fee increases when exogenous shocks such as SOX regulations occur. These results suggest a revised interpretation of Chen et al. (2014) may be warranted. This study contributes to the literature by providing a more complete picture of how a client's IT capability affects audit fees.
Recommended Citation
Hoffman, Benjamin; Sellers, R. Drew; and Skomra, Justyna, "The impact of client information technology capability on audit pricing" (2018). Business Faculty Publications. 305.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/bus_facpub/305
DOI
10.1016/j.accinf.2018.03.002
Version
Postprint
Publisher's Statement
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Journal of Accounting Information Systems. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 29, (2018), 10.1016/j.accinf.2018.03.002.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Volume
29
