Auditors’ Life Cycle in Clients and Auditor Independence

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This study hypothesizes that, in client firms, audit teams or auditors go through life cycle phases—entry, adjustment, and recursion—that give rise to distinct patterns of independence across time. The life cycle paradigm depicts the auditors as facing pressures during entry to adhere strongly to their professional mandate, including the strict exercise of independence. The result is tense auditor–client relations and an increased likelihood of auditor turnover during the entry phase. Auditors that gain entry will “loosen up” and adjust their stance on independence due to the reduced entry pressures. As a result, the adjustment phase will witness a decline in auditor–client disagreements and a lower likelihood of auditor turnover. Over protracted periods, the audit process becomes tightly structured and recursive; the repetitive nature of the processes leads to audit fatigue, less attention to the independence mandate, and greater reliance on clients. The phenomenon portends an even further decline in auditor–client tension and a diminished likelihood of auditor turnover. These predictions are tested using auditor turnovers following auditor–client disputes as surrogates for auditor independence. The results confirm the life cycle phenomena and show that the level of auditor independence peaks during the early years of the auditors’ tenure and declines afterwards.