Client importance and audit quality: evidence from China

Abstract

This study investigates whether the economic bond between auditor and client impairs audit quality at partner-level in China. Prior research does not present a clear conclusion on this topic. We employ a relatively novel proxy for audit quality, audit adjustment, which is not publicly disclosed, yet is believed to be more suitable than most proxies used in prior research. We find that client importance is negatively associated with audit quality. Our study contributes to the literature by using new measure to test how client importance affect audit quality and adding new evidence on the determinants of audit quality at the partner level.