Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
新闻媒体会影响审计质量吗？——基于“传染效应”变化的证据
Does news media affect audit quality? Evidence from variation in the “contagion effect”
摘要
We examine whether negative news media coverage of peer audit firms affects audit quality by mitigating the contagion effect of low-quality audits. We find that when a company issues a restatement, other companies served by the same audit office or within the same city are more likely to subsequently issue a restatement. However, we find that higher negative peer firm news coverage mitigates this contagion effect, particularly when auditors have greater opportunity to improve audit quality (smaller companies) and when media attention amplifies reputational pressures (higher local news intensity). Our findings extend to litigation-related news but not to nonnegative news, suggesting that auditors respond to perceived reputational threats stemming from negative news. Additionally, negative peer news increases auditor attention, consistent with an auditor supply-side effect that improves audit quality. Our findings highlight the media’s role as an informal oversight mechanism.
中文摘要
我们考察了同行审计事务所的负面新闻媒体报道是否通过缓解低质量审计的传染效应来影响审计质量。研究发现，当一家公司发布重述时，由同一审计办公室或同一城市服务的其他公司随后更有可能发布重述。然而，我们发现，同行公司负面新闻报道的增加缓解了这一传染效应，尤其是在审计师有更大机会提升审计质量（规模较小的公司）以及媒体关注放大声誉压力（当地新闻强度较高）的情况下。我们的研究结果扩展到与诉讼相关的新闻，但不适用于非负面新闻，这表明审计师对负面新闻引发的声誉威胁感知作出反应。此外，同行负面新闻增加了审计师的关注度，这与审计师供给侧效应提升审计质量相一致。我们的发现凸显了媒体作为非正式监督机制的作用。