Dual audit, audit firm independence, and auditor conservatism

Purpose - This study aims to examine whether China's unique dual audit policy affects one specific aspect of audit quality: auditor conservatism. In China, listed companies issuing B/H-shares in addition to A-shares must release two financial reports - one based on Chinese accounting standards and the other based on international accounting standards (ISA). The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) further requires that the financial reports following Chinese accounting standards should be audited by a domestic CPA firm, and the financial reports following ISA should be audited by an approved overseas CPA firm. This study investigates whether the dual audit requirement induces more auditor conservatism. Design/methodology/approach - Based on a sample of 7,046 firm-year observations that issue A-shares from 2001 to 2006, the authors empirically test whether the dual audit requirement induces more auditor conservatism, measured by the level of discretionary accruals. Findings - The authors find the dual audit requirement significantly restricts the use of income-increasing discretionary accruals but not income-decreasing discretionary accruals. Moreover, financial reporting becomes most conservative when two auditors are from two un-affiliated audit firms. Nevertheless, the difference-in-difference analysis fails to show a significant decrease in auditor conservatism after the revocation of the dual audit rule for the treatment group with dual audit before but no dual audit after 2007 comparing to the control group that experience no change in 2007. Originality/value - First, the previous studies examine issues regarding the effects of supervision pressure through experimental setting. The authors extend the literature by examining empirically the impact of perceived peer pressure on auditor conservatism. Second, the findings from China regarding the effect of the dual audit system on auditor conservatism serve as a reference for other emerging markets that have not yet established sound audit systems.