Audit report lag, audit fees, and audit quality following an audit firm merger: Evidence from Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper examines whether the clients of a merged audit firm have shortened report lag, increased audit fees, or reduced audit quality following the merger. These questions are important for a balanced investigation of a firm merger because regulators focus more on the downside of a merger than on its upside. Using a merger of audit firms in Hong Kong as a setting, this paper reports that clients of the merged firm have shorter audit report lag post-merger in the property industry in which the merged firm subsequently obtained more than one-half of the market share. Simultaneously, the evidence does not suggest that clients of the merged firm are charged higher audit fees or provided with lower quality audits after the merger. Thus, the results suggest that the merger of audit firms can benefit clients without corresponding disadvantages. Because this is a case study where the market share, industry specialization, expertise, and professional development of the audit firms may be unique, more research is needed on audit firm mergers to determine if these results are generalizable.