This paper explores the question: “How does a client's information technology (IT) capability influence audit pricing?” Company data for the years 2004 through 2012 are employed. Firms appearing on the InformationWeek 500 (IW500) annual list of U.S. organizations with superior IT functions serve as a proxy for companies with superior IT capability. Our findings suggest that companies with superior IT capabilities incur higher levels of audit fees. In addition, as client size increases, the audit fees of firms with advanced IT capabilities increase at a greater rate than firms without such capabilities. These findings contrast with prior research by Chen et al. (2014) that found in the immediate post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) period for the years 2004 through 2007, client IT capability reduced audit fee increases. In addition, we replicate the Chen et al. (2014) results and find that IT capability did not influence audit fee increases during the subsequent recession and recovery periods. Further, superior capability clients see smaller audit fee increases when exogenous shocks such as SOX regulations occur. These results suggest a revised interpretation of Chen et al. (2014) may be warranted. This study contributes to the literature by providing a more complete picture of how a client's IT capability affects audit fees.

本文探讨了一个问题：“客户的信息技术（IT）能力如何影响审计定价？” 使用从2004年到2012年的公司数据。出现在InformationWeek 500（IW500）具有出色IT功能的美国组织的年度清单可以代替具有卓越IT功能的公司。我们的发现表明，具有卓越IT能力的公司会产生更高水平的审计费用。此外，随着客户规模的增加，具有高级IT功能的公司的审计费用将比没有此类功能的公司以更大的速度增加。这些发现与Chen等人先前的研究相反。（2014年）发现，在萨班斯-奥克斯利法案（SOX）生效后的2004年到2007年之间，客户的IT能力降低了审计费用。此外，我们复制了Chen等。（2014年）的结果发现，在随后的衰退和恢复期，IT能力不会影响审计费用的增加。进一步，具有卓越能力的客户会在发生外部冲击（例如SOX法规）时看到较少的审计费用增加。这些结果表明对Chen等人的解释有所修改。（2014）是有必要的。这项研究通过提供有关客户的IT能力如何影响审计费用的更完整的图片，为文献做出了贡献。