ABSTRACT Several studies provide evidence that auditors play an important role in the implementation of accounting comparability. We extend this line of research by examining whether comparability in accounting earnings between two firms is affected by auditor industry expertise measured at the partner level. Using 45,741 pairs of firms over the period 2003–2016, we find that the accounting comparability between two firms in a pair is higher when they are audited by the same expert partner than when they are audited by the same non-expert partner. The findings suggest that the degree of accounting comparability within a partner’s clientele is influenced by the industry expertise of the individual audit partner. Specifically, expert partners are more likely to provide consistent implementation of auditing standards and enforcement of accounting standards across their client base. These findings are robust to various sensitivity tests including using alternative measures of comparability, industry expertise and pair-matching methods.

中文翻译：

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审计合伙人风格对财务报表可比性的影响

摘要 多项研究提供的证据表明，审计师在实施会计可比性方面发挥着重要作用。我们通过检查两家公司之间会计收益的可比性是否受到在合伙人层面衡量的审计师行业专业知识的影响来扩展这一研究范围。使用 2003 年至 2016 年期间的 45,741 对公司，我们发现两个公司之间的会计可比性在由同一专家合伙人审计时比由同一非专家合伙人审计时更高。调查结果表明，合伙人客户内部的会计可比性程度受个人审计合伙人行业专业知识的影响。具体来说，专家合作伙伴更有可能在其客户群中提供一致的审计标准实施和会计标准的执行。这些发现对各种敏感性测试都是稳健的，包括使用可比性、行业专业知识和配对方法的替代措施。