ABSTRACT

We examine analytically the strategic path auditors take towards becoming industry specialists in terms of their investments in the acquisition of industry specific knowledge and their pricing behavior. We identify characteristics of the competitive environment that provide incentives to improve audit quality as accounting firms strive to achieve industry specialization. These characteristics include the extent of uniqueness of the accounting knowledge relevant to the industry and the extent to which it is difficult for auditors to differentiate themselves from competitors by using mechanisms other than industry specialization. We argue that both the initial investments in improving quality and the experience gained by attracting a bigger group of clients play a role in achieving specialization. Serving more clients fosters learning and cultivates enhanced industry expertise. In order to cultivate such learning, our model predicts that the auditor lowers his fees in early stages of his journey to achieving specialization in order to attract a larger group of new clients. In contrast to prior studies, our analysis examines factors influencing the supply of rather than the demand for industry specialization.

摘要

我们分析性地研究审计师在获取行业特定知识及其定价行为方面的投资，成为行业专家所采取的战略路径。我们确定了竞争环境的特征，这些特征在会计师事务所努力实现行业专业化时为提高审计质量提供了激励。这些特征包括与行业相关的会计知识的独特程度，以及审计师难以通过使用行业专业化以外的机制将自己与竞争对手区分开来的程度。我们认为，提高质量的初始投资和通过吸引更多客户获得的经验都在实现专业化方面发挥了作用。为更多客户服务可以促进学习并培养增强的行业专业知识。为了培养这种学习能力，我们的模型预测，审计师在实现专业化的早期阶段会降低费用，以吸引更多的新客户。与之前的研究相比，我们的分析考察了影响行业专业化供应而非需求的因素。