Using a sample of U.S. firms from 2003 to 2018, we examine the effect of an audit client’s code of ethics quality on audit fees. We find that clients with a lower code of ethics quality pay significantly higher audit fees, suggesting that auditors perceive such clients as riskier and charge greater risk premiums. We also find that such clients have higher litigation risk and auditors spend greater effort when auditing such clients. Our study is among the first to demonstrate the role of a client’s code of ethics quality in audit pricing. Overall, our findings are consistent with codes of ethics being useful to auditors in assessing managers’ financial representations and providing value to firms.

我们使用 2003 年至 2018 年的美国公司样本，检验审计客户的道德质量准则对审计费用的影响。我们发现，道德规范质量较低的客户支付的审计费用明显较高，这表明审计师认为此类客户风险更大，并收取更高的风险溢价。我们还发现，此类客户的诉讼风险较高，审计师在审计此类客户时会花费更多精力。我们的研究首次证明了客户的道德质量守则在审计定价中的作用。总体而言，我们的研究结果与有助于审计师评估经理的财务陈述和为公司提供价值的道德准则是一致的。