Research on the Impact of the Tenure Length of Signing Accountants on the Text Similarity of Key Audit Matters

Abstract

Abstract: Taking China’s A-share listed companies from 2017 to 2022 as a sample, this paper examines the impact of the tenure of the accountants who signed the audit reports of listed companies on the similarity of the texts of key audit matters. The results show that the longer an accountant acts as the audit report signatory in the same listed company, the more similar texts he may work out in relation to key audit items, and the less incremental information on key audit items he may provide. In addition, this impact is positively strengthened by the importance of the client, which leads to the audit report being homogenized again. Further analysis shows that the length of tenure of the signing accountants has a more significant impact on the similarity of the disclosure texts of key audit matters in the sample with weak corporate governance. The conclusions of this study expand the research on the influencing factors of the disclosure of key audit matters, and provide an empirical reference for further improving the information disclosure of listed companies, improving the rotation system of signing accountants, and optimizing the disclosure of key audit matters.

Key words: tenure of signing accountants, key audit matters, key audit matters text similarity, client importance

Lu Qingfang, Shao Yanyan. Research on the Impact of the Tenure Length of Signing Accountants on the Text Similarity of Key Audit Matters[J]. Management Review, 2025, 37(9): 198-207.

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