The effects of audit committee financial expertise on auditor changes and subsequent audit quality

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] My dissertation examines the impact of audit committee financial expertise on the circumstances and likelihood of an auditor change. Auditor changes are costly events associated with decreased financial reporting quality. The audit committee is in position to influence the timing and circumstances surrounding these changes through their role overseeing the external financial reporting process. I find that audit committees with greater accounting expertise are associated with fewer auditor changes overall, more auditor dismissals when there is an auditor change, greater industry expertise by the successor auditor, and an increase in financial reporting quality following the auditor change. I find no consistent evidence supporting the impact of supervisory expertise influencing any of the above outcomes.