This study uses a large sample of firms from 35 countries to examine how media coverage of corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) affects audit fees. We document a positive and significant relationship between media coverage of CSI and audit fees. Further evidence indicates that this positive relationship is less pronounced for firms with a higher level of commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance but is more pronounced for firms domiciled in countries with stronger investor protections, higher regulatory quality and higher CSR disclosure requirements. Taken together, these findings support the conjecture that CSI media coverage increases auditors' risk and thereby increases audit fees. Moreover, our findings suggest that the effect of media coverage of CSI on audit fees varies with country-level institutional characteristics and the degree of firms' substantive commitment to CSR performance.

中文翻译：

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企业社会不负责任和审计费用的媒体报道：国际证据

本研究使用来自 35 个国家/地区的大量公司样本来研究媒体对企业社会不负责任 (CSI) 的报道如何影响审计费用。我们记录了 CSI 的媒体报道与审计费用之间的积极而重要的关系。进一步的证据表明，这种正向关系对于对企业社会责任 (CSR) 绩效做出更高承诺的公司来说不太明显，但对于在投资者保护更强、监管质量更高和 CSR 披露要求更高的国家设立的公司来说，这种关系更为明显。综上所述，这些发现支持了这样的猜想，即 CSI 媒体报道增加了审计师的风险，从而增加了审计费用。而且，