Purpose

The authors examine the association between two important audit partner characteristics and the readability of key audit matters (KAMs) disclosed in the audit reports. Specifically, the authors examine how the readability of KAMs is associated with audit partner tenure and workload.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct the study in the audit context of Norway and applied the Flesch reading ease scale to measure the readability levels of reported KAMs in the audit reports of companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Panel data estimation techniques are applied in estimating how partner tenure and workload are associated with the readability of KAMs. In addition, several robustness tests including different measures of KAMs readability and subsample analyses are performed.

Findings

The authors find that audit partner tenure and workload have significant associations with the level of KAMs readability. Specifically, the results show that the reported KAMs become more readable as the audit partner tenure increases but are less readable for partners with more workload. These results appear stronger in subsamples of KAMs typically noted to be more complex and associated with higher risks.

Research limitations/implications

As KAMs represent the most significant issues in financial statements audit, these results provide important insights to stakeholders on the potential impact of audit partner tenure and workload on KAMs readability. Less readable KAMs could derail stakeholders' desire to bridge the information gap between auditors and users of the audit report. The uniqueness of this study lies in its focus on audit partner characteristics as opposed to the audit firm.

Practical implications

Excessive audit partner workload impairs KAMs readability.

Originality/value

As KAMs represent the most significant issues in financial statements audit, these results provide important insights to stakeholders on the potential impact of audit partner tenure and workload on KAMs readability. Less readable KAMs could derail stakeholders' desire to bridge the information gap between auditors and users of the audit report. The uniqueness of this study lies in its focus on audit partner characteristics as opposed to the audit firm.

中文翻译：

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审计合作伙伴属性和关键审计事项的可读性

目的

作者研究了审计合伙人的两个重要特征与审计报告中披露的关键审计事项 (KAM) 的可读性之间的关联。具体而言，作者研究了 KAM 的可读性与审计合作伙伴任期和工作量之间的关系。

设计/方法论/途径

作者在挪威的审计背景下进行了这项研究，并应用 Flesch 阅读难易量表来衡量奥斯陆证券交易所上市公司审计报告中报告的 KAM 的可读性水平。面板数据估计技术用于估计合作伙伴任期和工作量与 KAM 可读性的关系。此外，还进行了多项稳健性测试，包括不同的 KAM 可读性测量和子样本分析。

发现

作者发现审计合伙人的任期和工作量与 KAM 的可读性水平有显着关联。具体来说，结果表明，随着审计合作伙伴任期的增加，报告的 KAM 变得更具可读性，但对于工作量更大的合作伙伴来说，可读性较差。这些结果在通常被认为更复杂且与更高风险相关的 KAM 子样本中显得更强。

研究局限性/影响

由于 KAM 代表了财务报表审计中最重要的问题，因此这些结果为利益相关者提供了有关审计合伙人任期和工作量对 KAM 可读性的潜在影响的重要见解。可读性较差的 KAM 可能会破坏利益相关者弥合审计师和审计报告用户之间信息差距的愿望。这项研究的独特之处在于它关注的是审计合伙人的特征，而不是审计公司的特征。

实际影响

审计合作伙伴工作量过多会损害 KAM 的可读性。

原创性/价值

由于 KAM 代表了财务报表审计中最重要的问题，因此这些结果为利益相关者提供了有关审计合伙人任期和工作量对 KAM 可读性的潜在影响的重要见解。可读性较差的 KAM 可能会破坏利益相关者弥合审计师和审计报告用户之间信息差距的愿望。这项研究的独特之处在于它关注的是审计合伙人的特征，而不是审计公司的特征。