DCC - Brownbag - Jing XU, doctorante à l'Université de Zhejiang, Chine et chercheuse invitée dans le département DCC

The implementation of Key Audit Matters (KAMs) has provided a valuable lens to observe the audit process, offering insights into the formation of audit opinions and auditor behavior. This paper investigates the impact of auditor workload on the identification and response to key audit matters. Using KAM data from Chinese listed firms, we find that increased auditor workload leads to a reduction in both the identification of KAMs and the application of audit solutions, with significant differences observed between revenue-related KAMs and other categories. However, the evidence suggests that auditors adhere to risk-based audit principles by prioritizing high-risk areas, as reflected in their consistent handling of KAMs for high-risk and low-profit clients in the audit portfolio. Additionally, we confirm that the relationship between auditor workload and audit quality is mediated by the number of KAMs, further supporting the causal link between auditor workload and audit quality.