Audit Partner’s Quarterly/Semi－annual Review Hours and Audit Report Lag

[Purpose]This study examines whether the relationship between the proportion of an audit partner’s quarterly/semi－annual review hours and the audit report lag persists in the post－accounting reform era. It further analyzes the influence of the partner’s workload and experience. [Methodology]The sample consists of 4,874 firm－year observations of listed companies from 2020 to 2022, a period when all measures related to the accounting reform were fully implemented. The proportion of an audit partner’s quarterly/semi－annual review hours is measured as the ratio of these review hours to the partner’s total audit hours. The audit report lag is calculated using the natural logarithm of the difference in days between the fiscal year－end and the audit report date. [Findings]The analysis reveals a significant negative association between the proportion of an audit partner’s quarterly/semi－annual review hours and the audit report lag, a result maintained only for non－Big 4 firms. This effect in non－Big 4 firms was driven by partners with lower workloads and longer experience. These findings imply that the accounting reform’s impact was differential, leading to increased standardization of audit hours at Big 4 firms while allowing experienced non－Big 4 partners to enhance audit efficiency. [Implications]This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the influence of audit partners on their audit teams post－accounting reform. Furthermore, by identifying partner workload and experience as key conditions for non－Big 4 partners to enhance audit efficiency, the study highlights the necessity of partner－centric monitoring to improve the audit effectiveness of non－Big 4 firms.