Does Collaboration Experience between Audit Partners Affect Earnings Comparability?

ABSTRACT This study examines whether prior collaboration between audit partners enhances earnings comparability among client firms. Using cosigning history to identify collaboration, we find that such experience improves comparability beyond audit firm and partner style effects. We further highlight the duration and intensity of collaboration as central mechanisms underlying this relationship. These characteristics reflect the extent of auditor interaction and are empirically associated with stronger comparability effects. The results are robust across four measures of earnings comparability and a battery of sensitivity tests. Our findings extend audit research from individual attributes to interaction-based effects between partners, emphasizing the relational dimension of audit quality. The results offer practical implications for audit team formation and regulatory policies, such as the design of partner rotation rules that preserve the benefits of collaboration while maintaining auditor independence. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M41; M42.