Relationship between Characteristics of Accounting Firms and Audit Engagement Risks based on Bayesian Network

One of the methods of securing the reliability of accounting information is maintaining high audit quality. The first step of improving audit quality is lowering audit engagement risks. Thus, this study analyzed the relationship between the characteristics of accounting firms and audit engagement risks based on the Bayesian Network. For this, Markov Blanket, the minimum explanatory variable set, which affects audit engagement risks, was presented, and based on the drawn causal relationship, sensitivity analysis was conducted to verify the characteristics of accounting firms, which affect audit engagement risks. The existing preceding research that used multiple regression analysis presumes the linearity between explanatory variables and dependent variables, so there was a limit in drawing the relationship between explanatory variables. Therefore, this study figured out the interdependence between variables using the General Bayesian Network and examined the impact that each variable has finally on audit engagement risks that affects the audit quality. The results of this study would greatly contribute to improving the efficiency of the supervisory task by allowing a supervisory institution to identify an accounting firms that does not manage audit engagement risks properly and to improve the supervision of the accounting firms in advance. In addition, this study will be used as a reference when a supervisory institution would improve the system related to audit quality by presenting the characteristics of accounting firms related to the audit quality.