Auditors’ Perception of Audit Risk for Anti－sticky Cost Behavior

[Purpose]The purpose of this study is to examine whether auditors perceive anti－sticky cost behavior as an audit risk, which would then lead them to increase audit hours and audit fees, and whether the characteristics of the auditor affects the auditors’ perception of audit risk. [Methodology]The characteristics of the auditor are classified into whether these auditors are part of the Big 4 or are industry specialist. This study measured the anti－sticky cost behavior using the variables of Homburg and Nasev (2008) and used audit hours and the audit fees decision model of the prior research. [Findings]As a result of this regression analysis, it was found that auditors perceive anti－sticky cost behavior as an audit risk and thus increase the audit hours as well as the audit fees. It was also proven that if the anti－sticky cost behavior exists, Big 4 auditors significantly increased the audit hours and audit fees as compared to Non－Big 4 auditors. However, it was difficult to conclude whether industry specialization was significant variable. [Implications]This study differs from the prior studies as it extends the asymmetric cost behavior in management accounting to the field of auditing. It was found that there is a significant difference in the perception of audit risk among Big 4 auditors and Non－Big 4 auditors. This suggests that the audit quality of Big 4 auditors can be viewed to be superior to that of Non－Big 4 auditors, which then provides implications for the utilization of policies regarding regulators and the use of audit information for information users.