회계법인 품질관리실의 인력 비중, 경력 및 인건비 예산은 감사품질을 향상시키는가?

This research examines the effects of the personnel composition, experience level, and personnel expenses of the accounting firm’s quality control office on audit quality. Analyzing hand-collected data on the personnel composition and personnel related expenses of the accounting firm’s quality control office for the period from 2020 to 2022, I find that the mere proportion of quality management personnel to the total headcount does not exert a significant impact on audit quality, whereas a higher representation of experienced auditors (with 7 years or more of experience) within the quality control office plays a role in enhancing audit quality. Furthermore, I find that the audit quality increases when the ratio of quality control-related personnel expenses to the total personnel expenses is higher. Overall, this study makes incremental contributions to the literature and provides practical implications. First, this study provides the first empirical evidence that a higher proportion of experienced (7 years or more) personnel in the quality control office contributes to the improvement of audit quality, suggesting that the establishment and operation of human resource-related elements which is one of the six key components of quality control systems for enhancing audit quality play a pivotal role. Second, this study highlights that the budget allocated for quality control-related personnel expenses plays a significant role in improving audit quality.