Does Audit Client’s Positive Media Attention Matter: An Investigation of Audit Quality and Audit Fees

This paper empirically investigates whether audit quality and audit fees differ for audit clients receiving positive media attention. Specifically, we use the Wall Street Journal's top 250 ranking of best-managed companies to investigate the impact of positive media attention. Employing a matched pair design of U.S. American listed companies, we find that audit clients receiving positive media attention do not differ from their peers in terms of audit quality. However, turning to audit fees, we find that audit clients receiving positive media attention pay higher audit fees than their peers. Our results highlight that not only audit client’s negative media attention but also their positive media attention can influence the auditor-client relationship.