Economic Policy Uncertainty, Corporate Risk-Taking and Abnormal Audit Fees

As a result of economic imbalances, global turmoil, and catastrophic global health events, economic policy uncertainty is rising across countries, and corporate risk taking is heterogeneous, which can affect auditors’ decisions. This paper explores the impact of economic policy uncertainty on abnormal audit fees based on a corporate risk-taking perspective, using A-share listed companies in China from 2007-2019 as a research sample. According to the research, the level of abnormal audit fees increases as economic policy uncertainty increases, and corporate risk-taking worsens the correlation. Further research shows that higher economic policy uncertainty leads auditors to increase additional inputs and charge a higher compensation for audit risks, resulting in a larger positive and negative abnormal audit fee. Additionally, the positive association between economic policy uncertainty and abnormal audit fees is present in non-state-owned enterprises, while it is not significant in state-owned enterprises.