The Effects of Staggered and Simultaneous Audit Partner Rotations on Audit Quality

Using dual signature audit opinions, we investigate whether audit quality differs between staggered and simultaneous audit partner rotations. Compared to audits without partner rotations, we find partial support that staggered rotations are positively associated with audit quality and strong support that simultaneous rotations are negatively associated with audit quality. When directly comparing these rotation types, staggered rotations are consistently associated with higher audit quality than simultaneous rotations. The effects on audit quality are concentrated in the first year after rotations occur. The negative impact of simultaneous rotations is mitigated when an incoming partner has industry expertise. We perform exploratory tests on various staggered rotation types and examine a determinants model to understand the driving forces of staggered versus simultaneous rotations.