This study provides evidence that auditors consider a client restatement as an increase in the audit risk of a client for future periods. This increase in audit risk is factored into the audit fee possibly through additional hours or higher hourly rates. This study also provides evidence that when a company has a change in CFO, auditors view this positively.
Feldmann, D.A., W.J. Read, and M.J. Abdolmohammadi. 2009. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory 28 (1): 205-223.
The results of this study are important because, while severe cases of low integrity may be weeded out during client acceptance, auditor firms tend to retain clients with a wide spectrum of integrity levels that must be managed throughout the audit process. Thus evidence regarding how the integrity of management influences auditors (1) assessment of risk, (2) planning of audit procedures, and (3) identification of misstatements may be useful for developing training materials or best practices for approaching audits on the lower end of the integrity spectrum.
Kizirian, T.G., B.W. Mayhew, and L.D. Sneathen, Jr. 2005. The impact of management integrity on audit planning and evidence. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 24 (2): 49-67.