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korean management review - Vol. 54, No. 3

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korean management review - Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 717-741
Abbreviation: kmr
ISSN: 1226-1874 (Print)
Print publication date 30 Jun 2025
Received 17 Feb 2025 Revised 21 Apr 2025 Accepted 22 Apr 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17287/kmr.2025.54.3.717
Partner Audit Hour and Partner-Level Key Audit Matter Similarity
Yongsuk Yun ; Hyun Ah Kim
(First Author) Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Hannam University (hwantasi@hnu.kr)

(Corresponding Author) Associate Professor, School of Industrial Management, Korea University of Technology & Education (kukolo@koreatech.ac.kr)

파트너 감사시간과 파트너 수준의 핵심감사사항 유사도
윤용석 ; 김현아

(주저자) 한남대학교 회계학과 조교수

(교신저자) 한국기술교육대학교 산업경영학부 부교수
Copyright 2025 THE KOREAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This study investigates whether partner-level Key Audit Matter (KAM) similarity reflects the concept of partner style, as defined in prior research. Specifically, we examine the relationship between KAM similarity and the proportion of audit hours attributed to the engagement partner. We analyze 3,914 firm-year observations from 2020 to 2022, a period during which KAM disclosure became mandatory for all listed firms. The results show that a higher proportion of partner audit hours is positively associated with greater KAM similarity. In contrast, we find no significant association between KAM similarity and the audit hours of other team members, such as registered accountants, staff, or quality control reviewers. This supports the interpretation of KAM similarity as a valid proxy for the engagement partner’s actual audit involvement. Our findings remain robust after controlling for partner- and firm-level characteristics and applying firm fixed effects. This study contributes to the literature by validating KAM similarity as a novel partner-level variable. It also advances the understanding of partner fixed effects in audit research. Furthermore, we provide empirical evidence that engagement partners enhance audit report comparability by increasing KAM similarity, thereby helping to mitigate information asymmetry from a qualitative disclosure perspective.

초록

본 연구는 파트너 수준의 핵심감사사항(KAM) 유사도가 선행연구에서 정의된 것처럼 파트너 스타일의 개념에 부합하는지를 검증한다. 이를 위해 파트너 KAM 유사도와 파트너 감사시간 비중 간의 관계를 분석하였다. 전체 상장기업에 KAM이 적용된 2020년부터 2022년까지 3,914기업-연도를 대상으로 분석한 결과, 파트너 감사시간 비중이 높을수록 KAM유사도가 증가하는 경향이 확인되었다. 반면, 등록회계사, 스태프 및 품질관리 감사시간 비중과는 유의한 관계가 나타나지 않았다. 이는 KAM 유사도가 파트너의 실제 감사 참여도를 반영하는 유효한 파트너 스타일 변수임을 시사한다. 추가적으로, 파트너 및 회계법인 특성변수 통제 또는 피감사기업 고정효과 반영 후에도 본 연구결과는 일관되게 유지되었다. 본 연구는 새로운 파트너 변수인 KAM 유사도의 타당성을 입증함으로써 파트너 고정효과 연구를 확장하고, 파트너가 KAM 유사도를 높여 감사보고서의 비교가능성을 제고함으로써 정보비대칭을 질적 측면에서 완화하려는 노력이 존재함을 실증적으로 제시한다는 점에서도 의의를 갖는다.


Keywords: Audit Partner, Audit Hour, Key Audit Matter, Similarity 키워드: 감사파트너, 감사시간, 핵심감사사항, 유사도

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∙ 저자 윤용석은 현재 한남대학교 경영대학 회계학과 조교수로 재직 중이다. 고려대학교 경영대학 및 대학원 경영학과를 졸업하여 경영학석사 및 박사를 취득하고, 박사 학위 취득 이후에도 동 대학에서 연구교수로 일하였다. 주요연구분야는 공시정보와 회계감사 등이다.

∙ 저자 김현아는 현재 한국기술교육대학교 산업경영학부 회계 전공 부교수로 재직 중이다. 고려대학교를 졸업하고 삼일회계법인과 한국증권금융에서 근무하였다. 고려대학교 경영대학에서 경영학박사(회계)를 취득하였으며, 주요연구분야는 기업지배구조, 회계감사 및 조세회피 등이다.