Abstract:Analysts are important information intermediary in capital market as they can effectively alleviate the information asymmetry. Do CPAs use the information provided by analysts when estimating the audit fees? This paper tries to review the relationship between analysts’ forecasts and audit fees according to the information asymmetry theory. By using the analyst earnings forecast accuracy and dispersion to measure the information asymmetry thereof, this paper tries to verify whether and how auditors refer to analyst earning forecast to estimate audit fees when they assess client audit risks. The results of this study show that analyst forecast accuracy (dispersion) is negatively (positively) correlated with audit fees. Further study found that small corporations and corporations listed in a relatively short time have a higher information asymmetry, the relationship between analysts' forecasts and audit fees has become more significantly correlated among these similar corporations.