The research examines the impact of audit firms’ overall human capital characteristics on audit fees. From the perspective of the human capital utilization at the firm level, the results show that the audit firms which have the CPA with the higher capacity radiance, the higher level of education, and the stronger relevant professional knowledge reserves can charge higher audit fees, but CPA’s work experience measured by age and the practice time is significantly negatively correlated with audit fees. In addition, this paper explores whether those impacts vary in the markets of different clients' size, different clients’ property and different marketization degree. This paper enriches the research content of audit pricing theory and human capital theory and also provides an empirical basis for the cultivation and development of CPA in China. |