How Do Jurors Respond to the Split Operation of an Accounting Firm?

A split operation is often promoted as a way to enhance auditor independence in accounting firms with a consulting arm. We conducted two experiments to explore how this split affects jurors’ perceptions of auditor independence and whether a cooling-off intervention mitigates post-split concerns. The first study shows that jurors view auditor independence as lower when newly formed consulting firms immediately serve former audit clients, due to heightened perceptions of closeness between the audit and consulting firms. We further find that jurors perceive auditor independence as marginally higher when a cooling-off period is implemented than when former audit clients are served immediately. The second study reveals marginal evidence that the impact of a split on perceived auditor independence is more pronounced for firms with a high pre-split NAS fee ratio. Collectively, these findings suggest a cooling-off period may offer limited mitigation benefits and highlight opportunities for future research on independence safeguards. Data Availability: Data are available upon request.