Can legal construction in the securities market strengthen corporate audit quality: Evidence from the implementation of new securities act

Improving the legal structure of China's securities market depends on revising the Securities Law. Using data from A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2022, this paper uses the difference-in-differences (DID) approach to investigate the effect of implementing the New Securities Law on the audit quality of companies. The revelation shows how much the New Securities Law can improve the caliber of company audits. Furthermore, improving audit fees, risk premiums, and media concentration yields positive results. Moreover, the degree of internal control and ownership of companies has different mediation consequences. The efficiency of the recently adopted Securities Law in controlling the conduct of auditors is assessed in this paper. The study results have significant practical relevance for efficiently implementing the new Securities Law, extending the market structure for auditing services, properly preventing and regulating auditing risks, and increasing the efficiency of the capital market.