Agency theory predicts that, where there is strong conflict
between the incentives of the principal and agent, the
agent will tend to act in his/her self-interest when provided
the opportunity (e.g., an informational advantage
over the principal). If no strong conflict exists, then the
agent’s actions will tend to align more with the principal’s
incentives (Jensen & Meckling, 1976). Thus, if an agency
framework applies in the underreporting context, one
would expect that the strength of managers’ (conflicting)
incentives influences their tendency to encourage the
behavior. One factor that affects the strength of such a conflict
relates to desirability of the client. For example, if a
manager has a strong preference for a particular client
(e.g., the client is close to home or the manager gets along
well with client management), he or she is more likely to
have a stronger desire for a subordinate to underreport in
order to maintain audit fees near their current levels to
help promote client retention and, in turn, increase the
likelihood he/she remains assigned to this desirable client.
In contrast, there are generally other engagements that a
manager finds less attractive and is less interested in
retaining. On such less desirable clients, the strength of
the agency conflict is lessened, and the manager is more
likely to be more accepting of budget overruns.