How are auditors emotional states shaped by an emerging financial audit reporting methodology, how do auditors manage emotions accordingly, and how does the handling of emotions influence auditor effort and their perception of audit quality? This paper addresses these questions by examining the implementation of key audit matters (KAM) disclosure and its emotional impacts on auditors. Mobilizing the auditor comfort framework and the philosophy of discomfort advanced by Pezeu-Massabuau (2012) and utilizing interview data collected with twenty auditors in China, this paper reveals that KAM disclosure has altered the norm of audit reporting held by auditors, shaped their feelings at work, and urged them to reconfigure their comfort zone. Specifically, disclosing KAM has evoked mixed emotions. Auditors have accordingly sought to execute and document audit procedures relating to KAM in a way that is more in place and mobilize the support offered by comfort providers to handle various emotional states. These measures undertaken by auditors have not only allowed auditors to become comfortable with KAM disclosure, but also motivated them to exert more effort in the audit process, which they have perceived to have positive impacts on audit quality. This paper generates novel insights into the impacts of KAM disclosure on auditors, extends research emphasizing the affective dimension of audit practice, and sheds fresh light on the emotionalizing nature of public disclosure and its potential outcomes more broadly.