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Drivers of voluntary audit in Finland: to be or not to be audited?

Author

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  • Lasse Niemi
  • Juha Kinnunen
  • Hannu Ojala
  • Pontus Troberg

Abstract

This paper examines factors affecting the owner-manager's voluntary decision to hire an auditor in small firms. Using a random sample of 412 small private companies in Finland responding to an Internet survey, we first probe the institutional boundaries of a prior UK study [Collis, J., Jarvis, R., and Skerratt, L., 2004. The demand for the audit in small companies in the UK. Accounting and business research , 34 (2), 87--100] and conclude that its main findings can be generalised to a different regulatory setting (Finland) typical of many Continental European countries. Second, we broaden the prior research by testing new hypotheses regarding the drivers of an audit among small companies. We hypothesise and find evidence that outsourcing of critical accounting functions creates information asymmetry between the owner-manager and the external accountant, which may arouse the need for monitoring the external accountant through a voluntary audit. In addition, we find, as hypothesised, that tax advisory services provided by the external accountant reduce the likelihood of a voluntary audit. Moreover, we hypothesise that receiving a qualified opinion from the auditor reduces the likelihood of hiring an auditor voluntarily, whereas firms experiencing financial distress would be more willing to have their financial statements audited. We find evidence consistent with these hypotheses.

Suggested Citation

  • Lasse Niemi & Juha Kinnunen & Hannu Ojala & Pontus Troberg, 2012. "Drivers of voluntary audit in Finland: to be or not to be audited?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 169-196, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:42:y:2012:i:2:p:169-196
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2012.653742
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    Cited by:

    1. Corten, Maarten & Steijvers, Tensie & Lybaert, Nadine, 2017. "The effect of intrafamily agency conflicts on audit demand in private family firms: The moderating role of the board of directors," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 13-28.
    2. Höglund, Henrik & Sundvik, Dennis, 2016. "Financial reporting quality and outsourcing of accounting tasks: Evidence from small private firms," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 125-134.
    3. Sundvik Dennis, 2017. "A review of earnings management in private firms in response to tax rate changes," Nordic Tax Journal, Sciendo, vol. 2017(1), pages 151-161, January.
    4. Elina Haapamäki, 2018. "Voluntary Auditing: A Synthesis of the Literature," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 81-104, January.
    5. Maarten Corten & Tensie Steijvers & Nadine Lybaert & Céline Coeckelbergs, 2021. "The Influence of the CEO on Auditor Choice in Private Firms: An Interplay of Willingness and Ability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, June.
    6. Maarten Corten & Tensie Steijvers & Nadine Lybaert, 2015. "The demand for auditor services in wholly family-owned private firms: the moderating role of generation," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 1-26, January.
    7. Aase, Øivind André, 2022. "Size Management in Response to Mandatory Audit Rules," Discussion Papers 2022/2, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    8. Paul J. Coram & Yi (Dale) Fu & Mukush Garg & Noel Harding & David C. Hay & Mohammad Jahanzeb Khan & Nora Muñoz‐Izquierdo & Ashna Prasad & Nigar Sultana & Jamie Tong, 2022. "Comments of the AFAANZ auditing and assurance standards committee on proposed international standard on auditing ISA for LCE," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 4219-4244, September.
    9. Ann Vanstraelen & Caren Schelleman, 2017. "Auditing private companies: what do we know?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(5), pages 565-584, July.
    10. Huq, Asif & Hartwig, Fredrik & Rudholm, Niklas, 2018. "Do audited firms have lower cost of debt?," HUI Working Papers 132, HUI Research.
    11. Palazuelos Cobo, Estefanía & Montoya del Corte, Javier & Herrero Crespo, Ángel, 2017. "Determinantes de la continuidad en la contratación de la auditoría de forma voluntaria: evidencia para el caso de España," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 63-72.

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