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Big players and small players

Author

Listed:
  • Merete Christiansen
  • Anne Loft

Abstract

The international mergers between large auditing firms which produced 'The Big Six' involved Danish auditing firms in a process of intense merger activity. In this article some aspects of the consequences are explored. An empirical study of concentration in the market for the audit of Danish quoted companies was made. There was a large increase in concentration between 1989 and 1991. Two of the large audit firms now audit over half of the total value of the net turnover of quoted companies. Associated with it, there appears to have been increasing competition in both the audit and consultancy areas, the latter having increased in importance as a generator of profit for auditing firms. Auditors claim to act in the public interest but the developments discussed here raise doubts about this, a situation which requires serious attention from auditors and regulators.

Suggested Citation

  • Merete Christiansen & Anne Loft, 1992. "Big players and small players," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 277-301.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:euract:v:1:y:1992:i:2:p:277-301
    DOI: 10.1080/09638189200000024
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stefan Sundgren, 1998. "Auditor choices and auditor reporting practices: evidence from Finnish small firms," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 441-465.
    2. Laura Sierra & Ana Zorio & María A. García‐Benau, 2013. "Sustainable Development and Assurance of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports Published by Ibex‐35 Companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(6), pages 359-370, November.
    3. De Beelde, Ignace, 1997. "An exploratory investigation of industry specialization of large audit firms," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 337-355.
    4. Ignace de Beedle & Nathalie Gonthier-Besacier & Alain Mikol, 2003. "Le développement des grands cabinets anglo-saxons d'audit en France," Post-Print halshs-00582758, HAL.
    5. Samsonova, Anna, 2009. "Local sites of globalisation: A look at the development of a legislative framework for auditing in Russia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 528-552.
    6. Eva Wallerstedt, 2001. "The emergence of the Big Five in Sweden," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 843-867.
    7. A. Eilifsen, 1998. "Auditing regulation and the statutory auditor's responsibilities in Norway," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 709-722.
    8. Lasse Niemi, 2004. "Auditor size and audit pricing: evidence from small audit firms," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 541-560.
    9. Mennicken, Andrea, 2010. "From inspection to auditing: audit and markets as linked ecologies," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 27054, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Willekens, Marleen & Achmadi, Christina, 2003. "Pricing and supplier concentration in the private client segment of the audit market: Market power or competition?," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 431-455.
    11. Dirk Simons & Nicole Zein, 2016. "Audit Market Segmentation -- The Impact of Mid-tier Firms on Competition," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 131-154, May.
    12. Mennicken, Andrea, 2010. "From inspection to auditing: Audit and markets as linked ecologies," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 334-359, April.
    13. Kai-Uwe Marten & Wolfgang Schultze, 1998. "Konzentrationsentwicklungen auf dem deutschen und europäischen Prüfungsmarkt," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 360-386, April.
    14. Maria Antonia Garcia Benau & Emiliano Ruiz Barbadillo & Christopher Humphrey & Walid Al Husaini, 1999. "Success in failure? Reflections on the changing Spanish audit environment," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(4), pages 701-730.
    15. I. De Beelde & N. Gonthier-Besacier & A. Mikol, 2006. "The Introduction Of The Anglo-American Audit Firms In France," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 06/392, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    16. Heuser, Simon & Quick, Reiner & Schmidt, Florian, 2015. "Die Anbieterkonzentration auf dem deutschen Prüfungsmarkt – Eine empirische Untersuchung der Jahre 2010-2013," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 69(1), pages 81-109.
    17. Qiang Guo & Christopher Koch & Aiyong Zhu, 2017. "Joint audit, audit market structure, and consumer surplus," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1595-1627, December.
    18. Walker, Kenton B. & Johnson, Eric N., 1996. "A review and synthesis of research on supplier concentration, quality and fee structure in non-U.S. markets for auditor services," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-18.
    19. Steven Maijoor & Willem Buijink & Roger Meuwissen & Arjen Van Witteloostuijn, 1998. "Towards the establishment of an internal market for audit services within the European Union," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 655-673.

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