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Auditor size and audit pricing: evidence from small audit firms

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  • Lasse Niemi

Abstract

In a competitive market, audit prices can vary if the clients believe that the quality of audits varies. Previous research links auditor independence, a key element of audit quality, to auditor size and consequently suggests a positive association between audit quality and auditor size. Moreover, by using the dichotomy approach (Big Five/non-Big Five), numerous studies in many countries have found that the largest audit firms with international reputations earn fee premiums due to their perceived higher quality. Little is known, however, about pricing differences arising from product differentiation among small audit firms. This study examines the relation between auditor size and audit prices by using the data on hourly billing rates and the auditor characteristics from 103 small Finnish audit firms. This study documents, after controlling for the auditor's technical capability, the positive association between auditor size and audit pricing. The results suggest that both size and technical capability have a positive impact on auditor remuneration, implying that product differentiation also takes place among these small audit firms.

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:euract:v:13:y:2004:i:3:p:541-560
    DOI: 10.1080/0963818042000237151
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    2. Jyrki Niskanen & Jukka Karjalainen & Mervi Niskanen & Jussi Karjalainen, 2011. "Auditor gender and corporate earnings management behavior in private Finnish firms," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(9), pages 778-793, October.
    3. Ku He & Xiaofei Pan & Gary Tian, 2017. "Legal Liability, Government Intervention, and Auditor Behavior: Evidence from Structural Reform of Audit Firms in China," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 61-95, January.
    4. Gu, Junjian, 2021. "FDI characteristics, industry homogeneity, and audit fees in Japanese multinationals," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    5. Stefan Sundgren & Tobias Svanström, 2013. "Audit office size, audit quality and audit pricing: evidence from small- and medium-sized enterprises," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 31-55, February.
    6. Nives Botica Redmayne & Michael E. Bradbury & Steven F. Cahan, 2010. "The effect of political visibility on audit effort and audit pricing," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(4), pages 921-939, December.
    7. Fakhroddin MohammadRezaei & Omid Faraji & Zabihollah Rezaee & Reza Gholami-Jamkarani & Mehdi Yari, 2024. "Substantive or symbolic compliance with regulation, audit fees and audit quality," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 32-51, March.
    8. Josh Wei-Jun Hsueh, 2018. "Governance Structure and the Credibility Gap: Experimental Evidence on Family Businesses’ Sustainability Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 547-568, December.
    9. 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.
    10. Fleischer, Rouven & Goettsche, Max & Schauer, Maximilian, 2017. "The Big 4 premium: Does it survive an auditor change? Evidence from Europe," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 103-117.
    11. Robert Rieg, 2019. "Selbstständigkeit von Bilanzbuchhaltern und Controllern: Eine empirische Untersuchung zu Einkommen und Determinanten," ZfKE – Zeitschrift für KMU und Entrepreneurship, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 67(1), pages 35-66.
    12. Yahn-Shir Chen & Joseph Hsu & Mei-Ting Huang & Ping-Sen Yang, 2013. "Quality, Size and Performance of Audit Firms," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 7(5), pages 89-105.
    13. Niemi, Lasse, 2005. "Audit effort and fees under concentrated client ownership: Evidence from four international audit firms," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 303-323.

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