In this paper, we examine audit quality for Big 4 and Second-tier auditors during 2003-2006. We utilize the auditor's propensity to issue a going concern audit report for distressed clients as a measure of audit quality. In addition, since the purpose of an audit is to improve financial...

Given the focus on auditor independence in the corporate literature, prior research has focused almost exclusively on nonaudit services obtained from the incumbent CPA firm. By contrast, auditor independence is generally not viewed as a critical issue in the public sector; rather, the policy...