We study the association between credit availability and modified audit opinions using a sample of more than 50,000 observations for small- and medium-sized companies. Studies in finance suggest that companies use trade-credit as a source of financing when institutional debt is not available...

We use a sample of small firms to compare efficiency aspects of the creditor oriented old (pre-1993) Finnish bankruptcy code and the debtor oriented US code. We find that although the same economic factors affect liquidations in both the US and Finland, under the Finnish code firms are somewhat...

This study examines whether the decision to voluntarily (i.e. without a statutory obligation) employ two audit firms to conduct a joint audit is related to audit quality. We use separate samples and empirical designs for public and privately held companies in Sweden, where a sufficient number of...

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,...

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....

Using Swedish data, we investigate how audit quality and audit pricing vary with audit firm and office size. In contrast to prior studies, we use disciplinary sanctions issued against auditors not meeting the quality requirement as the measure of audit quality. We find no significant differences...