We provide evidence on the long standing concern on auditor conflicts of interest from providing non-audit services (NAS) to audit clients by using rarely explored NAS fee data from 1978-80. Using this earlier setting, we find cross-sectional evidence of improved earnings quality when auditors...

This paper offers new findings about how audit fees vary around auditor dismissals and resignations. For dismissals, we find evidence of lower than normal fees before and after an auditor change, consistent with the view that both incumbent and successor auditors adjust fees downward to retain...

Audit committees play very important roles in financial aspects of governance as they help ensure audit quality while at the same time protecting the interest of investors. This paper attempts an x-ray of the factors that tend to diminish the importance of Audit Committees in corporate...

This study finds that the agency problems of companies with high free cash flow (FCF) and low growth opportunities induce auditors of companies in the United States to raise audit fees to compensate for the additional effort. We also find that high FCF companies with high growth prospects have...

Major accounting scandals and audit failures (such as Enron and WorldCom) during the turn of the century seriously impaired the public’s confidence and trust in audited financial statements. This had cast a shadow on auditor independence, integrity and professional conduct, and led to the...

This study aims to investigate whether or not audit quality is influenced by auditor type (governmental vs. private auditors) and by auditor size (Big auditors vs. non-Big auditors). A sample of 2241 firm-year observations from Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) companies during the period 2002 to 2007...

In this study, we explore a topic of primary concern to small audit firms – attracting new clients. A potential avenue available to small audit firms to enhance their visibility and legitimacy among potential audit clients is to join an association of accounting firms. We examine whether small...