The authors present empirical evidence of how family ownership and control affect the demand for audit quality measured by audit firm size in a sample of small private firms. The results indicate that family-held or family-controlled firms are less likely to use Big 4 auditors than non-family...

This study investigates whether managerial ownership related agency costs are associated with the demand for audit quality in a sample of small private firms. The literature on audit quality suggests that firms with high agency costs are more likely to demand audit quality. Our database enables...