Download or read book Audit Fees Non Audit Services and Auditor Client Economic Bonding written by Jeffrey Coulton and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We investigate whether auditor independence is compromised by either the mix of audit and non audit services (NAS), or simply unusually large NAS or audit fees. The results help reconcile apparently conflicting evidence in prior studies linking NAS and indicators of earnings management, as well as providing new insights on the relation between the incentive structures faced by auditors and variation in audit quality. Using the unexpected accrual component of earnings as a proxy for the effect of impaired auditor independence, we initially find that client firms purchasing an unexpectedly large NAS fee mix (i.e., relative to audit fees) display some evidence of aggressive accounting. However, when we explicitly allow for the possibly endogenous nature of unexpected accruals and unexpected NAS, this result no longer holds. In contrast, similar evidence of a positive relation between the magnitude of unexpectedly large audit fees and positive unexpected accruals still occurs (albeit more weakly) after explicitly allowing for possible endogeneity. A significant positive association between unexpected total fees (audit plus NAS) and the magnitude of positive unexpected accruals is even more robust. However, further tests shows that these quot;resultquot; are confined to clients of Non-Big 6 auditors. We therefore conclude that for large audit firms, the incentive to protect larger than expected fees is outweighed by the importance of their reputation for providing high quality audits relative to smaller audit firms. The results also highlight how sensitive conclusions about possible quot;NAS effectsquot; are to the choice of proxy for economic bond as well as the precise experimental design.

Download or read book The Relation Between Auditors Fees for Non audit Services and Earnings Quality written by Richard M. Frankel and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We examine the association between the provision of non-audit services and earnings quality. Because of concerns regarding the effect of non-audit services on financial reporting credibility, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued revised auditor independence rules requiring firms to disclose in their annual proxy statement the amount of fees paid to auditors for audit and non-audit services. Using data collected from proxy statements filed between February 5, 2001 and June 15, 2001, we present evidence that firms purchasing more non-audit services from their auditor are more likely to just meet or beat analysts' forecasts and to report larger absolute discretionary accruals. However, the purchase of non-audit services is not associated with meeting other earnings benchmarks. We also find that the unexpected component of the non-audit to total fee ratio is negatively associated with stock returns on the filing date. These results are consistent with arguments that the provision of non-audit services strengthens an auditor's economic bond with the client and that investors price this effect. Keywords: Auditor independence; Auditor fees; Earnings management; Discretionary accruals. JEL Classification: G12, M41, M43, M49, L84.

Download or read book The Provision of Non Audit Services by Accounting Firms to Their Audit Clients written by Michael Firth and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has been a strong growth in accounting firms' provisions of non-audit services to their audit clients. To date, however, there have been few studies into the determinants of this joint provision of audit and non-audit services. One reason for the paucity of research is the lack of publicly available data with which to empirically examine relationships and test theories. However, recent legislation in the United Kingdom requires disclosure of non-audit fees paid to a company's auditor and this provides data with which to investigate the joint provision of consultancy and audit services. A model is developed that seeks to explain a company's decision to hire non-audit services from the auditor. The model argues that companies that face potentially high agency costs purchase relatively smaller amounts of non-audit services from their auditor. High agency cost companies require independent audits in order to reassure investors and creditors; the provision of joint services, which increases the economic bonding of the auditor to the client, may jeopardize independence or the appearance of independence. The model is tested using data observations from 500 companies and the results indicate that companies that have higher agency costs proxies are associated with smaller purchases of non-audit services from their auditors.

Download or read book Perceived Auditor Independence and Audit Firm Fees written by Kevin Holland and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regulations requiring the disclosure of fees paid to an auditor for audit and non-audit services (NAS) respond to concerns that such payments are potentially detrimental to auditors' actual or perceived independence. Although empirical studies have failed to produce unequivocal evidence of detrimental effects on auditor independence, the actions of regulators, audit firms and companies are consistent with the belief that economic bonding generated by fees can impair perceived levels of auditor independence.Using a sample of UK companies over a six year period to March 2006, we study perceived impairment of auditor independence by examining the relationship between levels of total relative fees (combined audit and NAS fees payable by a company to its auditor as a proportion of the audit firm's UK income) and market value. The paper's methodological innovation is its use of a valuation framework in this setting. A further contribution lies in dropping the assumption of linearity found in most prior empirical studies. We provide evidence that shareholders perceive a threat to auditor independence only at high total relative fee levels. At lower levels, total relative fees are positively related to company value. These results suggest that disclosure of NAS and audit fees are of relevance to investors, as is information about auditor income. Our results support the view that regulation by reference to the threshold at which total relative fees are perceived negatively is more consistent with investor preferences than prohibition of the supply of NAS by auditors to their audit clients.

Download or read book Auditor Fees Abnormal Fees and Audit Quality Before and after the Sarbanes Oxley Act written by Ariel J. Markelevich and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our study examines fees paid to auditors for audit and non-audit services during the period 2000 to 2003. We document a statistically significant positive association between audit fees and the absolute value of performance-adjusted discretionary accruals over all years. We also identify a significant positive association between non-audit fees and discretionary accruals in years 2000 and 2001, but no such association in later years (after passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act). This lack of association in 2002 and 2003 may be a result of legislation that limits the types of non-auditing services that auditors can provide to audit clients. To address the potential impact of fee composition and client importance on auditor independence, we extend our empirical analysis by incorporating predictions of abnormal audit and non-audit fees. We derive abnormal fees using a fee estimation model drawn from prior literature. We find evidence consistent with the view that clients with higher abnormal fees are more apt to exert influence on their auditors, which in turn may lead to a breach in auditor independence. Overall, our results are most consistent with economic bonding being the primary determinant of auditor behavior.

Download or read book The Relation Between Auditors Fees for Non Audit Services and Earnings Quality Classic Reprint written by Richard M. Frankel and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2018-03-03 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Relation Between Auditors' Fees for Non-Audit Services and Earnings Quality This paper provides empirical evidence on the relation between non-audit services and earnings quality. We test hypotheses concerning: (1) the association between a firm's purchase of non-audit services from its auditor and earnings management, and (2) the stock price reaction to the disclosure of non-audit fees. In the past decade there has been a dramatic increase in the proportion of fee revenue auditors derive from non-audit services, yet we know little about how non-audit services are related to earnings quality.1 Concern about the effect of non-audit services on the financial reporting process was a primary motivation for the Securities and Exchange Commission (sec) to issue revised auditor independence rules on November 15, 2000. The rules require firms to disclose the amount of all audit and non-audit fees paid to its auditor. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Download or read book Auditor Independence written by Ismail Adelopo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Auditor Independence, Ismail Adelopo argues that the importance of auditors' independence cannot be over-emphasised. Not only do auditors provide certification of the truth and fairness of the information prepared by managers, they also have a duty to express opinions on the degree of compliance with laws and regulations guiding a firm's operations. Theirs is a socially important responsibility. In all that has been proposed to mitigate the governance crisis and restore confidence in the market system, relatively little attention has been paid to auditor independence. Examining the historical role of auditing in corporate governance and the regulatory context, this book sets the function within a theoretical framework and then provides empirical analysis of the problem issues such as the relationship between audit committees and external auditors and the probity of providing non-auditing services to audit clients. The focus on matters that are damaging to market confidence and threatening to the reputation of the auditing profession, means the conclusions and recommendations in this book are important for key stakeholders, including policy makers, regulators, those running companies, and their investors and customers. This is also a book for those responsible for training in the auditing profession and for others with a research or academic interest in the matters addressed.

Download or read book Evidence on the Joint Determination of Audit and Non Audit Fees written by Scott Whisenant and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this study, we investigate whether the characteristics of clients, auditors, and the auditor-client relationship simultaneously determine audit and non-audit fees. As done in prior studies, we maintain that fees proxy for the level of service provided and follow the physical flow of knowledge. Estimating single-equation models of audit and non-audit fee models, we confirm prior findings of an association between audit and non-audit fees. Studies have concluded such evidence is consistent with knowledge spillovers between the two services. However, we document empirically that audit and non-audit fees are simultaneously determined. Since the data indicate audit and non-audit fees are jointly determined, we then investigate whether previously documented associations between audit and non-audit fees are the result of biased estimation induced by using endogenous variables in single-equation models. In contrast to results from single-equation estimations, we find no association between audit and non-audit fees using a simultaneous specification of the fee system, suggesting that single-equation estimations suffer from simultaneous-equations bias. In sum, the findings are not consistent with the existence of economies of scope from the joint performance of audit and non-audit services after controlling for the joint behavior of audit and non-audit fees. Given the ongoing debate over the level of allowed non-audit services by auditors, the argument for the joint provision of audit and non-audit services is less justified than if joint-supply benefits had been documented.

Download or read book Modelling Issues in the Relationship Between Audit and Non Audit Fees written by Ismail A. Adelopo and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Current waves of corporate collapses have brought the discussions about auditor independence into spotlight. In this context, the debate about the propriety of auditors' joint provision of audit and non-audit services to their audit clients has featured considerably. One approach to this debate has been an economic modeling of interactions between audit and non-audit fees. While there are shades of opinions that the relationship can be captured using a single equation model, others are of the opinion that the relationships are better represented in a Simultaneous Equation Model (SEM). Also, there are concerns about the nature of data used in analyzing audit fees. Cross sectional data have been predominant; however, there are calls for more robust analyzes involving multi-period investigations and, precisely, the use of panel data approach. It has been argued that this affords more observations and enhances causal inferences. In this paper, using very recent data, we compared the result of a single equation model with a SEM of the relationship between audit and non-audit fee for listed companies in the UK and also highlighted the benefits of using panel data approach to the study of this relationships in the context of auditors' independence and improved audit and reporting quality. The issues addressed in this paper are very pertinent to better understanding of the role of the auditor in the corporate environment. The requirement for firms to disclose their audit and non-audit fees, the outright ban on the provision of certain non-audit services by the auditors to their audit clients, and the enhancements of the roles of the audit committees in determining the level of non-audit services that can be purchased from the incumbent and other auditors all underscore the seriousness of the issues relating to audit and non-audit services.

Download or read book The Relation Between Auditors Fees for Non audit Services and Earnings Quality written by Frankel Richard M and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking study explores the relationship between auditors' fees for non-audit services and the quality of earnings reported by companies. Using data from a large sample of publicly traded firms, the authors show that there is a strong correlation between the two variables, and suggest that this could be a cause for concern for investors and regulators. The authors also provide recommendations for improving the transparency and reliability of financial reporting. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of accounting, auditing, and corporate governance. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book The Joint Determination of Audit Fees Non Audit Fees And Abnormal Accruals written by Rick Antle and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prior research has estimated piece-meal the determinants of audit fees, non-audit fees and abnormal accruals. Intuition, informal analysis, and a variety of theories suggest that audit fees, non-audit fees, and abnormal accruals are jointly determined. We address this endogeneity issue by modeling the confluence of audit fees, fees for non-audit services and abnormal accruals in a system of simultaneous equations.Our joint estimation provides a starting point to look simultaneously at several competing theories. Using audit and non-audit fee data from the UK for 1994-2000, we find evidence consistent with knowledge spillovers (or economies of scope) from auditing to non-audit services and from non-audit services to auditing. While knowledge spillovers from non-audit services to auditing have been found in prior research [e.g. see Simunic 1984], the presence of knowledge spillovers from auditing to non-audit services is a new result. Contrary to recent results in Ferguson et al. (2001) and Frankel et al. (2002), we do not find support for the assertion that fees for non-audit services increase abnormal accruals. In fact, contrary to the results in Ashbaugh et al. (2003) and Chung and Kallapur (2003), we find that non-audit fees decrease abnormal accruals, which we attribute to the productive effects of non-audit services. We also find evidence that audit fees increase abnormal accruals, consistent with behavioral theories of unconscious influence or bias in the auditor-client relation. The findings are robust to tests with US data.

Download or read book An Investigation of the Relationship Between Audit Fees and Auditor Reputation written by Timothy A. Pearson and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Impact of Corporate Governance on Auditor Independence written by Ismail Adelopo and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thesis explores the relationship between Audit Committees and External Auditors? fees of a sample of FTSE 350 companies in the UK for the period of 2005-2006. This is achieved by providing answers to three main research questions. First, what are the determinants of Audit Committee activity? Second, what is the relationship between Audit Committee activity and external auditors? fees? Third, what is the relationship between audit and non-audit fees and how does the Audit Committee affect these? Starting out with an Agency Theoretical background, the study found evidence consistent with the views that a higher proportion of Independent Non-Executive Directors on the board enhances Audit Committees? activity, but the presence of financial expertise on the committee was not found to be statistically significant in explaining its activity. The thesis also documented evidence that shows that Audit Committee activity is inversely related to managerial ownership of shares in companies. In line with the economic theory of auditing, the researcher used fees paid to the external auditor to proxy for the level of economic bonding between auditors and their clients. Higher fees are interpreted to indicate compromised independence. Five alternative measures of economic bonding were used. The researcher found a stable and statistically significant positive relationship between measures of economic bonding and Audit Committee activity. This finding is consistent with the view that Audit Committees buy more services from the auditors in order to enhance auditing and reporting quality. Strong positive relationships between audit and non-audit services and vice versa were found using a single equation fees model but these relationships were not consistent when the researcher controlled for endogeneity between audit and non audit fees using Simultaneous Equation Models (SEM). Audit Committee activity was not statistically important in these relationships. This evidence taken together supports the proposition that economies of scope exist in the joint provision of both audit and non-auditing services to the same client. Finally the thesis also documents evidence that suggests that knowledge spill-over flows from non-audit services to auditing services and that auditor do not use audit as a loss leader.

Download or read book Abnormal Audit Fees and Audit Quality written by Patrick Krauss and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study investigates the economic auditor-client dependency issue by examining the association between abnormal audit fee pricing and audit quality. Our study is the first to analyze this phenomenon empirically for the institutional setting of German IFRS firms by using a sample of 2,334 firm-year observations for the period from 2005 to 2010. Our empirical results demonstrate that positive abnormal audit fees are negatively associated with audit quality and imply that the audit fee premium is a significant indicator of compromised auditor independence due to economic auditor-client bonding. Audit fee discounts generally do not lead to a reduced audit effort, or respectively, audit quality is not impaired when client bar-gaining power is strong. The association of positive abnormal audit fees and audit quality is robust to different audit quality surrogates such as absolute discretionary accruals, financial restatements, and meeting or beating analysts' earnings forecasts.

Download or read book Do Non Audit Service Fees Impair Auditor Independence Evidence from Going Concern Audit Opinions written by Mark L. DeFond and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We find no evidence that non-audit service fees impair auditor independence, where independence is surrogated by auditors' propensity to issue going concern audit opinions. We do find, however, that auditors are more likely to issue going concern opinions to clients paying higher audit fees, suggesting that auditors behave with relatively greater independence towards these clients. Our findings are consistent with Reynolds and Francis (2001) and suggest that market-based incentives, such as loss of reputation and litigation costs, dominate the benefits auditors are likely to receive from compromising their independence to retain clients that pay larger fees. Overall, our findings indicate that recent SEC regulations based on concerns that non-audit services impair auditor independence, are unfounded.

Download or read book The Auditor client Contractual Relationship written by Linda DeAngelo and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Audit Fees Non Audit Fees and Auditor Going Concern Reporting Decisions in the United Kingdom written by Ilias G. Basioudis and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study empirically examines audit reports provided to financially stressed companies in the United Kingdom and the magnitude of audit and non-audit service fees paid to the company's auditors. We find that the magnitude of both audit fees and non-audit fees are significantly associated with the issuance of a going-concern modified audit opinion. In particular, financially stressed companies with high audit fees are more likely to receive a going-concern modified audit opinion, whereas companies with high non-audit fees are less likely to receive a going-concern modified audit opinion. Additional analyses indicate that the results are generally robust across alternative model and variable specifications. Overall, evidence supports the contention that high non-audit fees have a detrimental effect on going-concern reporting judgments for financially stressed U.K. companies.The accounting profession has come under increased scrutiny over recent years about the growing number of non-audit fees received from audit clients and the possible negative impact of such fees on auditor independence. The argument advanced is that providing substantial amounts of non-audit services to clients may make it more likely that auditors concede to the wishes of the client management when difficult judgments are made. Such concerns are particularly salient in the case of reporting decisions related to going-concern uncertainties for financially stressed clients.This study empirically examines audit reports provided to financially stressed companies in the United Kingdom and the magnitude of audit and non-audit service fees paid to the company's auditors. We find that the magnitude of both audit fees and non-audit fees are significantly associated with the issuance of a going-concern modified audit opinion. In particular, financially stressed companies with high audit fees are more likely to receive a going-concern modified audit opinion, whereas companies with high non-audit fees are less likely to receive a going-concern modified audit opinion. Additional analyses indicate that the results are generally robust across alternative model and variable specifications. Overall, evidence supports the contention that high non-audit fees have a detrimental effect on going-concern reporting judgments for financially stressed U.K. companies.