This study investigates the audit firm’s decision to protect its partners’ personal assets by becoming a limited liability partnership (LLP). We find that the likelihood of an audit firm switching from unlimited to limited liability is increasing in its size and exposure to litigation risk. We find no evidence that audit firms supply lower audit quality, lose market share, or charge lower audit...

Audit fee studies often find large (Big 5) audit firms earn significantly higher fees than small (non-Big 5) firms, but they treat auditor choice as exogenous. In contrast, this paper takes into account that companies are not randomly assigned to audit firms. We find the effects of auditor selection bias on audit fees are statistically and economically significant. Consistent with the predictio...

This paper investigates the effect of non-audit services on audit quality. Following the announcement of the requirement to disclose non-audit fees, approximately one-third of UK quoted companies disclosed before the requirement became effective. Whilst distressed companies were more likely to disclose early, auditor size, directors’ shareholdings and non-audit fees were not signiŽ cantly corre...

One of the main instruments of accountability in economic activities is auditing. But despite the extent of audit work, determining the fees for this service in our country is not based on a scientific model and reasonably we cannot claim, according to firm's characteristic and with what cost, the work would be done. In this regard, we have tested the impact of transparency of accounting inform...

This study examines the association between ownership structure and audit fess. Especially, this study focuses on the ownership structure measured by the divergence of control and ownership. If an owner owns a company through the pyramidal structure, it is possible that the voting rights of the owner are greater than the cash flow rights of the same owner. The difference could influence the fir...