Many legal jurisdictions, including the U.S. and U.K., have passed regulations to address the potential negative impacts of a lack of competition and high concentration in public company audit markets. One consequence of increased regulations, desired or not, is that they have presumably...

Increased audit regulation, coupled with practitioner reports of “hyper-acquisitive” behavior among smaller firms, creates a dynamic environment in which to assess changes in the U.S. audit market. Against this backdrop, we examine the consequences of small audit firm mergers on audit...

Concerns regarding a lack of competition in the market for public-company audits focus on Big Four audit firms. Little concern has been raised regarding Non-Big Four firms, yet we know little about competition and barriers to entry in this market. Prior studies only consider competition from...

This paper analyzes the auditor choices for a sample of 2,333 predominantly small and mid-sized Finnish firms. Finland requires virtually all commercial enterprises to have a financial statement audit, but allows the smallest firms to choose from four types of audit firms: first tier...

This study uses the slippery-slope framework to understand how an oversight regulator’s enforcement style influences audit firm compliance. Using data from interviews with audit regulators and audit partners, we find that partners perceive the regulator’s enforcement style has shifted from...

We investigate whether client employee training facilitates a more efficient audit. Our hypothesis is that training improves the ability of the client personnel to process transactions accurately, improve internal control, and contribute to evidence gathering and information sharing in the...

Efficient capital markets rely on a continuous supply of reliable, timely, and audited information. The economic value of an audit derives from the reduction in risk of erroneous or manipulated information. Traditionally, the auditing has focused on annual financial reports. Given the speed of...