Third party certification bodies audit companies to determine compliance with standards. We introduce a model of oligopoly competition between certification bodies, showing that a higher degree of certification body competition results in higher grades. We empirically test this hypothesis using...

This study examines the association between auditor concentration and intra-industry competition in the client industry. It has been suggested that competition within the client industry may cause some firms to seek auditors that are not associated with their competitors, due to concerns of loss...

This study investigates the competitive strategies of the international Big 4 audit firms when faced with regional competition from the local Big 6 audit firms. We find that for the Big 4, competition reduces their audit fee premiums and forces them to recruit high-risk clients, while does not...