Prior research provides mixed evidence about whether sufficient audit market competition exists and whether competition impairs or improves audit quality. A major impediment to this stream of research is the unobservable nature of the bidding process by which auditors compete for clients. In...

We examine whether audit fees reflect characteristics of individual executives incremental to known determinants of fees. Using a novel executive effects approach, we find that unexplained audit fees exhibit a statistically and economically significant association with executive effects after...

Prior research on CEO narcissism has focused on outcomes related to the CEO's firm. We extend this literature by examining how an important counterparty—the firm's external auditor—responds to a client having a more narcissistic CEO. Compared to other firms, firms with narcissistic CEOs are...

This research investigates the association between the presence of problem directors on company boards and audit committees and audit fees of companies. The presence of problem directors on company boards and audit committees is a sign of past management failures and indiscretions. Such...

We examine whether personality differences between the CEO and CFO influence audit fees. Audit fees should reflect engagement risk associated with a client. We use personality differences between the CEO and CFO as a proxy for potential poor communication, reluctance to share information, and...

In this study we aim to undertake a comprehensive examination of the audit market in the UK covering the population of limited companies that have and/or are required to file audited accounts. The study will examine over a longer period (1998-2012) the trends in the audit market, measures of...

Credit rating agencies and auditors are complementary certification agents subject to a conflict of interest inherent in their compensation structure. We examine client firm credit ratings to test alternative hypotheses of abnormal audit fees. We predict and find both cross-sectional and time...

Research shows that audit fees have increased after the SOX ban on providing non-audit services (NAS) to audit clients, but the reasons behind it have been unclear. Using an auction-modeling approach, this study aims to bridge this gap by providing a theoretical explanation for this empirical...

This study investigates the association between analysts' forecast properties (accuracy and dispersion) and audit fee pricing in U.S. publicly listed firms for years 2000 to 2012. Our findings provide evidence that analysts' earnings forecast accuracy (dispersion) is negatively (positively)...