Auditor Industry Specialization and Evidence of Cost Efficiencies in Homogenous Industries

Download or read book Auditor Industry Specialization and Evidence of Cost Efficiencies in Homogenous Industries written by Kenneth L. Bills and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the audit pricing effects when auditors specialize in industries conducive to transferable audit processes. Our results indicate that specialists charge incrementally lower audit fees in industries with homogenous operations and in industries with both homogenous operations and complex accounting practices. Moreover, we discover that audit quality is no lower for clients audited by these specialists offering fee discounts, consistent with our conclusion that the reduction in fees indicates cost efficiencies rather than lower quality audits. Our results are somewhat surprising given they suggest auditors pass along cost savings to the client in certain settings. However, further analysis indicates that the shared economies of scale only occur in a subsample of client firms with relatively high bargaining power. When considered in conjunction with prior research using a survivorship approach, our results indicate that certain industries lend themselves to specialization because auditors generate cost-based competitive advantages without compromising service quality.