A Research Note on the Relationship between Regulation and Audit Firm Size on Audit Fees

Abstract

This study represents an initial attempt to examine some specific factors that might lead to large firms' economies of scale. Multiple regression analysis is used to test hypotheses concerning scale opportunities conferred on large CPA firms in dealing with regulatory complexity faced by the client. An analysis of interaction between audit firm size and variables measuring client regulatory complexity shows that audit fees are lower for all firms in regulated industries compared to nonregulated industries—the difference being much greater, however, for Big Eight (now Big Six) firms, and audit fees charged by Big Eight firms are much lower when the auditor is involved with client security registrations. This relationship does not hold true for non-Big Eight firms involved with client registration statements. Based on these results, it appears that client regulatory complexity confers greater scale opportunities to larger audit firms compared to smaller ones.