Extraordinary high fees received by the auditors from their clients during the recent financial crisis have attracted public attention. However, reasons for high fees for audit service are obscure. Many studies have proved the importance of the client size, complexity, risks and the auditor status in determination of audit fees. Another determinant, the non-audit fee, has been intensively debated in the literature. The reason for this is that the audit and non-audit fees are not correlated in the way many researchers have expected. Namely, the vast majority of research has reported a positive association between two services. Many explanations for the phenomenon have been set forward. However, real reasons for such association remain unclear and the consensus between researchers is lacking. The study of the correlation between the two types of expenditures in the Swedish audit environment during a long time period may shed some light on this complex phenomenon. Some evidence suggest that an economic downturn can affect the relationship between audit and non-audit fees and their ratios. Therefore, the recent financial crisis provides an excellent opportunity to examine a possible relationship. Using the data from Middle Cap and Small Cap Swedish companies, this study investigates the relationship between audit and non-audit fees and their ratios during three periods of different economic conditions: favorable 2006 -2007, economic downturn 2008-2009 and post crisis period 2010-2011. In this study I tested a number of hypotheses. Firstly, I investigated the suggestion that the relationship between audit and non-audit fees in Sweden, like in many other countries, is positive. Secondly, I tested the hypothesis that economic fluctuations affect this relationship. Thirdly, I explored my prediction that the economic downturn influences the ratios of audit and non-audit fees. I have shown that the relationship between audit and non-audit services is positive during the whole investigated period. According to these results, the relationship is not affected by different economic conditions. Furthermore, I have found out that the financial crisis affected the audit and non-audit fee ratios. The ratio of the audit fee increased during the crisis and continued to increase during the post-crisis period. The ratio of non-audit fee decreased in the same proportion.

This study investigates the factors affecting the level of audit fees paid by companies to their auditors. Firstly, all the likely factors thought to be affecting the level of audit fees were identified through a literature survey. These factors were classified into three groups i.e., size, complexity, and others. The relative importance of these factors was determined empirically and statistically. The empirical study was undertaken by mailing two questionnaires to samples of 100 companies, and 100 audit firms. Preliminary interviews were carried out in order to identify if the most important factors collected through the literature should be considered suitable for further inclusion in the final questionnaire. The questionnaires were not used to collect data or to quantify the subjective factors. They were used to assess the degree to which the factors previously identified were important determinants of the audit fee, and whether other determinants should also be considered. The data for the statistical analysis was obtained from published data i.e., Data Stream, Companies' Annual Reports, and Who Owns Whom. In carrying out the statistical analysis, Multiple Regression arid Principal Component Techniques were used to assess the magnitude of the association between the size and complexity factors and audit fees. An audit fee regression model was developed which explains 90Y. of the variation in audit fees of the largest 65 manufacturing companies in the U.K. on the basis of their size and complexity. The results of both the empirical study, and the statistical analysis revealed that the company size (in terms of debtors, stocks work in progress, turnover, creditors, and total employment costs), and its complexity (in terms of number of subsidiaries, and number of countries in which the company operates) are the major objective determinants of audit fees. The empirical study also revealed that the quality of the company's internal control system, competition in the audit market, and the risk involved in the audit work are the major subjective determinants of audit fees. In addition, the statistical analysis revealed that the factors debtors, number of subsidiaries, and total employment costs are the most significant predictors of audit fees, and the audit fee model which involves these three factors explains 92Y. of the variation in audit fees.

Sammanfattning Studien undersöker hur revisionsansträngningen hos företag på Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholms listor, Mid cap och Small cap, påverkas under hög – respektive lågkonjunktur genom att undersöka faktorerna: Komplexiteten hos företag Risken hos företag  Revisorns erfarenhet   Studien undersöker revisionsansträngningen genom revisionsarvodet under 2007-2009. Multipla linjära regressioner har används för att nå resultatet. Resultatet av studien visade att för samtliga tre undersökningsår var komplexitet signifikant, revisorerna ansåg att utländska dotterföretag var en faktor som påverkade revisionsansträngningen hos företag på Small – och Mid Cap oavsett om Sverige befann sig i en hög- eller lågkonjunktur. Risken hos företag påverkar revisionsansträngningen i hög – respektive lågkonjunktur. Kundfodringar i relation till totala tillgångar ökade revisionsansträngningen samtliga undersökningsår och ett negativt resultat medförde en ökad revisionsansträngning i hög – och lågkonjunktur. Revisorns erfarenhet påverkade inte revisionsarvodet i varken hög – eller lågkonjunktur. Av de undersökta variablerna visade resultatet att revisorn granskar samma faktorer oberoende av hög- och lågkonjunktur och att ansträngningen har ökat mellan åren och det kan beror på konjunkturen men också av andra faktorer. Eftersom studien är kvantitativ kan vi inte yttra oss om varför revisorer agerar på ett visst sätt, och vi ser därför att ytterligare forskning behövs för att undersöka revisorernas beteende samt ytterligare studier kring hur svenska dotterföretag påverkar revisionsansträngningen, då resultatet går emot vad tidigare forskning visat.   Studien har bidragit med att ge en indikation på att revisionsansträngningen är av högre kvalitet när Sverige befinner sig i hög – som lågkonjunktur.

美國在2001年10月爆發了安達信(Anderson)-安隆（Enron）案，對整個企業界造成極大的衝擊，提供非審計服務究竟是否會影響財務報表品質引起廣泛討論。 因證期會於民國九十二年一月三十日新修正「證券發行人財務報告編製準則」第二十二條，使得資訊相對過往較易取得，雖因研究限制使得樣本不具良好代表性，但在某種程度上仍能提供一定的參考價值，故本研究擬仿效Frankel et al. (2002)之研究，探討在台灣會計師提供非審計服務及審計服務是否會對財務報表品質造成影響；本研究以Threshold（公司實際每股盈餘-分析師預測每股盈餘）及裁量性應計(discretionary accrual)做為財務報表品質之代理變數。 本研究發現上市公司並未因審計公費及非審計公費較高而有進行盈餘管理，但上櫃公司卻會因審計公費及非審計公費較高而進行盈餘管理。 / The collapse of Enron and the conflict of interest surrounding their auditors Arthur Anderson, particularly the effect non-audit fees on the quality of the audited financial statements, have resulted in numerous changes to the regulations effectively limiting the level of non-audit service accounting firms can offer to their clients. The Taiwan SEC enacted new regulations forcing public companies that meet certain criteria, to disclose the level of audit and non-audit fees paid to accounting firms. This resulted in the availability of information that was previously unobtainable. However, concerns still remain, as research is restricted because the number of companies reporting represents a small percentage of the companies in Taiwan. Nonetheless, this research hopes to use the data from the reporting companies to examine the relationship between the quality of the financial statement and the level of fees paid to accounting firms. We intent to use an adaptation of the Frankel et al. (2002) model to study the companies in Taiwan. Using data provided by the companies we intend to demonstrate a causal relationship between the level of non-audit fees and the quality of the accounting statement. We used Threshold and discretionary accrual to represent the quality of the financial statement. We found that for the companies listed on the TAIEX there was no relationship between the quality of the financial statements and the level of audit and non-audit fees; however for companies trading on the OTC market we found there was a causal relationship.

Syfte: Trots att vi lever i ett mer jämställt samhälle är kvinnor fortfarande underrepresenterade på beslutsfattande positioner. Intresset och behovet för mer forskning om dess konsekvenser är därför stort. Studiens syfte är att undersöka om företag med en kvinnlig VD är associerat med ett högre revisionsarvode än företag med en manlig VD. Studiens syfte är även att undersöka om ett eventuellt positivt samband kan förklaras av att kvinnor i högre grad än män eftersträvar mer kvalitetssäker revision.   Metod: Studien antar en kvantitativ metod med en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi, där vi med hjälp av en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats deducerat prövningsbara hypoteser för att ge svar på studiens syfte. Vi tillämpar en tvärsnittsdesign utifrån insamlad sekundärdata för året 2015. Studiens urval består av företag från tio europeiska länder som inhämtats med hjälp av den finansiella databasen Thomson Reuters Datastream. All data har bearbetats och analyserats med hjälp av multipla regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet SPSS.   Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar att det föreligger ett signifikant positivt samband mellan kvinnligt ledarskap och revisionsarvodets storlek. Studien ger även stöd för att ett positivt samband inte uppkommer till följd av att kvinnor i högre grad än män väljer mer kvalitetssäker revision utan att ett positivt samband ger uttryck för en diskriminerande effekt.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studien undersöker företag utifrån ett begränsat geografiskt område, vårt förslag till vidare forskning är därför att studera hur relationen ser ut i andra geografiska områden. Vi anser även att en kvalitativ studie motiveras då företagsledningens egenskaper via en kvalitativ studie skulle få en mer framträdande roll.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar med vidare empiriska bevis för att genusperspektivet är avgörande för revisionsarvodets storlek. Genom att vara den första studien att undersöka vad ett positivt samband ger uttryck för bidrar föreliggande studie med vidare diskussion till redovisningslitteraturen. / Aim: Even though we live in an increasingly egalitarian society, women are still underrepresented in corporate decision-making positions. The interest and the need for more research on its effects are therefore motivated. The study aims to investigate whether companies with a female CEO is associated with a higher audit fees than companies with a male CEO. The study's purpose is also to examine whether a possible positive correlation can be explained by the fact that women more than men strive for more quality assured auditing.   Method: The study adopts a quantitative approach with a positivistic research philosophy, where we are using a hypothetical-deductive method deduced testing our hypotheses to answer the study's purpose. We apply a cross-sectional design based on secondary data collected for the year 2015. The study sample consists of companies from ten European countries gathered using the financial database Thomson Reuters Datastream. All data is processed and analyzed using multiple regressions analyzes in SPSS.   Results & conclusions: The study shows that there is a significant positive relationship between female leadership and audit fees. The study also provides support for a positive relationship does not arise as a result of more women than men choose more quality assured auditing without a positive correlation reflects a discriminatory effect.   Suggestions for further research: The study includes a limited geographical area, our suggestions for further research is therefor to study how the relationship looks in other geographic areas. We also believe that a qualitative study is justified, as management features through a qualitative study would have a more prominent role.   Contributions of the thesis: The study provides further empirical evidence that the gender perspective is crucial for audit fees. By being the first study to examine what a positive correlation expresses, the present study contributes to further discussion of the accounting research.

Introduction Since 2009 it has been legislated that Swedish listed public companies should establish an audit committee. The law and the code gives the board as a whole the possibility to operate the function of the committee. Former research of audit committee’s effect on audit fee have been made in several countries with various results. In this study, we aim to analyze how audit committees in companies listed on the Stockholm stock exchange can affect the audit fee. Purpose The purpose of this study is to explain how the existence of audit committees and its characteristics affect the external audit fees of companies listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. Method This quantitative study has a cross section design and a deductive approach. By studying documents, the annual reports of the companies listed on the Stockholm stock exchange, data will be collected and then analyzed in regression models. We have operationalized our variables according to former studies and research. The hypotheses have been written on the basis of former research and two perspectives of demand and risk. Conclusion The results in this study show that the existence of audit committees have a positive relationship with audit fee. Also the activeness of the committee has a positive influence on audit fee. The results can be explained by the audit committee, especially active committees, on one hand lowers the overall audit risk but on the other increases the demand of higher audit quality, which outweighs the lowered audit risk. / Introduktion Sedan 2009 har det varit lagstiftat att svensknoterade publika bolag ska inrätta revisionsutskott. Lagtext och Koden ger dock möjlighet att låta styrelsen som helhet sköta utskottets uppgifter. Tidigare studier har genomförts i flertalet länder, där resultaten av revisionsutskottens påverkan på revisionskostnaden har varierat. Vi vill i denna studie undersöka hur revisionsutskott påverkar revisionskostnaden i svensknoterade bolag. Syfte Syftet med vår studie är att förklara hur revisionsutskottens förekomst och karaktär påverkar revisionskostnaden för bolag noterade på Stockholmsbörsen. Metod Denna kvantitativa studie har en tvärsnittsdesign och en deduktiv ansats. Genom dokumentstudier har data i årsredovisningar från bolag noterade på Stockholmsbörsen samlats in för att sedan analyseras i regressionsmodeller. Operationalisering har i så stor utsträckning som möjligt gjorts i enighet med tidigare forskning. Vidare har hypoteser formulerats utifrån tidigare forskning med utgångspunkt ur ett efterfråge- och riskperspektiv. Slutsats Våra resultat visar att förekomsten av revisionsutskott har positivt samband med revisionskostnader. Även revisionsutskottets aktivitet har visat sig ha positiv påverkan på revisionskostnader. Resultaten förklaras av att revisionsutskott, och särskilt aktiva sådana, visserligen sänker den allmänna revisionsrisken men att en ökad efterfrågan av högre revisionskvalitét överväger den minskade revisionsrisken.

The aim of this study is to test the audit fee determinants for companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Stock Exchange and to examine whether the audit fee determinants diverge for ownership structures. By testing the audit fee determinants in a Swedish setting the study contributes to the research body in two ways; by testing a previously sparsely researched setting and examining the monitoring need for different ownership structures. The results indicate that audit fees are explained to a large extent by accounting complexities, business complexities and assurance.  The results also suggest that ownership structure does not have a large effect on the monitoring need.  Altogether the results provide further evidence on audit fee determinants whilst adding initial insight into the area of audit fee determinants for ownership structures.

Introduktion Den interna revisorn antas ha bättre insyn i företaget än den externa. Enligt agentteori maximerar internrevisorn sin egen nytta, vilket ifrågasätter dennes oberoende. Dagens forskning är delad i två perspektiv där den interna revisionen och de externa revisionskostnaderna har ett positivt eller negativt samband. Den rådande trenden med ökad intern revision och kontroll i samband med den nya kontext som skapats genom de under 2000-talet införda regelverken motiverar och aktualiserar studien. Syfte Syftet med denna studie är att förklara hur den interna revisionen påverkar kostnaden för den externa revisionen i svenska noterade bolag. Metod Studien har en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi och en deduktiv forskningsansats. Genom dokumentstudier har data för svenska noterade företag samlats in och med hjälp av en regressionsmodell analyserats. Operationalisering har skett i enlighet med tidigare forskning och internrevisionens förekomst har mätts med en dummyvariabel. Slutsats Studiens resultat visar att internrevisionens förekomst har ett starkt signifikant positivt samband med kostnaden för den externa revisionen. Studien finner att företag med internrevision får högre revisionskostnader, men att de bakomliggande orsakerna kan vara krav på ökade kontroller. Tidigare forskning bekräftar resonemanget och att efterfrågan på ökad kontroll leder till ökade investeringar i både den interna och externa revisionen. Studiens resultat implicerar att internrevisionen används av företagsledningen för att signalera förtroende till ägarna. / Introduction The internal auditor is assumed to have a greater insight in the firm than the external auditor. Agency theory tells us that the internal auditor maximizes his own utility, which questions his independence. The current research is divided into two perspectives where the internal audit and the cost of the external audit has a positive or a negative relationship. The prevailing trend of increased internal audit and control together with the new context created in the 21th century with introduced regulations motivates and actualizes this study. Purpose The purpose of this study is to explain how the internal audit impacts the cost of the external audit in swedish listed firms. Method This study has a quantitative research strategy and a deductive research approach. Data from swedish listed firms has been collected through studies of documents and analyzed with a linear regression. Operationalization has been made in accordance with previous research and the presence of internal audit has been measured with a dummy variable. Conclusion The result of this study shows that the presence of internal audit has a strongly significant positive relationship with the cost of the external audit. The study finds that firms with internal audit increase their audit costs, but that underlying reasons might be demand for greater control. Previous research confirms the argument and that demand for greater control leads to greater investments in both internal and external audit. The result of this study implies that internal audit is used by management to signal trust to the shareholders.

Introduktion Det finns ett flertal studier som undersöker variabler som påverkar revisionskostnaden i publika och privata bolag samt kommunen som förvaltningsorganisation. Vi har dock inte hittat några studier som undersöker variabler som påverkar revisionskostnaden i kommunala bolag, varför det finns ett behov av en sådan studie. Syfte Syftet med uppsatsen är att förklara vilka faktorer som påverkar revisionskostnaderna i kommunala och privata bolag. Metod Som en följd av att uppsatsen utgår från en deduktiv ansats, har hypoteser utvecklats med hjälp av befintliga teorier samt tidigare gjord forskning. En tvärsnittsstudie har genomförts för att spegla förhållandet vid en viss tidpunkt. Kvantitativ data har samlats in i form av sekundärdata. Detta har kompletterats med kvalitativ data som har samlats in via intervjuer. Slutsats Studiens resultat visar att det finns ett antal bakomliggande faktorer som förklarar revisionskostnaden. Sektorstillhörighet, storlek, komplexitet, val av revisionsbyrå och knowledge spillover har i studien ett signifikant samband med revisionskostnaden. / Introduction There are several studies that examine variables that affect the audit fee in listed companies, private companies and municipalities. We have not found any studies examining the variables that affect the audit fee in municipal companies, justifying the need for such a study. Purpose The purpose of the study is to explain audit fees in municipal and private companies Method As a result of the study being based on a deductive approach, hypotheses have been derived using existing theories and previous research. A cross-sectional study has been performed to reflect the ratio at a given time. Quantitative data has been collected as secondary data. This has been complemented with qualitative data collected through interviews. Conclusion A relationship has been established between audit fees and a number of explanatory variables. Sector, size of the company, complexity, choice of audit firm and knowledge spillover affects the audit fee.

In my dissertation, I examine the role of the audit committee chair in the financial reporting process and test if the change in audit committee chair is associated with changes in audit fees, audit report lag, and audit quality. Motivation for this dissertation comes from the increased attention paid by legislators and regulators in recent years on the role of the audit committee in the financial reporting process. While prior studies have examined diverse issues related to the composition of the audit committee, no prior study has examined the role of the audit committee chair on the oversight of financial reporting, even though the chair of the committee has significant control over the functioning of the committee. In the first essay of my dissertation, I show that audit fees are higher in firms that have a change in the audit committee chair. In the second essay, I examine the association between changes in the audit committee chair and audit report lag. In a changes regression, I find that the change in audit committee is associated with higher audit report lag. The third essay examines the association between changes in audit committee chair and two different measures of audit quality: restatements and abnormal accruals. There is no evidence in support of the argument that changes in audit committee chair is associated with higher quality financial reporting. Overall, the results suggest that the change in audit committee chair has an important impact on the financial reporting process of public companies.