This paper analyzes the auditor choices for a sample of 300 predominantly small Swedish firms, all located in Umeå. Our hypothesis was based on the complexity of a firm, the need of external financing, leverage, and the need of extra consultance from the auditfirm. Our definition of auditor quality is based on prior studies, and is frequently used by authors in this area. The assumption is based on that the auditor quality increases with the size of the auditfirm and the degree of the auditor. The auditor quality is therefor depending on the choice between an auditor from the group “Big 5” or not, and the choice of an auditor with an higher degree. The conclusions of our study was: • The size of the company was of great importance in both choices. • Companies who’s in great need of extra consultance from the auditor chooses a higher level of audit quality in both choices. • Companies in great need of external financing in an near future are dependent on an reliable financial reporting and are therefor also choosing a higer auditor quality in both cases. • Companies with a high ratio of inventory and receivables to total assets wanted an auditor with a higher degree. • We could not find any support for our second complexity-hypothesis, the ratio of salary expense to total operating expenses to reflect operational and informational complexity related to limitations on management’s scope of control. Support for the leveregae hypothesis or the sale-grow hypothesis was also not to be found.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-1180 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Nordlöf, Magnus, Ohlsson, Anders |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, Umeå : Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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