The Pricing of Auditor Market Power: Evidence from Iran

Document Type : Auditing

Authors

1 University of Ilam

2 Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study examines audit pricing in an emerging audit market characterized by increasing competition but segmented by the continued presence of a government audit firm, and the exclusion of international audit firms. Using traditional audit fee modeling, we find that: (1) despite the absence of international “brand names”, audit firm size or market power remains associated with audit fee premium; (2) companies precluded from switching to a private sector pay a fee premium to the quasi-monopolistic audit firm. This study extends the audit pricing literature by identifying the extent of discretionary pricing relative to variations in auditor competition.

Keywords


CAPTCHA Image