Individual Auditor Competencies and the Pricing of Audit Services

• The study examines whether partner special competencies, such as industry expertise, public company expertise and client-specific expertise, are associated with a fee premium. It further investigates whether the association between partner competencies and audit fees is dependent on gender. Using a sample of 225 public Swedish companies audited from 2006-2015 (1461 firm-years) by 182 partners affiliated to Big 4 audit firms, partner industry expertise and client-specific expertise are found to be associated with higher audit fees. A further finding is that partners with special competencies are dominantly men. However, male public company specialists receive significantly lower audit fees than their female counterparts. This finding suggests that female auditors who are public company experts may have exceptional track records, which can strengthen their powers when negotiating audit price. Taken together, the results indicate that partner special competence is valued by clients.

Nyckelord

audit fees

industry expertise

public company expertise

tenure

engagement partner

gender

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)