Determinants of audit fees in quoted financial and non-financial firms

Abstract

Regulators have ensured the compulsory disclosure of audit fees in the financial statement to overcome abnormal fees and instill credibility in the financial report since audit pricing is contingent upon audit quality. However, discrepancies between audit fee dimensions are evidenced in the abnormal audit fees, resulting in accounting scandals. Hence, this study assessed the determinants of audit fees in quoted financial and non-financial firms by building a model underpinned by agency theory (Mitnick, 2006) and economic theory of product differentiation (Beath & Katsoulacos, 1991). Secondary data were utilized from companies’ annual reports between 2009 and 2018 using the purposive sampling technique. Furthermore, Breusch-Pagan Lagrangian multiplier (LM) test and the Hausman test indicated the consistency of the models. The static panel regression estimations showed that auditee size, risk, auditor size, reputation, engagement lag, and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) implementation significantly affect audit fees in both sectors. This study concluded that the three dimensions largely determine audit fees. This study instructively proposed that assurance clients should devise an outline of guidelines and practices to guide activities in the sectors by monitoring the variables that impact audit fees