Corporate Governance and the Market for Audit Services
Funding: 2006: $60,000
2007: $55,000
2008: $42,000
Project Member(s): Ferguson, A., Taylor, S.
Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery Projects)
Start year: 2006
Summary: Corporate governance is essential for the development of efficient and transparent capital markets, which in turn are critical to economic growth and development. The alleged role of auditors in recent corporate collapses brings into focus the question of how auditing contributes to effective corporate governance. More broadly, the way in which the market for audit services functions is critical, especially given the increasingly concentrated nature of this market. This project will provide evidence on whether auditors have a broader contribution than merely 'checking' the financial statements, as well as the extent to which the market for audit services may have become less competitive as the number of large audit firms has declined.
FOR Codes: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, Accounting, auditing and accountability