Non-Big 6 audit firms’ access to external resources through inter-organisational relationships

Abstract

Small audit firms try to reduce their resource constraints in serving clients by creating inter-organisational relationships (IORs) through membership in accounting networks or in agreements with individual firms. Through these relationships, firms have access to audit manuals/methodology, personnel, and may perform joint audits and joint marketing of their audit services. We identify the existence of IORs from PCAOB Form 2 filings and test whether audit quality and fees vary cross-sectionally as a function of the specific resource obtained from the IOR. We find evidence that firms with access to audit technology through IORs charge higher audit fees and provide higher quality audits, in terms of smaller clients’ performance-matched discretionary accruals, higher auditors’ likelihood of issuing going concern opinions to financially distressed clients, and fewer audit deficiencies identified in PCAOB inspection reports. The findings highlight the importance of access to audit technology through IORs in improving small audit firms’ real and perceived audit quality.