The non-audit fee and the auditee’s failure risk

Abstract

This paper examines whether the auditee’s financial situation affects the auditor’s non-audit fee and independ- ence. Three sets of tests were used to address the issue. The first examines whether there are cross-border and intertemporal differences in relationships between non-audit fees and audit fees. The second tests whether there is a relationship between non-audit fees and report modification. The third addresses the relationships between audit fees and the auditee’s financial situation. The results suggest a lack of coexistence of all three motives for the purchase of non-audit fee services, and substantial similarities of auditor and auditee behaviors across Po- land and New Zealand. We documented the lack of a significant link between auditee failure risk and the quality of the audit report. Our findings indicate an operational rather than a strategic nature of non-audit services to incumbent clients.