City-Level Audit Economies of Scale and Audit Fees

Abstract

All dates are from China companies between 2010 and 2014. From the aspect of the urban area level, the article explains the influence of the geographical positions of the accounting firms and client company and the size of the accounting firm on audit fees. There is a significant correlation between the fees and the distance. The results suggest that geography is significant and positively af fects audit fees if audit firm and client company are in the same area; at the same time, audit firms’ scale economies can reduce audit fees for the study based on city-level (if audit firm and the client company are in the same area). Specially, audit location af fects audit fees more significantly when audit firm has scale economy. These results suggest that geography and economies of scale af fect audit fees.