Determinantes dos honorários de auditoria: um estudo nas empresas listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo, Brasil

Abstract

This research aimed to identify, analyze and describe the determinants of audit fees in Brazil. The sample studyed was the listed companies in 2012. Despite the mandatory disclosure of audit fees to be required since the year of 2009 , there were no surveys in other years , except 2009. This research showed that the size and complexity of the audited company, and the fact that the auditor be one of the big four audit firm, are positively related to audit fee. The variables: risk perceived by the auditor, corporate governance and exchange auditor behave differently according to the size of the audited company. The risk in larger companies, as measured by liquidity, is significant and corroborate the hypothesis that firms with higher risk tend to spend more on auditing. However in smaller companies the results were contradictory and suggest that firms with higher risk, in this case measured by leverage, tend to spend less with audit fees. Contradictorily was observed that smaller companies with best practices of corporate governance tend to spend more on auditing. It was also observed that in larger companies there charging lower fees in the first year of audit . Based on this study was noted the high concentration and market dominance of the big four audit firms