engleski

Characteristics of Audit Market in the Function of Audit Quality

Audit market in most countries is characterized by a high concentration of audit firms. As a result, audit firms are now generally divided into two major groups: Big Four and non-Big Four audit firms. The main aim of this paper is to investigate if such strict division can be applied to the audit market in Croatia. In order to gain insight into the structure of the audit market in Croatia, an empirical research based on secondary data was conducted. Measures of descriptive statistics were calculated to identify audit firms that can be considered as statistical outliers according to their size. In order to determine the optimal number of audit firm groups, a hierarchical cluster analysis was applied. Measures of descriptive statistics show that the six largest audit firms can be considered as statistical outliers according to almost all observed size variables, while the remaining audit firms significantly lag behind. Although the individual market shares of Big Four audit firms are significant, there are also two additional audit firms that can compete with them based on the size criterion. This is confirmed with the cluster analysis. Therefore, although the audit market in Croatia is significantly concentrated, it is not dominated exclusively by the Big Four audit firms. Research results can serve as an input to regulators when considering possible measures for reducing market concentration. However, before taking any actions, an additional analysis regarding the effect of audit firm's size on audit quality should be conducted.

audit quality, audit market, audit firm size, Big Four audit firms

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