An empirical study of the changes in the level of audit fees in New Zealand over a period of 11 years

Abstract

Previous studies on this topic have found that audit fees decreased after professional accounting bodies made changes in Codes of Ethics. These changes allowed audit firms to advertise their services, tender for audit contracts and solicit clients from other audit firms. The New Zealand Society of Accountants (now known as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand) amended its Code of Ethics in 1985 allowing its members to advertise their services. This study examines changes to audit fees in New Zealand subsequent to the amendment. The researcher obtained data for this study from the audited financial reports of publicly listed companies in New Zealand and compared results of the study periods, from 1985 to 1990, and 1990 to 1995, with the results of other studies. Additionally, the study examines a longer time period: 1985 to 1995, to determine whether time factor had any effect on the significance of the test results. The results indicate that audit fees (adjusted for inflation) increased in the periods 1985 to 1990, and 1985 to 1995. Conversely, audit fees decreased in the period from 1990 to 1995.