In this paper, we examine how audits performed by Big 5 and non-Big 5 auditors differ.
We pose this research question in response to a substantial body of evidence that Big 5
auditors provide a distinctly higher average level of assurance than non-Big 5 firms. This
is the first research (of which we are aware) to examine the details of audit performance
for a broad cross-section of public accounting firms. Previous archival research has typically
examined data from a single Big 5 auditor.