Stein et al. (1994) use survey data from 1989 to examine the determinants of fees and
labor hours for 108 financial services companies. They show that fees for financial
institutions are related to size and operational and reporting complexity, as well as to
the auditor’s assessment of the client’s assistance and internal control systems. In a
more recent study, Fields et al. (2004) also examine the audit pricing of the US financial
institutions. They use a sample of 277 financial institutions and data from 2000, and
find that audit fees are higher for banks that have more transactions accounts, higher
degrees of credit risk, fewer securities (as a percentage of total assets), and are less
efficient ones. They also observe higher fees for institutions that have higher
risk-adjusted capital ratios and more intangible assets. Finally, savings institutions are
charged a significant premium relative to other banks.