The variables included in cullinan’s (1997) model of pension plan audit fees were included in the present study for control purposes. The main variable of interest is the number of the auditing firm’s pension plan clients. This market share measure is designed to capture CPA firm-specific differences in pension audit expertise.
RESULTS
There were 475 different CPA firms represented in the sample, 349 of which audited only one plan. The mean (median) number of plans audited per firm was 2.09 (1) plans. Table 1 displays the auditing firms in the pension plan audit market with the largest market shares, based on a minimum of ten plan audits. There were 14 such CPA firms. The largest supplier of auditing services in this market is Thomas havey & co, a CPA firm based in Chicago. Havey audited approximately 606 percent of the plans in the sample, which is more than double the share of any other auditor. Note that 2 of the big 6 (price waterhouse and Arthur Andersen) are not among the top 14 firms in this market
Results of testing the relationship between auditor expertise (based on the number of plans audited) and audit fees are presented in table 2. The results for the control variables are broadly consistent with those found by cullinan (1997) using earlier (i.e.,1991) data. The number of pension clients variable is significant at