Regional Disparities in Audit Pricing : Evidence from Switzerland

This is the first study analyzing auditors' market shares and concentration in the main economic regions of Switzerland on the basis of audit fees, which has been subject to disclosure since 2005. Previous studies have used surrogates to measure concentration, and were therefore unable to distinguish between non-audit and audit fees. Furthermore, this study is a local analysis of the relation between market structure and audit fees. While Switzerland is a highly differentiated country, seven economic regions are identified which differ among other things in their language spoken and cultural influence. However, the regulation for audit services are the same which permits a comparative analysis. The research question of interest is how audit fees are determined by each participating office, after taking into account the auditor's own position in a local market