The Positive Research On Factors Influencing Audit Fees Of Listed Companies In Our Country

With the development of security market of our country, the events of fraudulent financial statements of listed companies and the cases of audit failure of auditors' firms emerge in an endless stream. Investors, outside interest groups and public throw doubt upon the audit quality of auditors' firms. Independent audit can be seen as a market transaction: listed companies demonstrate the legitimacy and fair of their financial statements by the audit report in order to attract investors and maintain the stabilized share price; firms gain audit fees by offering audit services. However, audit services differ from general service products in transaction market. Firstly audit services possess the special nature of public production. Audit quality not only relates to the two parties' interest of audit supply and demand, but also directly or indirectly influences the third party's interest (users of financial statements). Secondly, audit services possess the characteristic of high content of knowledge and technology monopolization. Therefore, compared to general services production, audit services have more complex natures. In one hand, public will pay more attention to the quality of audit because of public interest. On the other hand, the quality of audit cannot be identified and controlled easily because of its nature of specialization. Taking the special natures of audit services into account, it is necessary to find an effective way to control the quality in order to protect the public interest and ensure the proper function of market economy.As the price of audit services, audit fees are the effective signal transferring audit quality. In the end of 1970s and beginning of 1980s, western scholar started to research the problem of audit fees. To study audit quality of listed companies in our country, I introduce the theory of audit fees above all. Based on the realistic condition of audit market and audit fees of listed companies in our country, I identify the factors influencing audit fees. Then I test these factors by positive research and find that the main factors influencing audit fees of listed company in our country include the assets scale of listed company, the number of subsidiary company controlled by listed company and audit firms being 'ten big' or not. Finally, combined with the conclusion of the research, I propose the policies to improve the condition of audit fees of listed company in our country.The research on audit fees is only a means and its purpose is to prescribe the standards and disclosure of audit fees of listed companies in our country, which assist public to judge the financial condition of listed company by disclosing the relevant information about audit fees of listed company. In this way, public investors' interests will be protected sufficiently, and the resources of capital market will be allocated appropriately.