Impact of regulators pressure on auditing timeframe and risk: evidence from the us energy industry

Abstract

This study examines the impact of regulatory pressure in the U.S. energy industry on auditing timeframe and risk based on a sample of 150 audit fee disclosures from proxy statements, as well as 150 audit reports filed in 2012/2013 with Securities and Exchange Commission. It was found that in economic terms, the impact of moving from a non-regulated to a regulated industry on audit fees is a decrease of those fees by 15%. While the study results indicate that audit fees significantly decrease (increase) when the client firm operates in the regulated energy industry (non-regulated industry), no impact of regulations on audit timeframe is reported.