دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی استفاده از حسابرسان چهار بزرگ و جمع آموری پول - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose –This study is motivated by recent research suggesting that the funding benefits of using Big Four auditors may not be as uniform as was previously assumed. We apply data from microfinance institutions in emerging countries, a population typically not investigated in accounting research, to analyze the relationship between use of Big Four auditors and access to debt capital. Design/methodology/approach – We apply a unique hand-collected dataset from 60 emerging markets and empirically investigate whether access to various debt categories is related to the use of Big Four auditors. Findings – We find that access to international commercial debt, international subsidized debt and government agency debt is positively related to the use of a Big Four auditor. For local commercial debt, we find no association between auditor type and access to debt capital. The association between auditor choice and access to debt capital is stronger for nonprofit than for-profit microfinance institutions. Originality/value – This is the first audit quality study to include a broad sample of emerging countries, which in itself is an important contribution. As far as general audit quality research is concerned, we take the literature one step further by showing that the benefits of using a Big Four auditor may be dependent on the specific source of debt financing a firm or organization seeks to use. Moreover, we demonstrate that the for-profit versus nonprofit dimension influences the relationship between auditor choice and access to capital.

5. Conclusions

This is the first study of the consequences of high audit quality that applies a broad sample of emerging market countries. As instructively discussed by Lin and Liu (2009), high-quality auditing will be adopted only if the benefits outweigh the costs of the choice. Many benefits from high-quality auditing could arise. In this study, we focus on what has historically been assumed to be the main benefit from using a Big Four auditor, specifically, increased fund raising possibilities and lower costs of capital (Boone et al., 2010; Pittman and Fortin, 2004). Our empirical analysis suggests that these benefits are dependent on the creditor type that an MFI wants to approach. If an MFI aims to increase its international or government agency debt, the choice of a Big Four auditor can be important and effective. However, in our sample from developing and emerging markets, we are not able to document any association between the use of a Big Four auditor and access to local commercial debt. Another important aspect of our study is that we can compare capital access for nonprofit and for-profit entities that are otherwise similar. In this additional study, auditor choice appears to be more important for capital access by nonprofit entities.