Nathalie Gonthier-Besacier

Determinants of audit fees for French quoted firms

This paper seeks to contribute to the international literature by researching the factors influencing audit fees in France. The French case is specific because the law requires a joint auditing process involving two separate auditors for firms that publish consolidated financial statements. Since 2003, the disclosure of audit fees has been compulsory in France, but numerous firms decided to voluntarily disclose their audit fees for the year 2002. We attempt here to elucidate the amount spent on audit fees in 2002 in a sample of 127 French (non-financial) firms. The main finding is that audit fees depend on firm size, firm risk, and the presence of two of the Big Four firms. When two Big Four firms audit company accounts, the fees charged (adjusted for company size) are significantly lower in comparison with those paid in the other cases. These results appear not to have been influenced by the share of fees paid by the companies to the main auditor.