The effect of the PricewaterhouseCoopers merger on auditor concentration in Australia: A note
2002; Wiley; Volume: 42; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/1467-629x.00014
ISSN1467-629X
AutoresSumithira Thavapalan, Robyn Moroney, Roger Simnett,
Tópico(s)Financial Reporting and Valuation Research
ResumoConcerns have been raised about the impact of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) merger on the structure of and competition in the audit and assurance services market in Australia. The market share of publicly listed companies for audit firms for each industry category pre– and post–merger is examined in this paper to ascertain levels of auditor concentration. Using the approach outlined by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission a decrease in the level of competition is identified. However, when using another generally accepted concentration measure, the Herfindahl Index, the merger is found to not necessarily decrease competition. In fact, for a number of industry sectors a more equitable spread of clients between the main audit firms was achieved.
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