The determinants of audit fees : an analysis of the Indonesian listed companies

Abstract

Many studies have been conducted on the determination of audit fees in developed countries. However, there are not many studies on the determination of audit fees in developing countries, specifically in Indonesia. This study, therefore, tries to identify the determinants of audit fees in Indonesia based on the determinants of audit fees that have been reported by prior studies which are auditee size, auditee risk, auditee complexity, auditee profitability and auditor employed. The study also aims to explore whether there is any difference in the determinants of audit fee across industries in Indonesia. Finally, another objective of this study is to investigate whether there is any difference between the determinants of audit fees of small companies and big companies in Indonesia. By regressing the data. related to the financial and nonfinancial information of 187 companies listed in the Jakarta Stock Exchange for the year 2003, the study confirms that most of the findings of the previous studies are also applicable to the Indonesian market. Auditee size, auditee risk, auditee complexity and the auditor employed are positively significant to the determination of audit fees in Indonesia. This study also finds that there are marked industry differences in modelling audit fees in Indonesia. Another finding is that there are also differences between the determinant of audit fees of small companies and big companies in Indonesia.