Resume

• 2008

  Ph.D.

  Accounting

  University of Oklahoma

• 2004

  Masters

  Accountancy

  Accounting Graduate Assistant

  Southern Utah University

• 2003

  Associates of Arts

  Business

  College of Eastern Utah

• Financial Accounting

  Financial Analysis

  Oil and Gas Accounting

  Tax

  Certified Fraud Examiner

  Internal Controls

  Internal Audit

  Accounting

  CPA

  Financial Reporting

  Auditing

  Small Audit Firm Membership in Associations

  Networks

  and Alliances: Implications for Audit Quality and Audit Fees.

  In this study

  we examine the benefits of membership in an accounting firm association

  network

  or alliance (collectively referred to as 'an association'). Associations provide member accounting firms with numerous benefits

  including access to the expertise of professionals from other independent member firms

  joint conferences and technical trainings

  assistance in dealing with staffing and geographic limitations

  and the ability to use the association name in marketing materials. We expect these benefits to result in higher quality audits and higher audit fees (or audit fee premiums). Using hand-collected data on association membership

  we find that association member firms conduct higher quality audits than nonmember firms. We also find that audit fees are higher for clients of member firms than for clients of nonmember firms

  suggesting that clients are willing to pay an audit fee premium to engage association member audit firms. Finally

  we find that member firm audits are of similar quality to a size-matched sample of Big 4 audits

  but member firm clients pay lower fee premiums than do Big 4 clients. Our inferences are robust to the use of company size-matched control samples

  audit firm size-matched control samples

  propensity score matching

  two-stage least squares regression

  and to analyses that consider changes in association membership. Our findings should be of interest to regulators because they suggest that association membership assists small audit firms in overcoming barriers to auditing larger audit clients. In addition

  our findings should be informative to audit committees when making auditor selection decisions

  and to investors and accounting researchers interested in the relation between audit firm type and audit quality.

  Small Audit Firm Membership in Associations

  Networks

  and Alliances: Implications for Audit Quality and Audit Fees.

  Tanner LC

  Joseph F. Crandall Accounting

  University of Arkansas

  LearnKey

  University of Oklahoma

  Colorado State University

  Michigan State University - Eli Broad College of Business

  Fayetteville

  Arkansas Area

  Assistant Professor

  University of Arkansas

  LearnKey

  University of Arkansas

  Fayetteville

  Arkansas Area

  Associate Professor

  Joseph F. Crandall Accounting

  Michigan State University - Eli Broad College of Business

  East Lansing

  MI

  Associate Professor

  Audit and Capital Markets research.

  University of Oklahoma

  University of Arkansas

  Doris M. Cook Chair of Accountancy

  Fayetteville

  Arkansas Area

  MAcc and IMAcc Director

  University of Arkansas

  Assistant Professor

  Fort Collins

  Colorado Area

  Colorado State University

  Tanner LC

  Portuguese

  Doris M. Cook Chair of Accountancy

  Outstanding Teaching Award

  University of Oklahoma

  Outstanding Teaching Award

  University of Oklahoma

  Outstanding MAcc Student - CPA Key Award

  Southern Utah University

  Outstanding Student of Business

  College of Eastern Utah