Client Satisfaction and Big 6 Audit Fees*

This study examines whether client satisfaction can help explain cross-sectional variation in Big 6 audit fees paid by Fortune 1000 clients. After controlling for other factors related to audit fees (including audit quality attributes), client satisfaction with the audit team is positively associated with fees. It appears that a dimension of client satisfaction unrelated to audit quality attributes is the factor associated with an audit fee premium. This dimension of satisfaction may reflect other aspects of service quality not documented in the literature, or it may simply enable an auditor to earn economic rents through enhanced bargaining power. Client satisfaction with the audit firm does not appear to be priced in this segment of the audit market. The results are consistent with the view that a Big 6 audit is a service that is differentiable in the eyes of client management, and the results highlight the importance of the audit team composition in allowing a Big 6 audit firm to differentiate the audit product. Also, if auditors are earning local rents due to enhanced satisfaction levels, then a perfect competition model may not be appropriate for the audit services market.     

Study of food preferences of an elderly population receiving meals on wheels in Nottinghamshire

A survey of 900 meals on wheels (MOW) recipients (20% total client sample) in all areas of the county of Nottinghamshire (East Midlands of England with a population approximately one million) aimed to evaluate consumer food preferences in the existing MOW provision of both main and sweet courses. A self-completed questionnaire was administered by Nottinghamshire County Council Social Services Department in November 1992. A response rate of 52% allowed calculations of preference rating on a scale of 1 to 5 (poor to excellent) to be made for the seven districts and two city areas of the county. Overall for the whole county there was a distinctive pattern of main course preference, the most popular being the sliced meat courses but in different areas of the county and city of Nottingham there was a very big range in preference rating for various types of main meal provision. In a similar manner the sweet courses provided an overall distinctive preference pattern across the county with apple pie and ‘Blackwell’ tart achieving the highest grades. Across the various districts and areas of Nottingham, however, these preference ratings were very variable with some areas giving almost all dishes scores above average while others gave nearly all dishes scores below average. The reasons for these variations in food preference are not known in the various areas but if poor preference rating leads to low food intake then these elderly people are very likely to be at nutritional risk.