Competition and Big 6 Brand Name Reputation: Evidence from the Ontario Municipal Audit Market*

The 1991 amendment to the auditor appointment requirement of section 86 of the Ontario Municipal Act removes certain barriers to entry into the Ontario municipal audit market. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence that the amendment has enhanced competition in this market. The results indicate that there is a general reduction in the real municipal audit fees compared with the pre‐amendment levels, and that the market has become more contestable following the amendment. Notwithstanding the heightened competition, the Big 6 audit firms continue to command audit fee premiums over the non‐Big 6 audit firms. This suggests that Big 6 audit fee premiums possibly reflect brand name reputation rather than monopoly/oligopoly rents.     

超市通道费与相对优势地位法稚规制若干问题探讨——四论“零供”关系的法律调整

超市通道费是近年来我国“零供”矛盾突出的焦点问题之一。其中对涉及超市（零售商）收取通道费是否滥用相对优势地位等问题存在不同看法。相对优势地位不是市场支配地位。应注意其他国家规制滥用相对优势地位行为的背景、使用条件以及各国的差异,结合我国实际情况,对实际经济活动中存在的不同情况采取有针对性的法律规制措施。对照依赖性、相对性、社会性等构成滥用优势地位的要件,电信格式合同规定过期电话卡余额不退还条款有滥用相对优势地位损害消费者利益之嫌疑,而大部分超市通道费案件显然是企业之间利益分配而不属于滥用优势地位之情形。应尽快建立大型零售商选址等相关配套制度,充分发挥行业协会作用,建立供应商与零售商谈判磋商机制,促进市场经济稳定、发展。     

我国卫生总费用筹资水平与结构分析

在医疗卫生体制改革过程中,我国的卫生筹资系。统由计划经济体制下的政府筹资主导模式向市场经济体制下的多元化筹资模式转变,但仍然面临着巨大困难和挑战,卫生总费用的筹资规模不足,筹资结构也需进一步调整。因此,需要适当提高卫生总费用在GDP中所占比重,逐步增加政府和社会卫生投入力度,降低居民个人对卫生费用的负担程度;同时,也应合理利用卫生费用,努力缩小城乡卫生服务和区域卫生服务差距。     

事务所行业专长与审计收费溢价的相关性检验——来自中国上市公司审计市场的经验证据

本文以沪深两市2005～2006年1332家上市公司为对象,研究审计事务所的行业专长对审计收费的影响。研究发现,总体来看,审计事务所的专业化水平对审计收费有显著的正面影响,专业化水平愈高,审计收费愈多;但从发展阶段来看,在高度专业化以前,专业化程度愈高,事务所的审计溢价收入愈多;而在专业化达到较高程度后,溢价收入消失。研究还发现,我国上市公司的资产规模、子公司数量、分部报告数量、近三年是否亏损以及审计意见等因素均对审计收费有显著影响,而企业的净利润额、应收账款额和年末存货额的影响不明显。希望该研究发现,能为审计事务所制定专业化发展战略提供一定的理论支持。     

MUTUAL HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS AS FACILITATORS AND/OR BARRIERS TOWARDS THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF NHIS IN GHANA

There are many constraints to implementing comprehensive health insurance in the context of Sub‐Saharan Africa. Mutual health organizations are under pressure to resolve the inadequacies, accordingly. The objective of this study is to explore the extent to which the mutual health organizations constitute facilitators and/or barriers to the successful implementation of the health insurance scheme nationwide. Data were gathered through interviews and review of literature. The findings of the empirical data were analyzed using theories of health seeking behaviour and reflexive communities. The findings of the paper suggest that the mutual health organizations are beneficial to their communities as they have broadened the understanding of the community members, regarding what the concept of health insurance was in Ghana, a country where it was a relatively new concept in public health financing and delivery. However, the paper also observes that the mutual health organizations are facing problems that are likely to affect sustainability overtime under a national health insurance scheme. Therefore, the need for continuous public education to sustain the enthusiasm among community members is recommended.     

Taxes and Fees as Forms of Land Use Regulation

In this article I expand on Turnbull’s presentation by highlighting two important aspects of regulations and their effects on land use. First, I summarize what we know about the dynamic effects of property taxation and discuss alternative tax regimes and their implications for land use. Second, I analyze the role of development impact fees and consider ways in which this new financing method may be rationalized.     

Fallout from the Mutual Fund Trading Scandal

In September 2003, several prominent mutual fund companies came under investigation for illegal trading practices. Allegations suggested these funds allowed certain investors to profit from short-term trading schemes at the expense of other investors. Surprisingly, regulatory authorities have known for more than two decades of the potential for such abuses, yet have taken limited steps to correct the problem. We explore investor reaction to the scandal by measuring assets under management, stock returns, and performance. Mutual funds managed by investigated firms show a substantial decline in post-announcement assets under management. These firms also experienced significantly negative announcement-period returns. Finally, we discuss several policy suggestions to prevent future trading abuses and provide direction for future research.     

试论我国预算管理体系建设

近些年来，伴随着经济体制改革的步伐，我国预算管理改革已初显成效，政府预算透明度有了长足的进展。但是，由于我国处于经济转轨时期，财政管理必然带有从计划经济到市场经济的“过渡性”特征，因此，建立透明的预算管理体系非常重要。     

Termination fees in a 'bright line' jurisdiction

We seek to statistically inform the debate regarding the Australian Takeovers Panel's ‘bright line’ policy towards break fees. Based on 313 takeovers from 2002 to 2006, 85 involving break fees, we find post‐bid competition to be unrelated to break fee usage and inversely related to bid success. We also find that break fee usage has a detrimental effect on shareholder wealth as measured by both the final bid premium and abnormal returns. Therefore, although break fees appear to be neither anticompetitive nor coercive within the Australian context, they do appear to have had a deleterious effect on shareholder wealth.     

Auditor's Engagement Risk and Audit Fees: The Role of Audit Firm Alumni

Abstract:  This study explores the effect of the association of audit firm alumni with their alma mater on audit prices. The tests indicate that there is a moderate reduction of up to 21% in the level of audit fee when alumni (i.e., former employees) of the incumbent audit firm sit on the client board of directors which is consistent with the engagement risk theory. This suggests that there is an 'alumni effect' in the market for audit services. The findings hold only in the large company segment of the market. The results are robust to different model specifications and alternative samples. The sample comprises all executive and non-executive directors who run the UK quoted companies and are simultaneously ICAEW qualified chartered accountants. The study's implications for the accounting profession and the regulators are also discussed.