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Tax haven Use, the pricing of audit and Non-audit Services, suspicious matters reporting obligations and whistle blower hotline Facilities: Evidence from Australian financial corporations

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  • Eulaiwi, Baban
  • Al-Hadi, Ahmed
  • Taylor, Grantley
  • Dutta, Saurav
  • Duong, Lien
  • Richardson, Grant

Abstract

This study examines whether tax haven use by Australian financial corporations is associated with the pricing of audit and non-audit services. It also analyzes whether the existence of financial corporations’ suspicious matters reports (SMRs) and whistle blower hotline facilities moderate the association between tax haven use and pricing of audit and non-audit services. We find a positive association between tax haven use and the pricing of audit and non-audit services. Our results are economically significant. For example, audit fees for financial corporations with tax haven use is around 23 per cent higher compared to corporations with no tax haven use, while non-audit fees for financial corporations with tax haven use is around 13 per cent higher compared to corporations with no tax haven use. We also find that the existence of SMRs and whistle blower hotline facilities both moderate the positive association between tax haven use and audit pricing. Overall, our results suggest that tax haven use has serious consequences for financial corporations’ pricing of audit and non-audit services, whereas SMRs and whistle blower hotline facilities assist corporations to reduce the risks concerning tax haven use.

Suggested Citation

  • Eulaiwi, Baban & Al-Hadi, Ahmed & Taylor, Grantley & Dutta, Saurav & Duong, Lien & Richardson, Grant, 2021. "Tax haven Use, the pricing of audit and Non-audit Services, suspicious matters reporting obligations and whistle blower hotline Facilities: Evidence from Australian financial corporations," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jocaae:v:17:y:2021:i:2:s1815566921000205
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcae.2021.100262
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    Cited by:

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    2. Abhishek Sharma & Chandana Hewege & Chamila Perera, 2022. "Violations of CSR Practices in the Australian Financial Industry: How Is the Decision-Making Power of Australian Women Implicated?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-21, December.
    3. Baban Eulaiwi & Ahmed Al‐Hadi & Lien Duong & Keira Clark & Grantley Taylor & Brian Perrin, 2022. "Audit pricing and corporate whistleblower governance: evidence from Australian financial firms," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2339-2384, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Audit pricing; Non-audit pricing; Suspicious matters reports; Whistle blower hotline facilities; Tax havens; Financial corporations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing

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